Resources

Gen Y Wants to See a Green Workplace

June 2010

A rather long survey report just came out from Johnson Controls and Haworth: Generation Y and the Workplace: Annual Report 2010.

It discusses the unique perspectives of the workplace by generation. Now a survey like this, sorting through generalizations by age group, is nothing new, but some of the questions asked are. Some of the more interesting findings about Gen Y (now 26 to 35 years old) and their feelings about sustinability are the following:

  • 98% aspire to work in a greener office
  • 67% want their workplace to be environmentally friendly
  • 70% want to have recycling bins
  • 47% want solar panels on site

With regard to sustainability, this study claims that those in Gen Y actually care slightly more concerned about a green workplace than the following generation, (Gen Z). This makes sense to me as Gen Yers are now in the workforce and are concious of the impact of business and government on the environment. I can only assume that Generation Z will feel just as strongly once they graduate from college and get their first dose of how things really work. And given Gen Z's parents have had some serious economic struggles, their likely more frugal behavior may just cause the cultural shift we need to reduce our addiction to consumption and take the next step to an evironmentally-friendly economy.

Click here to download the report (7.6MB).

Source: www.johnsoncontrols.com