London:
Generation Y -- those born in and after late 80s -- take employment simply as a means for paying bills and value their leisure time far more than people of older generations, a survey has found.
The study of 16,507 Americans spanning three decades concluded that those born in the late 1980s - the so-called 'Generation Y' - expect to 'have their cake and eat it'.
They -- today's young workers -- want jobs with big salaries, status and plenty of leisure time- without having to put in the hours, the researchers said.
The members of the generation, it appears, considers themselves to be 'entitled to it all' and for them hard work is an alien concept, the
Daily Mail reported.
They want a job with an easy pace and lots of holidays. They are also less likely to want to work overtime, the survey found.
In other words, the younger generation wants to 'have their cake' in big salaries and 'eat it too' by retaining a healthy work-life balance, said the researchers.
For the study, published in the Journal of Management, researchers asked the volunteers across three generations -- Generation Y, Generation X and the generation before that -- to complete surveys to gauge their attitudes as they were finishing secondary school and compared their work values.
The team observed distinct differences in their attitude.
The 'biggest change' in work values was the increased desire for leisure time among Generation Y, analysis found.
"The combination of not wanting to work hard but still wanting more money and status verifies the sense of entitlement many have identified among Generation Y," the study said.
The survey also found that the desire to find work with "meaning" had declined, with younger workers more likely to see jobs as a means of funding their lifestyles.
And no differences were found in preferences for jobs that helped others or were worthwhile to society.
Lead author Jean M Twenge, professor at San Diego State University, said: "Young workers are now entering the workforce with different values, on average, from those of the young workers of 15 and 30 years ago, which may affect recruitment and management."
The Generation Y refers to those growing up in the Internet age, the most technologically - savvy generation yet.
The Generation X to those born in the 1970s and are often called 'Thatcher's children'. They grew up in an era of increasing equality for women, a struggling economy and increasing divorce rates. Their attitude is typically described as 'work hard, play hard'.
The third generation or the Baby Boomers were born in the late 1940s and 1950s. As children of the post-war years, they are associated with prosperity and optimism.
They were wealthier and healthier than any generation before but were prepared to work hard to achieve their success. They can be loosely described as the 'live to work' generation.