Baby boomers care about retirement plans while millennials want pet health insurance

Differences between generations at work show up in conference rooms, communications styles and job satisfaction levels, as well as the most valued perks.

A new report from PayScale and Millennial Branding turned up many distinctions from levels of stress reported (millennials have the least) to amount of meaning found in their jobs (two-thirds of Boomers report a lot, much more than Gen X or Y). The preferred perks—those most commonly used—also diverged widely:

• Millennials: bus passes, paid overtime, and pet healthcare plans
• Generation X: 100% work from home, paid internet access at home, and paid sabbaticals
• Boomers: defined benefit retirement plans, private medical insurance, and a company car

Millennials must really love their pets because they also listed dogs at work right ahead of a company profit-sharing plan. “Their expectations of jobs are much higher—and they’re not being met,” said Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding, author of Promote Yourself and co-sponsor of the research.

One area where they all three generations agree:  The top thing they’d like to change about their job is the pay.