Well, you may be a part of the workforce of adults, but the next-gen workforce comprising of soon to be out high-school graduates have already formed solid opinions around life in the working world. A recent survey by CareerBuilder helps understand the work life beliefs and expectations of the millennials and the future workforce.

“With the next generation of workers preparing to enter the workforce, now is the time for companies to adjust their recruitment and retention strategies to guarantee the success of all workers and strengthen the bottom line,” says Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer of CareerBuilder.

“While workplace expectations can vary widely among different generations, one thing they have in common is the want to be successful in their positions. Introducing programs that promote learning and collaboration – such as mentoring – can help workers of all generations achieve that together.”

The survey outlines some key findings to enumerate expectations of the next-gen workforce:

Money matters: While the next-gen workforce believe money matters and salary is important, however 25 percent of the school students feel $50,000 a year can make them feel successful. In fact, high school students are nearly three times as likely as current workers to say they need to make $200,000 or more to feel successful (13 percent versus 5 percent).

Defining Success

The majority of both current workers (76 percent) and high school students (81 percent) define success in a career as the ability to provide a comfortable life for themselves and their families.  Both groups also agree that having a good balance between work and personal life is a defining factor in success (71 percent of current workers and 76 percent of high school students).

High school students, however, are more likely to associate success with a sense of accomplishment (78 percent, compared to 67 percent of current workers); the ability to make a positive impact on people’s lives (78 percent versus 47 percent of current workers) and making a lot of money (53 percent versus 33 percent of current workers).

The gap grows even wider when it comes to a loftier goal: High school students were more than twice as likely as current workers to define success as “making a mark on this world.”

See: Four emerging trends in strategic workforce planning

Factors to consider for HR managers and businesses for creating an ideal work environment for the future are:

1. Work attire: Most high school students and current workforce agree on common grounds when it comes to workplace attire – they would like to dress casually at work. However age groups in 45 to 54 years are not completely in agreement with this change.
2. Promotions: When it comes to promotion, high school grads display more optimism than currently working professionals. Most believe one should be promoted every two to three years in the current job.
3. Mobile usage at work: Most high-school students comprising of next-gen workforce and the current lot of workers believe it is okay to check one’s mobile device at work to connect with family in case of emergency.
4. Job Hopping: While employers expect younger workers to job hop more frequently, only 16 percent of high school students believe one should only stay in a job for a year or two before moving on to better things
5. Career Expectations: Workers across all generations seem to have similar perspectives on when it comes to switching companies. Nearly 1 in 3 high school students (32 percent) expect that they will work for 10 or more companies in their careers, similar to 28 percent of workers who say the same.
6. Meeting etiquette: The next-gen workforce may seem as if they are constantly on their mobile devices, but only 13 percent of high school students agree that it is it is okay to check one’s mobile device during a work meeting, versus 21 percent of current workers.
7. Flexible working hours: It may come as a surprise that high school students (25 percent) were less likely than current workers (33 percent) to say it shouldn’t matter what time you arrive to work as long as you get your work done. Workers ages 55 and older were the least likely to say arrival time doesn’t matter (23 percent).

Also read: How to Develop and Retain a High-Performing Workforce

Image credit: flickr.com