According to a recent survey, the priorities of those working in the automotive aftermarket vary widely by generation.
The Defining Culture Survey shed light on what each generation in the auto care sector prioritizes, what they want to see in the work environment and how they view their peers.
The study was conducted by the Modern Industry Expertise (MiX) Council. It’s a group of industry leaders dedicated to working with the future generation of automotive aftermarket professionals. It was designed to find out how different generations in the industry view the workplace and asked how they view rewards and recognition, diversity and inclusion, technology and more.
Baby Boomers place the highest value on rewards and recognition, and by a wide margin. Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents picked this as their top category, with just 10 per cent of Millennials, 11 per cent of Gen Xers and 4 per cent of Gen Z agreeing.
But Gen Z did put collaboration and teamwork as their top pick (29 per cent) with one in five Gen Xers and 19 per cent of Boomers choosing it. Only 15 per cent of Millennials agreed.
There’s more to come! Stay tuned for a podcast episode dedicated to this topic with Jeff O’Hara, chair of the MiX Council
The Millennials’ top choice was a supportive environment (23 per cent) but even that was lower Gen X (30 per cent) which also picked this as their top category. Even though 19 per cent of Gen Zers picked this category, it was the second highest for them.
But Where Millennials came out ahead of everyone was in the growth and innovation category, though just 13 per cent chose this one. They were followed by Gen Z (10 per cent) and Boomers (5 per cent) No Gen Xers picked this.
Gen Xers were tops for flexibility and adaptability (20 per cent). While 15 per cent of Millennials and 6 per cenf of Gen Zers agreed, no Boomer did at all.
Comments
When asked to comment about the impact other generations have on the workplace, there weren’t many compliments, if any, to go around.
For example, one Boomer comment blasted younger generations’ worth ethic, saying the older cohort is better.
“Seems like younger workers don’t want to get their hands dirty and only want a paycheque,” one Boomer wrote.
Something similar was noted by Gen X. “Younger generation wants the reward but [not] willing to put in the risk and time needed for overall success,” one commented.
Another Gen X noted that hiring bas become difficult because “some younger generations have different thoughts on long-term careers.”
For Millennials, they called out the older generation for being stuck in their ways. It was bought up multiple times that older workers cling to a “things are done this way because this is how we’ve always done it” mentality.
For Gen Z, they noted the need to move towards a different workplace environment. “Getting back to employee-centric is what upcoming generations are trying to do,” one commented.
While another Gen Zer appreciated the in-person work experience, they noted that “Millennials have streamlined the workplace with a heavy focus on technology making work faster and more efficient.”
