The term “work-life balance” has yet to lose its buzz in the last few years. This is partially due to the dominating presence of millennials in the workforce. Employers have been putting in a tremendous effort trying to determine the best way to appeal to millennial workers. With the millennial generation of workers projected to take up 75% of the workforce by 2025, many leaders think it’s time to redefine what work-life balance looks like.

Work-life balance is an important aspect of a healthy work environment. Maintaining work-life balance helps reduce stress and helps prevent burnout in the workplace. Chronic stress is one of the most common health issues in the workplace. It can lead to physical consequences such as hypertension, digestive troubles, chronic aches and pains and heart problems. Chronic stress can also negatively impact mental health because it’s linked to a higher risk of depression, anxiety and insomnia.

Too much stress over a long period of time leads to workplace burnout. Employees who work tons of overtime hours are at a high risk of burnout. Burnout can cause fatigue, mood swings, irritability and a decrease in work performance. This is bad news for employers because according to Harvard Business Review Links to an external site., the psychological and physical problems of burned-out employees cost an estimated $125 billion to $190 billion a year in healthcare spending in the United States.

By creating a work environment that prioritizes work-life balance, employers can save money and maintain a healthier, more productive workforce. But what exactly does work-life balance look like? Well, that’s where things can get a bit complicated. Work-life balance means something a little different to everyone. Over the years, the knowledge and approach of work-life balance has been constantly evolving, and it might be helpful for employers to identify the difference in opinions among the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials.

Baby Boomers and Work-Life Balance

Born between 1945 and 1960, around the time of World War II, this generation was exposed to a lot of hardships at a very young age. Making a decent living was no small task, and in turn, this generation craved stability in the workplace and valued the opportunity for employment. Because of this, work-life balance wasn’t a main priority or concern. Baby Boomers tended to stay at companies for longer periods of time than following generations. Many of these employees are currently in senior or director level positions that require a high degree of responsibility. As a result, 80% of Baby Boomers report moderate to high levels of stress.

As the children of the Baby Boomers, Gen Xers (typically born around the years of 1961 and 1980) grew up witnessing the long hours and poor work-life balance of their parents. Many Gen Xers were exposed to the effect such a relationship with work had on the family unit. As a result, this generation put more emphasis on creating work-life balance in their own lives. Many of these employees prioritize spending time with their family and are more likely to utilize their PTO than the Baby Boomers. Because of this, Gen Xers tend to think of work-life balance as a necessary prerequisite to a company of employment. They look for perks such as telecommuting, extended maternity/paternity time and adequate vacation time.

Millennials and Work-Life Balance

Being a millennial comes with its fair share of stereotypes. Generally, for those born between the years of 1981 and 2000, work ethic is thought to be secondary, or ‘just a part of life.’ But for the generation born into the harshest student loan burden in history, finding stable employment to pay for the higher education of both themselves and their children – as well as soaring housing costs – remains amongst the highest of priorities. With this generation growing to over a quarter of the U.S. population and in their prime-working years, figuring out what attracts millennials remains one of the biggest HR decisions at any major company.

To satisfy the assumed desires of millennial employees, many employers overcompensate by adding game rooms and beanbags to spruce up the work environment. An entire industry has popped up surrounding making workspaces more “millennial-friendly.” WeWork Links to an external site., one of the most well-known of this new breed of property managers, recently made headlines by leasing an entire Manhattan office to IBM, an over 100-year old company that houses multiple generations of employees.

However, many millennials report that they don’t care for these types of perks. Instead, they are more interested in finding a career path that will support their “lifestyle”, which in this context means their life outside of work. While Ping-Pong tables and free coffee aren’t necessarily scoffed at in this generation, it’s important for employers to understand that the same factors that have pushed prior generations to choose which company to work for (pay, career trajectory, job location, etc.) are still the major differentiating factors to the largest working generation in the U.S. Unfortunately for millennials, the 2017 Workplace Benefits Report Links to an external site. by Bank of America Merrill Lynch found that 59% of millennials report feeling worried about finding a career path that will support the lifestyle they’ve envisioned for themselves.

Going Past Generations – Creating a Flexible and Happy Work Environment for All

For an employer, promoting work-life balance can seem a daunting challenge. How can a company promote a healthy lifestyle, both physically and emotionally, without sacrificing employee productivity?

While employers can look to studies about what work-life balance means to millennials to gain some insight, it’s important to remember that work-life balance will always mean something a little different to everyone. Just because an employee fits into a specific generation, this doesn’t always mean that they will want the same things as another employee of the same generation. This is where flexibility and workplace happiness comes into play.

Creating a flexible work environment is one of the best ways to satisfy the work-life balance needs of most employees – no matter which generation they belong to. A flexible work environment has been shown to decrease stress, boost levels of job satisfaction and help employees maintain healthier habits. Employers should offer flexible work hours, the ability to work from home and unlimited PTO to create a more flexible work environment that appeals across generations of workers.

It’s important for employers to realize that work-life balance is about more than just hours. Besides promoting flexibility, employers should also strive to improve the overall workplace experience for their employees. Prioritizing a healthy culture and cultivating a happy workplace environment t Links to an external site. promotes work-life balance. When employees are happy in their roles, work will feel more like a second home, and less like working for a paycheck. Employers should prioritize competitive compensation, comfortable office conditions, opportunities for professional growth and opportunities for social connections.

Attitudes on work-life balance will continue to evolve with cultural, generational and economic changes. Flexible leaders can update or reinvent their workplace culture to try something new if employees report poor work-life balance. While maximizing employee productivity will always remain a constant goal, ensuring employees have the time they desire away from the office and enjoy their time spent in the office is the best way to retain talented employees and make them lifers, regardless of perceived generational differences.

Gen Z and millennials actually want the same things at work.

But Gen Z has the upper hand.

Business Insider Links to an external site.

Hillary Hoffower Links to an external site.

Nov 6, 2021

Gen Z is ready for flexibility.

Su Arslanoglu/Getty Images

Millennials Links to an external site. and Gen Z Links to an external site. want the same things at work: flexibility and wellbeing.
While millennials have advocated for these things, the Great Recession Links to an external site. made them more risk-averse, prioritizing job security.
The pandemic and remote work Links to an external site. have led Gen Z to demand more change with more boldness.

Gen Z workers have got their millennial bosses shaking in their boots.

So declared the The New York Times' Emma Goldberg Links to an external site. in an article that caught the Internet's attention last week, which examined the latest in generational workplace culture: Millennials are afraid of Gen Zers, who are confidently and assertively demanding a better work-life balance.

The TikTok generation delegates to their bosses, isn't shy about asking for mental health days, works less once accomplishing their daily tasks, and sets their own hours, Goldberg wrote. It's coming as a shock to work-obsessed millennials, whose careers have always seen overworked and structured days.

But here's the thing: Although millennials and Gen Z may work differently, they want the same things in the workplace. Both generations experience more anxiety and stress Links to an external site. than older generations, and both equally prioritize mental-health benefits and work-life balance Links to an external site..

The difference is in how the generations approach these priorities at work, which has a lot to do with the economic crises each generation ran into after graduation. Millennials, who entered a dismal labor force Links to an external site. broken by the Great Recession Links to an external site., were keen for change but risk-averse.

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Gen Z, on the other hand, saw sharper swings in both directions — which included both an even steeper drop into recession, and the fastest jobs recovery Links to an external site. on record. It's so dramatic that job openings and labor shortages are both at historic highs, and they have their pick of work in the most flexible economy Links to an external site. in memory.

Millennials just wanted job security when they were in Gen Z's position

The financial crisis of 2008 sent the oldest millennials stumbling across a blighted labor market Links to an external site., hopping from job to job as they searched for a foothold in their career, all while carrying record levels of student debt Links to an external site.. As the economy bounced them around the workforce, millennials gained a reputation as disloyal job hoppers.

"This was about a generation that were having jobs rescinded," she said. "They were the first to be fired. They were the first to have to be moved from a full-time to a part-time position, or they had no benefits."

Research has found that entering the workforce Links to an external site. during a downturn can harm wage growth, with people who do so earning less for up to 15 years compared with people who graduated during times of prosperity. Instead of spring boarding millennials into greater responsibility and higher income potential, early roles launched many into lower-wage trajectories and career uncertainty.

remote work geriatric millennial — The Great Recession shaped millennials' experience in the workforce.

Their experience was affected "by different economic conditions and realities" from either boomers or Gen Xers, Ernie Tedeschi, a managing director and policy economist for Evercore ISI Links to an external site., previously told Insider Links to an external site.. "This has consequences for individual career prospects and affects their sense of dynamism."

It means that millennials haven't wanted their work lives to turn out quite like this. Work isn't an exclusive priority for most of them, the PwC survey found, with 71% of respondents saying it interferes with their personal lives, and a Deloitte study Links to an external site. found they value work-life balance above all other work characteristics.

In fact, millennials have been speaking up about work-life balance, Rikleen said, echoing what recruiters told The Washington Post in 2015 Links to an external site. about seeing more and more job-seekers request flexibility. These requests fell on deaf ears from a combination of millennials' cautious post-recession mindset and what one recruiter called an empathy gap between them and boomer supervisors.

The pandemic and remote work gave Gen Z leverage

It would take a pandemic and an even younger crowd to realize what millennials always wanted in the workplace.

But the era of remote work gave Gen Z the upper hand in amplifying demands for workplace autonomy, Rikleen said. She added that their lives were turned upside down during an impressionable time.

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"They had so much taken away from them in terms of access, you can go on and on with what has been lost," she said. "That reframes your thinking ... you start to think about what's important to you and how to express [that]."

And so, as the Times' Goldberg wrote, they began questioning pre-pandemic workplace norms like eight-hour shifts or lack of progressive values, much to the chagrin of the millennial managers who are used to doing things their way (just like every generation).

It's part of what Erika Rodriguez called a "slow-up" in a recent opinion piece for the Guardian Links to an external site., as she advocated for an intentional slowdown in productivity with the aim of greater separation from work. This could be taking unofficial breaks or responding to emails only on select weekdays. If that doesn't fly in a workplace, Gen Z has so far had no qualms about quitting their crappy jobs Links to an external site. in favor of a better one, leading the way in what LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky has called a "Great Reshuffle Links to an external site.."

A generational evolution

Millennials paved the way for a change in better flexibility and wellbeing at work, but Gen Z is turning it from a workplace perk to workplace norm. That's how things go with generations — whenever the youngest cohort emerges in the labor force, and in the world, they always seem more progressive than the last.

"The quest for a workplace that respects boundaries and needs is baked in generationally," Rikleen said. "That will not change. With each new generation, this will get stronger."

As Rikleen points out, boomer or Gen X employers also used to express shock about how outspoken millennials were. It only makes sense that as millennials aged into employers themselves, that they too would be taken aback by the boldness of the generation following them. "It's sort of a natural evolution," Rikleen said.

To be sure, both millennials and Gen Z are vast generations. The youngest millennials turn 25 this year Links to an external site., closer in age to Gen Z than the oldest of their generation who turns 40 Links to an external site., and unlikely to be in a managerial role. And with the oldest Gen Zer turning 24, most of the generation has yet to enter the workforce. This means, Rikleen explains, that we have to think about data on Gen Z workers as emerging data that represents patterns and trends.

Millennials may be the largest generation Links to an external site. right now, but with Gen Z set to become the most populous generation Links to an external site., they'll one day dominate a workforce that's going to look a lot different — until Generation C comes along and scares them, too. It's just how generations — and economics — work.