Episode: 799

Episode Title: Would You Rather…

When you’re rewarded at work, would you rather get a bonus or more vacation days? Let’s talk about it, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 799 show:

Thanks for joining me on The Perna Syndicate today! If you had a choice about how you were rewarded at work, would you rather: A), get a bonus or B), get more paid time off?

If you said A, you’re with the majority of older-gen workers. If you said more paid time off, you’re closer to the Gen Z perspective. At least, that’s what Deloitte Digital’s recent survey would indicate. 

While Gen Z and their older-generation bosses agree on the need for a reward and recognition structure to celebrate those who go above and beyond, we differ on what those rewards should look like. 

While Gen Z ranked time off as the preferred choice for recognition, bosses favor more traditional forms of reward, such as pay raises or bonuses.

It’s all about what your generation tends to value most. Gen Z is all about lifestyle, so longer breaks from work could give them the freedom to pursue their personal interests and hobbies more often. For older generations who often live to work rather than work to live, more time off would be less meaningful than money in the bank. 

Neither reward is wrong, but it makes sense to reward people in the way that is most valuable to them. And to find out what that is, all we need to do is ask.

Next time on The Perna Syndicate, we’ll talk more about the dichotomy of “work to live or live to work” and how much Gen Z sees their profession as part of their personal identity. Thanks for tuning in!