They Want What??? Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials

Motivation theories such as the need theories (Alderfer, 1969; Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959; Maslow, 1954; McClelland, 1961), job characteristic theories (Hackman & Oldham, 1980; Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001), and expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964) postulate that workers are motivated by their needs as well as the characteristics of the work. If they know that needs will be satisfied by accomplishing some task at work, they will be motivated to perform. Therefore, it is important that managers understand what workers want as outcomes in order to increase performance. This exercise can assist in the manager’s development in motivating direct reports.