HOW DIFFERENTLY do Generation Y employees view the first economic slump of their lives, compared with their older Generation X colleagues who have been through this all before?

Not by much, according to a survey undertaken by executive recruitment group HRM.

The survey of 578 executives across 10 different professions found that both were likely to be more concerned by the lack of job choice than job security.

However, younger colleagues – those born after 1975 – still expect to be promoted after just one year in a job where their older colleagues consider two years a more reasonable period in which to expect a promotion.

Despite the slowdown, employees, regardless of age, said they were most likely to leave an organisation if they were bored, rather than if overworked.

One of the starkest differences between the cohorts was on the issue of adaptability to change.Generation Y have a much more jaundiced view of Generation X workers’ flexibility than their elder colleagues.