Work Martyrdom by the Numbers
The statistics in the GfK and Alamo surveys show the stronger work martyr tendencies among Millenials.
Who Are Work Martyrs
• 43% of Millennials identify as work martyrs, compared to 29% of all survey participants
• 52% of work martyrs are female
• 55% of work martyrs are married, compared to 62% overall
Work Life
• 48% of Millennials want to be seen as a work martyr by their supervisor
• 39% of Generation X agree
• 32% of Baby Boomers agree
• 35% percent of Millennials believe it is good to be seen as a work martyr by colleagues
• 26% of Generation X agree
• 20% of Baby Boomers agree
It is interesting to note here that 86% state that it is a bad thing to be seen as a work martyr by their family.
Vacation Days
Here’s where we get to the source of the “vacation problem” created by word martyrs:
• 30% of Millennials call their supervisor the most powerful influence over their time off while just 20% cite their family and 13% cite their health
• 25% of Baby Boomers cited their family as the most powerful influence, followed by 21% citing health and just 20% citing their supervisor
• 24% of Millennials either forfeited days or do not even know if they forfeited days last year
• 19% percent of Generation X stated the same
• 17% percent of Baby Boomers stated the same
• 37% of Millenials earn 10 vacation days or less
• 20% of Generation X stated the same
• 18% of Baby Boomers stated the same
Not only do Millenials feel more pressure from their supervisors and forfeit more vacation days than older generations, they also earn fewer days on average. Much of the latter can be put down to their relative youth and level of experience, so the number of available vacation days is likely to rise, but the question of how many of those days the majority will take will remain a big question mark.