Job Fulfilment Retains Generation Y Talent
17 January 2013 at 9:26 am
New research analysing the responses from over 18,000 professionals world wide, including Australia, reveals the digital generation – Generation Y – values job fulfilment and social purpose over financial reward.
The report by the iOpener Institute in the UK called Happiness at work – Maximising your psychological capital for success analysed responses from Europe, the US, Australia, India, China and Africa.
The report found that Generation Y needs to feel that their work has a strong economic or social purpose. They need to feel proud of their organisation and the work that it does. It says incremental pay increases will not, on their own, motivate and retain Generation Y employees.
The iOpener analysis says that Gen Y, those born after the early 1980s, are motivated to stay with their employer, and to actively recommend their organisation to friends, by the level to which they are fulfilled their job, rather than levels of pay.
The report says the new analysis provides an important wake-up call for management to pay attention to employee feelings of engagement, empowerment, purpose and future development if they are to retain and foster young talent in their organisation.
The study reveals that just as important is the relationship between word of mouth recommendation and job fulfilment.
It found positive word of mouth recommendations across an employee’s social network play a powerful role in attracting talent, and therefore provides employers with hard financial advantage.
The analysis in the report suggests that being involved in work that is challenging and interesting is a top priority for Gen Y. The report findings reveal that Gen Y also have to feel that their work is worthwhile and makes a valuable contribution to the economy or society.
It says there is an extremely strong alignment between job fulfilment and feeling that your occupation is doing something worthwhile.
Report authors say this finding meshes well with the general observation that Gen Y is very civic-minded and interested in volunteering and community service. Managers would therefore do well to help Gen Y by raising awareness of how their organisation’s products, services and culture is worthwhile and has a positive impact the on the world.
It says providing Gen Y with opportunities to contribute to the community through meaningful work will help retain them in an organisation.
