Generation Y by the Numbers
Hiring managers say millennials are asking more from their workplaces and employers than any previous generation: They want better pay and perks, more flexibility in their schedules, and more support from managers. But do these anecdotal reports really represent a whole generation? We dug into data gathered by Robert Half International and PayScale to find out.
Popular Millennial Jobs and Corresponding Salaries
Source: Payscale Inc.
Source: Payscale Inc.
*Median Total Cash Compensation is what a typical employee in the given position earned in 2007. Fifty percent of employees who are in the same age group and have the same job title make more than this amount, while 50 percent of them make less. Total Cash Compensation is base salary combined with bonuses, commissions, profit sharing, and other forms of cash earnings. It does not include equity (stock) compensation.
Career Expectations
Compared to previous generations, millennials expect to have:
| More frequent job/career changes | 15% |
| Greater focus on personal/family life | 12% |
| More knowledge of advanced technology | 10% |
| More education | 9% |
Source: What Millennial Workers Want: How to Attract and Retain Gen Y Employees, Robert Half International and Yahoo! HotJobs
Workplace Attire
How millennials want to dress on the job:
| Business casual | 41% |
| Sneakers and jeans | 27% |
| A mix, depending on the situation | 26% |
| Business attire | 4% |
Source: What Millennial Workers Want: How to Attract and Retain Gen Y Employees, Robert Half International and Yahoo! HotJobs
Job Considerations
Millennial respondents ranked the following job considerations on a 1-to-10 scale, with 10 being most important and 1 being least important:
| Salary | 9.05 |
| Benefits (health insurance, 401(k), etc.) | 8.86 |
| Opportunities for career growth/advancement | 8.74 |
| Company’s location | 8.44 |
| Company’s leadership | 7.95 |
| Company’s reputation/brand recognition | 7.56 |
| Job title | 7.19 |
| In-house training programs | 6.95 |
| Tuition reimbursement programs | 6.44 |
| Diversity of the company’s staff | 6.07 |
| Company’s charitable/philanthropic efforts | 6.06 |
Source: What Millennial Workers Want: How to Attract and Retain Gen Y Employees, Robert Half International and Yahoo! HotJobs
Work Environment
Millennial respondents ranked the following aspects of their work environments on a 1-to-10 scale, with 10 being most important and 1 being least important:
| Working with a manager I can respect and learn from | 8.74 |
| Working with people I enjoy | 8.69 |
| Having work/life balance | 8.63 |
| Having a short commute | 7.55 |
| Working for a socially responsible company | 7.42 |
| Having a nice office space | 7.14 |
| Working with state-of-the-art technology | 6.89 |
Source: What Millennial Workers Want: How to Attract and Retain Gen Y Employees, Robert Half International and Yahoo! HotJobs