Creating Suitable Workplace for Generation Y Employees Report

This report analyzes the factors influencing Generation Y employees' motivation, values, and expectations in the workplace. It investigates how to create a suitable work environment by considering factors such as workplace and work time flexibility, mentoring, appreciation, job satisfaction, and employee retention. The research utilizes an exploratory design, employing a qualitative survey to gather insights from university students. The report explores the problems faced by Generation Y employees, including the lack of workplace flexibility and remote work opportunities, and proposes solutions like reverse mentoring and fostering a culture of recognition and appreciation. The study emphasizes the importance of job satisfaction and fun work environments for retaining Generation Y employees. The research also outlines the research design, variables, and measures used, including the application of quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods and Rokeach scale to answer the research questions about creating a suitable and cost-effective workplace.

Running head: REVIEWING RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Creating Suitable Workplace for Generation Y Employees
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Analyzing the business decision or problem...................................................................................2
Research questions...........................................................................................................................4
Overall Research Design – Evaluating Options..............................................................................5
Key Variables and Measures...........................................................................................................7
Sample Requirements and Sampling Options...............................................................................10
Ethical issues.................................................................................................................................12
Scheduling of research activities...................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................15

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Analyzing the business decision or problem
This research is conducted with the aim of understanding the motivation, values and
expectations that generation Y have from their employers and at workplace. Generation y is also
termed as the millennial generation that comprises up to 80 million people born between 1950’s
to 2000’s. Studies have been conducted previously for understanding the strengths,
characteristics and weakness of Generation Y workforce. Problem in terms of motivation and
retaining the Generation Y workers have been identified in the business report. Employees are
the key and one of the significant internal stakeholders that helps the business organizations
achieve organizational goals and objectives and carves the path of success (Kultalahti & Viitala,
2015). Therefore, regardless of the business sector, it is necessary for the business organizations
to motivate and retain the employees. However, motivating and retaining employees are
extremely challenging and imposes severe disadvantages for the business organizations.
Previously conducted literatures have been analyzed for understanding how suitable
working environment can be created for Generation Y employees by ensuring cost minimization
and productivity maximization. From the previous literatures, it can be inferred that both
employee motivation and retention has been an issue because the business organizations failed to
understand the needs of Generation Y employees such as workplace and work time flexibility,
remotely working and appropriate recognition and mentoring. According to Rani and Samuel
(2016), generation Y employees endorse and prefer values such as flexibility and freedom with
the working hours. Unlike the employees of the previous generation, Generation Y employees
feel the ability to access technology is an advantage for them. This is because using technology
allows the Generation Y employees to save and reduce time wastage by getting rid of

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Suitable workplace for generation Y employees
Issues in creating suitable workplace
Lack of workplace flexibility
Less opportunities of working remotely
Lack of workplace and work time flexibility resulting in job dissatisfaction
insignificant and face-to-face interaction. Generation Y feels that suitable workplace can be
established by ensuring workplace flexibility, as this will be cost-efficient and led to increased
productivity. This is because as Generation Y employees have access to technology they can
work irrespective of time and place that will led to increased productivity at minimal cost
expenditure.
Problems Related with Workplace that impacts the Generation Y people
The problem faced by most of the people belonging to the Generation Y is that they do
not have a suitable place of work environment to work in. This problem arises because of the
changing nature of the people of the contemporary times. Some of the major problems faced by
the Generation Y people are that of work place flexibility, less opportunities of working
remotely. These two leads to the creation of job dissatisfaction with impacts the performance
level of these people in the workplace.

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However, as argued by Bejtkovsky (2016), it is not workplace and work time flexibility
that Generation Y feels leads to the development of suitable workplace. Additionally, Generation
Y feels that recognition and mentoring are also equally important for creating suitable working
environment for them. Generation Y expects to work in an environment that recognizes and
appreciates the effort put in by them. In the literature by Clark (2017), it has been mentioned that
effective mentoring process and regular feedback regarding their performance has resulted in
higher level of employee engagement. However, this statement is further counter argued by
Walden, Jung and Westerman (2017) by stating that mentoring can be used at both ends of the
relationships. As known from the information provided that Generation Y employees are
technological friendly that can be used as an advantage and facilitating the process of reverse
mentoring. Generation Y employees feel that using reverse mentoring process will provide an
opportunity for the junior employees to teach technological skills for senior employees and in
turn the senior employees can guide the junior ones with career paths and processes. Therefore,
the development of harmonious work relationships between the senior employees and the
Generation Y employees will help in creating suitable workplace.
Apart from the aforementioned two factors of creating a suitable workplace for the
Generation Y employees, ensuring job satisfaction is necessary for retaining them successfully.
As mentioned by Anderson and Buchko (2015), job satisfaction is required and significant for all
employees in all business sectors. However, as argued by Baker Rosa and Hastings (2018), it has
been seen that Generation Y employees put in more effort and emphasis on job satisfaction. The
more closely the job matches to what Generation Y finds desirable, the more likely they are to
stay. Factors such as stress related to job and workplace tension compromises with the level of
job satisfaction. This is supported by Naim and Lenka (2017) that states fun and frolic working

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environment has a positive impact on employee job satisfaction. Therefore, organizing fun
events and parties such as Christmas parties and team building events have a positive impact on
the Generation Y employees thereby, ensuring loyalty from them. Thus, it can be inferred that
this is another factor according to Generation Y employees that helps in creating suitable
workplace.
As a consequence, this research aims to understand the need for creating a suitable work
environment for the people belonging to the Generation Y so that they are satisfied in their work
place and contribute higher to the production level.
Research questions
Creating a workplace suitable for Generation Y, while maintaining costs and increasing
productivity.
1. What creates a suitable workplace for generation Y (flexible hours, work remotely) that
increases productivity and can potentially pay less to give more freedom to the employer.
2. Does creating culture in the work place, plus and minus’s more expensive time wasting
creating a more productive environment?

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Overall Research Design – Evaluating Options
For undertaking the research, “creating suitable workplace for Generation Y employees
while maintaining costs and increasing productivity” exploratory research design will be used.
Exploratory research design is used, as it provided several advantages while undertaking the
research. Using exploratory research design allowed observing the characteristics of the
Generation Y employees in respect to preferences and values by considering the opinions and
views of 100 university students. There are various advantages of using exploratory research
design for undertaking the research “creating suitable workplace for Generation Y employees
while maintaining costs and increasing productivity.”
Using exploratory design will be beneficial because this will allow the researcher to
enhance the existing knowledge of a topic. As a result, the researcher will be able to emphasize
on the results of Generation Y only though, by first cleaning the data and ensuring all Generation
Y research participants have submitted information for the study. This information could be
utilized by other people and business people as a sample for decision making in business in
regard to hiring and guiding Generation Y employees (Kumar, 2019).
Additionally, using exploratory research design provides opportunity for answering to
questions related to the research by ensuring cost and time effectiveness successfully.
Additionally, exploratory design can be used for understanding the phrases and words significant
for the selected research topic. Similarly, using exploratory research design will be advantageous
for this research because this will facilitate analyzing Generation Y survey data to answer our
two research questions (Mackey & Gass, 2015). Qualitative survey will be beneficial because
this facilitated analyzing the subject materials with greater detail and minutely. As a result,

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previous researches based on Generation Y employees and their views about creating suitable
workplace by taking care of their needs such as workplace flexibility, mentoring, appreciation
and job satisfaction. Therefore, the human experiences, views and opinions of 100 university
students are taken into account that is investigated minutely. As a result, greater and specific in-
sights can be developed about the factors that Generation Y employees need and expect for
creating a suitable workplace while minimizing cost and increasing productivity successfully
(Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015).
Close-ended survey will be used for undertaking the research “creating a suitable
workplace for Generation Y employees while minimizing cost and increasing productivity” and
answering the research questions. Rokeach scale will be used for undertaking the research that
facilitated developing close-ended questions. Using close-ended survey questionnaire will be
beneficial because it was relatively easy to administer and collect data from 100 university
students. Additionally, using close-ended questionnaire will be developed in minimal time and
was highly cost effective. Location and time barriers were successfully mitigated that helped in
answering the two research questions developed for completing the research successfully (Flick
2015).
Both quantitative (measures of age, other numerical descriptions of response in the
survey such as a rating from 1 to 18 rating in the Rokeach Value Survey and qualitative (such as
socio-graphics, country of origin and description using words and qualitative (socio-
demographics, country of origin, description of participants’ mother and father in words) data is
collected. The excel spreadsheet has even coded qualitative responses into a scale of 1-5
(strongly disagree to strongly agree, respectively), showing the surveys’ combination of methods
in data representation (Alvesson & Skoldberg, 2017).

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Using quantitative research has offered different advantages for undertaking the research
“creating a suitable workplace for Generation Y employees while minimizing cost and increasing
productivity” and answering the research questions. Large sample size is facilitated due to the
application of quantitative data analysis technique. For instance, 100 university students have
been used for determining how suitable workplace can be created for the Generation Y
employees by taking into account factors such as job satisfaction, retention, mentoring,
recognition and workplace and time flexibility. Additionally, statistical methods can be used if
quantitative data analysis technique is used that helps in ensuring data validity and reliability. In
the research report, various statistical methods have been used for determining the views and
opinions of 100 university students for completing the undertaken research successfully (Ledford
& Gast, 2018).
Key Variables and Measures
The different types of variables include independent, dependent, mediating, moderator,
control and confounding. According to Quinlan et al., (2019), variable is a measurable
characteristics that keeps on changing from groups, person and person over time. Dependent
variable is defined as what is being measured in a research and what is being affected during an
experiment. The dependent variable is affected by the independent variable. Therefore, in a
research independent variable keeps on changing whose impact is studied on a dependent
variable. On the other hand, mediator variable causes mediation in the dependent and
independent variable thereby, explaining the relationship between the independent and the
dependent variable (Fletcher, 2017). Moderator variable affects the strengths of the relationship
of the independent and dependent variable whereas confounding variable is an external influence
on the independent and dependent variable.

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The research proposes to look at the various factors of that influence the Generation Y
people in their productive activities within their work place. Within this context, the suitable
workplace for the Generation Y employees is the independent variable that keeps on changing by
factors such as workplace and work time flexibility, mentoring, appreciation, job satisfaction and
retention whereas Generation Y is the dependent variable on which the impact of the
independent variable is studied for determining how suitable workplace can be established for
Generation Y employees (McCusker & Gunaydin, 2015).
Close-ended survey will be used that for undertaking the research “creating a suitable
workplace for Generation Y employees while minimizing cost and increasing productivity” and
answering the research questions. Close ended questions will enable the researcher to get an in-
depth view about the various issues that affect the Generation Y people in their work place. Their
responses is necessary in order to understand the research in a comprehensive manner. Rokeach
scale will be used for undertaking the research that facilitated developing close-ended questions.
Using close-ended survey questionnaire will be beneficial because it was relatively easy to
administer and collect data from 100 university students. Additionally, close-ended questionnaire
will be developed in minimal time and will be highly cost effective. Location and time barriers
were successfully mitigated that helped in answering the two research questions developed for
completing the research successfully.
1 to 18 rating in the Rokeach Value Survey will be used for undertaking the research
“creating a suitable workplace for Generation Y employees while minimizing cost and increasing
productivity” and answering the research questions. Rokeach Value Survey are set of values
classification instrument. The scale will be designed for rank-order scaling of 36 values that
includes 18 terminal and 18 instrumental values. Thus, Rokeach Value Survey is used for

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analyzing the Generation Y survey data for answering the two research questions. Selecting only
100 university students for conducting the research helped in ensuring a bias of more postve
results thereby, opposing the equal perspectives if Generation Y people did not have university
status. However, selecting university students and circulating survey to them were easy and
convenient thereby, generating relevant data (Dumay & Cai, 2015). The survey contained
questioned based on various concepts such as attitudes towards technology, ideas of
employment, value of life, ethical values, preferences and perspectives of their future and values.
Rokeach’s value survey is for one component with the purpose of representing Generation Y
people in general. The survey answers were then coded into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, with
the respective meaning of values codebook in Microsoft Word (Fox & Alldred, 2015).
Thus, it can be observed that the main variables identified are the suitability of the work
place which is the dependent variable while the independent variables are the work time
flexibility, mentoring, appreciation, job satisfaction and retention. These factors will aid the
researcher to answer the question the need for creating a suitable work environment for the
people belonging to the Generation Y so that they are satisfied in their work place and contribute
higher to the production level.

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Sample Requirements and Sampling Options
The sampling technique used for undertaking the research “creating a suitable workplace
for Generation Y employees while minimizing cost and increasing productivity” and answering
the research questions 1. What creates a suitable workplace for generation Y (flexible hours,
work remotely) that increases productivity and can potentially pay less to give more freedom to
the employer and 2. Does creating culture in the work place, plus and minus’s more expensive
time wasting creating a more productive environment? The sampling technique used for this
report is non-probability, purposive and judgmental sampling. According to Gabriel (2015), non-
probability sampling technique is defined as the sampling technique in which the researcher
selects the samples out of the selected population. As a result, all the individuals within the
selected population do not have equal chances of being selected in the data collection process.
The idea of the study is to select a typical sample size of 72 university students out of 100 born
in Generation Y within James Cook University thereby, making suitable interference upon the
different values and attitudes they experience and find important to allow for justification of our
research objectives of what Generation Y employees expect from the workplace in order to retain
and what values motivate them (King & Mackey, 2016).
The above mentioned figure is the Cochran’s formula for determining the sample size
and is considered the most ideal sample size formula given a desired level of precision, desired