Survey suggests that all age groups are similarly motivated at work

When comparing the results of 18 – 29-year-olds with other age brackets, we often find that researchers are bending over backwards to find some kind of pattern. Now a new survey a new study from Automatic Data Processing (ADP) finds unsurprisingly, that there is actually little difference between the age groups regarding those who go to work because they like their company and feel that they’re on the same mission. Of those aged 30 – 49 years old, 9 percent choose this option as did 11 percent of 50 – 64-year-olds.

This is only marginally less than the 12 percent of Millennials who opt for a job with a mission. In fact, the survey shows that amongst those aged 18 – 29, paying for things they need or want is rated higher than the love of work, the desire to grow, and feeling like they’re on the same mission as their employer.  This once again shows that the stereotype of the socially orientated Millennial, keen to work for a company they like, on a mission they believe in, is overplayed.

Millennials are least likely to cite pay as the main driver for going to work compared to other generations however, which could of course be linked to their being least likely of having dependents. Half of those aged 30 – 39 (50 percent) choose pay as the most important factor while 54 percent of 50 – 64-year-olds opt for this option, compared to 45 percent of 18 – 29-year-olds. This suggests that Millennials are generally less motivated by pay than older age groups.

The study, which surveyed over 2,500 workers across the UK, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, found that 45 percent of Millennials aged 18 – 29 cite pay as the top reason for going to work. While only 12 percent of employees say that they like the company they work for and feel that they share the same mission. The survey findings also highlight that only 16 percent of Millennials are motivated to go to work because they want to learn and grow in their career.