What Gen Y Wants At Work February 17, 2007 From the Performance Newsletter
While employers may scramble to offer opportunities and benefits to young workers, a new survey from SelectMinds suggests that what they really want is a sense of social connection.
"Today's Gen Y workers demand a high level of connectivity and collaboration with employees at all levels of the organization—but especially with young, like-minded professionals,” says Anne Berkowitch, CEO of SelectMinds, a social networking software company. "Gen Y workers want more than an office and a paycheck—they want to be part of a collaborative network."
What young workers want:
* Networking opportunities. Nearly half of Gen Yers surveyed rate the availability of support or networking with like-minded employees to be a very important factor in their job choice. Of all the age groups surveyed, they were most likely to seek professional networks for career development.
* Connection. This is often lacking. Just over 80 percent of Gen Y workers say they feel disconnected from the information flow, politics and career opportunities in their organization.
* Friends. 20 percent of Gen Yers say they have switched jobs because of poor relationships with co-workers. That compares to 14 percent of their older colleagues.
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