“Connection” and “Collaboration” Drive Career Choices for Generation Y Workers, SelectMinds Study Finds

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Known by many names (including GenYers, echo-boomers, millenniums), today’s youngest workers are bringing a new sense of importance to workplace relationships. According to a survey by SelectMinds, the leading provider of Corporate Social Networking solutions, more than three-quarters (77%) of workers age 20 - 29 believe that the social aspects of work are very important to their overall sense of workplace satisfaction, compared with 67% of their older colleagues.

When transitioning into a new job, GenYers rank “cementing relationships with colleagues and supervisors” (41%) as their number one challenge, ahead of learning the new job responsibilities (27%) and adapting to a new company culture (33%). For many of these young workers, relationships function as an information “search engine,” providing them with information that is pre-qualified and, therefore, credible. Fully 86% of GenYers report that they are “more likely to listen to information and recommendations if they are presented to me by someone I know and trust.”

“Today's GenY workers demand a high-level of connectivity and collaboration with employees at all levels of the organization -- but especially with young, like-minded professionals," notes Anne Berkowitch, CEO of SelectMinds. "Corporate Social Networks provide an opportunity to do just that. GenY workers want more than an office and a paycheck—they want to be part of a collaborative network.”

Among the findings of the survey:

• Gen Y Demands Networking Opportunities: Nearly half (46%) of GenYers rate the availability of support/networking programs for employees with common interests as a very important factor in their decision to join and/or remain with an employer, compared with 36% of their peers.
  • Of all the groups surveyed, young workers are the most likely to see professional networks as beneficial to their career development, with 72% of GenYers citing such networks as very important, compared with 66% of workers age 30-39 and 61% of workers age 40+.
• Younger Workers Feel Disconnected: More than three quarters (78%) of all workers -- and 81% of GenYers -- feel somewhat or very disconnected from the information flow, politics and career opportunities across their organization.
• Gen Y Not Afraid to Walk Out the Door: More than one in four (28%) of workers age 20 - 29 reports leaving a job because they felt disconnected from the organization, compared with 21% of workers age 30 and above.
  • An additional 20% of GenY workers say they have switched jobs because of poor relationships with co-workers, compared with 14% of their older colleagues.

Editor’s Note: For a complete copy of the report please email: diane.pardee@selectminds.com.

The SelectMinds survey was conducted in late 2006 by IntelliSurvey. This survey polled 2,002 full-time or part-time professional employees working at least 20 hours per week, age 20 or older. Roughly 26% of the survey sample were between the ages of 20 and 29.

About SelectMinds

SelectMinds pioneered corporate social networks in 2000. The Company provides a combination of cutting-edge, online technology platforms, services and thought-leadership consulting that helps clients increase productivity by enhancing revenue streams, increasing employee retention and maximizing recruiting efforts by putting the power of social software at the fingertips of employees, alumni and other important constituents and affinity groups. SelectMinds clients include more than 60 leading organizations, such as JP Morgan Chase, Ernst & Young, Lockheed Martin, BearingPoint, Latham & Watkins, Schlumberger and Deloitte.