HOUSTON–Millennials often get the focus, but a new report offers insights into what workers who are part of Generation X want in a job. According to the report, their preferences are a combination of the desires of Baby Boomers and Millennials.
In a new survey entitled “The Gen X Factor: Stuck in the Middle or Best of Both Worlds,” commercial real estate firm Transwestern outlined the views of Generation X employees, which the company described as a “mix of seasoned experience and savvy thinking that was the fortuitous byproduct of being sandwiched between two generations that, for a variety of reasons, received more attention.”
“Although Millennials are now the largest segment of the U.S. labor force, companies that value workforce diversity benefit from a broader range of ideas and experiences,” said Matthew Dolly, Transwestern’s New Jersey research director. “At the same time, while it is easy to create divisions between age groups, we found that there are just as many commonalities as differences between these three influential generations.”
Gen X scores in the survey consistently were in the middle of Baby Boomer and Millennial numbers. Seventy-two percent of Gen X workers, for instance, preferred an office environment that included a mix of private offices and cubicles, while 18% preferred private offices and only 10% favored an open space layout.
Baby boomers had higher numbers for private offices, with 29% choosing such a layout. This resulted in lower numbers for mixing private office and cubicles (67%) and open spaces (4%).
The survey found Millennials had remarkably different desires compared to Baby Boomers. Only 56% favored a mix of cubicles and private offices. Meanwhile, 25% advocated for an open space layout, while 19% preferred private offices.
The survey found similar results for Generation X employees when it comes to their living preference between downtown and the suburbs. Generation X respondents preferred the suburbs at a 68% rate. By comparison, 81% of Baby Boomers favored the suburbs, while 64% of Millennials preferred to live downtown.
The most popular amenities among Generation X workers include fully equipped kitchens and communal meeting spaces.
This gap in preferences even extended to workplace culture. For example, Generation X workers were the strongest advocates of flexible hours, with 71% preferring such an arrangement. Only 11% of Gen X workers wanted a mandatory “9 to 5” schedule while 18% favored no set hours