Recent News

March 3, 2006

Gen-Xers want flexibility most of all

Jason Walker has a "really cool job" at Microsoft: he can choose to go skiing in the morning and finish his work later at home. A job, he says, is only as good as the life it provides. Recent surveys show that's a sentiment most Gen-X employees share, viewing work as secondary to their lives outside the office. And they're more inclined than boomers to leave a job if their needs aren't met.

Sharon Jordan-Evans, co-author of "Love'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay," says over the past nine years she has polled 17,000 job holders asking, among other things, what would make them decide to stay with their company. Everyone under age 41 listed flexibility in their top ten. Unlike boomers, she says, they will forego a promotion to hold on to balance.

Authors Charlotte and Laura Shelton ("The Next Revolution: What Gex-X Women Want at Work") agree. They surveyed 1,200 Gen-Xers and report that they want work to be "only one component of a balanced portfolio." Experts are saying managers had better pay attention to this generational shift if they don't want to incur expensive turnover. Says Jason Walker, "It's hard to put a dollar figure on the autonomy I have, and the flexibility. Those are huge, huge keys to keeping me happy."

#20803 New York, NY, The Wall Street Journal, 11-29-05. This information was published by Work and Family News Brief. One of the many benefits of being a member of the Circle of Business; Circle of Business is a community alliance that fosters work/life effectiveness while improving business performance. For more information or to join Circle of Business, please contact Darlene Haas at 614/224.0222 ext. 156.