This article examines the factors that have motivated Generation X and Y over time and the emerging attributes that will be impacting Generation Z. More specifically, two hundred recent graduates and Executive MBA students (Generation X) as well as undergraduates (Generation Y) at Fordham University Schools of Business were surveyed recently and were asked to rank six (out of twenty five) factors they consider most important in motivating them to do their best work on the job. When comparing Generation X and Generation Y, the results are very similar. Both groups rank Respect for me as a person and Good Pay to be their top motivators. While both groups have similar motivators in their top six including Chance for promotion, Opportunity to do interesting work and Opportunity for self-development and improvement, Generation Y differs greatly as Getting along well with others on the job ranked third in their top six. This factor is considered a “hybrid factor” that crosses motivation and maintenance needs. While this “hybrid factor” does not appear as an important motivator among the Baby Boom generation, it is projected that Getting along well with others on the job will be a critical factor especially among Generation Z for a variety of reasons predominately their technical background.
Compared to earlier generations in the work force, Generations X and Y are still motivated more by the prospect of steady employment and a chance for promotion, but getting along well with others on the job has surfaced as a key motivator for Generation Y.
These were the findings of a 2007 survey, conducted by the authors of 200 recent graduates and Executive MBA students (Generation X) and current undergraduates (Generation Y) of Fordham University Schools of Business. The students who participated in the study were asked to rank the six (of 25) factors they consider most important in motivating them to do their best work. (See Figure 1.) The results were compared with the rankings by two groups of business executives, including baby boomers and pre-boomers.
Column A in Figure 1 indicates the rankings by 6,000 managers who were surveyed during a conference in the early 1970s.The managers ranked the following six employment conditions as their principal motivators in the workplace.
1. Respect for me as a person
2. Good pay
3. Opportunity to do interesting work
4. Opportunity for self-development and improvement
5. Large amount of freedom on the job
6. Feeling my job is important
Now compare these results with Column B, the rankings by 500 representatives of different companies and government agencies, who were attending a university executive development program in the mid- 1980s. The factors they considered key motivators are as follows:
1. Respect for me as a person
2. Good pay
3. Opportunity to do interesting work
4. Feeling my job is important
5. Opportunity for self-development and improvement
6. Large amount of freedom on the job
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