Surveys: Younger Adults Have Evolving Workplace Expectations

Hiring and retaining employees from younger generations increasingly appears to depend on adopting new workplace standards and practices regarding DEI, wellness, social concerns, and the environment.

Recent surveys from Gallup and Deloitte show the shifting demographics and priorities of younger generations in the workplace. For local governments, this could signal a need to adopt workplace policies and practices that can respond to these interests and expectations. What those changes are exactly is dependent on a specific work environment but from the Deloitte report, information points to a rising focus on workloads, learning and development, DEI, wellness, social impact, and environmental efforts.

On the point of DEI, wellness, and social impact, the Gallup poll highlighted another layer to this puzzle which are the changes in LGBTQIA+ identification in the last two decades. That report from earlier this year showed that LGBTQIA+ identification has doubled with each cycle of recently nicknamed “generations” to become adults. Data shows that 2.3 percent of baby boomers identify as a category under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. That number increased to 4.5 percent of Gen X, 10 percent of millennials, and 22 percent of Gen Z self-identifying as LGBTQIA+.

These numbers show an opportunity for potentially stabilizing the public sector workforce. Governments, reliant on taxpayer dollars and other fees, struggle to keep up with compensation levels of private industry and corporations. Additional political volatility impacts these revenues, when new administrations can overhaul that structure with each election cycle. Essentially, where local governments might be hamstrung in the revenue and salary competition, success could hinge more heavily on attracting candidates based on new and evolving work culture standards.

A 2024 MACo Winter Conference panel session will discuss, “The Business Case for a Welcoming Workplace.” MACo’s Winter Conference, “Anticipate, Adapt, Achieve: Thriving Through Turbulent Times,” will be held at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Hotel in Cambridge, MD, on December 11-13, 2024. 

Learn more about MACo’s Winter Conference: