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What You Should Know about Generational Happiness at Work [Research]

What can you do to improve employee retention and engagement? Understand what drives employee happiness at work, and unhappiness, and leverage those insights to build a well-rounded and engaged team. 

You’ve likely had co-workers who are older or younger than you at some point in your career. And likely that you’ve noticed that different colleagues thrive in different work environments and enjoy different elements of their job. So, it’s not surprising that what makes someone happy and engaged at work differs from generation to generation. 

But while the differences in generations are clear, organizations typically struggle to address them. So what exactly drives employee happiness at work? And how does this look when you break it down by generation? 

To answer this, we conducted a study. Cangrade Research Scientist, Dr. Katherine Chia, surveyed members of each generation represented in the workforce to learn how they respond to the question “In general, how happy are you at work?” and dug into the different levels of job satisfaction. Based on the results, we analyzed the different generations’ workforce behaviors and what it takes for each generation to be satisfied at work. 

In our report, you’ll uncover how happy each generation is at work, what motivates each generation’s happiness, and how to turn those drivers into opportunities for workforce engagement. Here are a few of the insights you’ll find:

  • 26% of Gen Z is unhappy at work, and 17% of Gen Z is thinking about quitting their job.
  • The statement “I am proud of the work I do” most correlates to Gen X and Millennials’ happiness at work.
  • 40% of Baby Boomers Highly Disagree with the statement: “My work is unimportant to my identity.”
  • Baby Boomer’s workplace happiness is most highly correlated with the statement, “I get direct answers to my questions at work.”
  • Gen Z’s workplace happiness is most highly correlated with the statement, “My work environment brings out the best in me.”

To uncover how you can improve employee happiness at work and engagement download our full research study today.

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To improve employee happiness from the start, book a demo with us today.