What Each Generation Wants from Work

What do your employees (and potential employees) really want from their work? What do they value most? What really motivates them to apply for a job, or stay with an organisation? And how have these expectations shifted in response to new technologies and changing ways of working in recent years? To answer these questions, we surveyed today’s workforce to understand what drives them and find out what each generation wants from work.

Our research explores what respondents value most at a workplace, priorities when searching for a new role, wellbeing at work and more. These insights will help your organisation with practical, actionable insights to build inclusive, future-ready workspaces.

To read more about the full findings, you can download the Expectations and Values at Work: A Generational View 2026 report.

What matters most when applying for a role?

We asked all respondents to select their five most important factors when considering a role from a list of options. The top factor was a respectful and inclusive workplace, selected by 72% of respondents, which was followed by positive management style and employee autonomy selected by 63%.

Looking at generational breakdowns, a respectful and inclusive workplace was the top priority for all generations except Baby Boomers, who selected positive management style and autonomy as their top factor. Positive social impact was also seen as more important to Gen Z and Millennials, indicating their stronger alignment with purpose-led work.

Are respondents willing to sacrifice value for higher pay?

We saw that three quarters of all respondents would not consider working somewhere that didn’t align with their values even if they were offered pay and benefits above industry standards.

Looking at the generational split, we saw that those in younger generations were more likely to consider it, with 32% of Gen Z saying yes. One reason for this could be the current economic pressures that younger workers are facing. The cost of living crisis and the tough job market might mean younger generations would be more likely to sacrifice their personal values for financial stability.

Value of a green workplace

More than half of all respondents thought that having an environmentally friendly and sustainable workplace was important. Gen Z and Millennials were most likely to have this as a top priority and the importance of this decreased with age.

Wellbeing in the workplace

A third of respondents felt it was essential for employers to provide mental health or wellbeing support in the workplace. Gen Z and Millennials were more likely to expect support of this kind than Gen X or Baby Boomers.

Boundaries at work

Those who were in employment were asked how comfortable they were setting boundaries at work. Nearly half of respondents felt comfortable setting boundaries and 30% felt neutral. Comfort levels increased with age, with Baby Boomers being the most comfortable setting work boundaries, suggesting confidence grows with experience and seniority.

We also followed this up by asking respondents to explain the reasons for their choice. Some stated they felt comfortable setting boundaries because they had a supportive management system and boundaries were encouraged. Those who didn’t feel comfortable mentioned the opposite – that they didn’t have good management and felt setting boundaries was difficult to approach.

Career mobility and progression

Respondents in employment were asked what they thought was a reasonable amount of time to stay in the same role or organisation before moving on or seeking promotion.

A high proportion of respondents thought it was reasonable to move on quickly from a role, with 39% saying one to two years and 33% saying two to three years. Gen X and Baby Boomers were more likely to think you should stay in a role for longer before moving on compared to Gen Z, who thought a shorter time was reasonable with 2% saying less than two years. Views were similar for how long you should stay in an organisation, and again Gen Z were more likely to favour shorter periods compared to Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Want to find out more?

To learn more about what each generation wants at work, download the full Expectations and Values at Work: A Generational View 2026 report for further insights.