Gen Y workers say workplace benefits have taken on a more important role in choosing - and sticking with - an employer.

According to the Fidelity Generation Y study released this week, 62 percent say the quality of benefits packages influences their choice of employer with 64 percent saying it also impacts their job loyalty.

Younger Americans ranging from age 22 to 33 attribute a more conservative generational attitude to the economic crisis, and this is reflected in not only their financial decisions, but also their employment choices. These younger professionals show a reluctance to "job hop" with one in four indicating they're going to remain with their employer until retirement, up from 14 percent in early 2008.

What's more, four in ten believe that the value of the benefits they receive should be tied to their workplace performance. Nearly half (49 percent) describe the current benefits approach as "a one-size-fits-all system where everyone gets the same package."

Three out of four Gen Y workers also believes they are secure in their jobs, however, more than 70 percent are very concerned about their finances and have "set the goal of daily money management and budgeting as their biggest focus," according to Fidelity's study.

"The change in the mindset of young workers has been remarkable," said Brad Kimler, executive vice president of Fidelity's Consulting Services business in a released statement. "Their attitudes and views toward their employer and finances are now more conservative and reflective of their parents' generation, yet this generation will be faced with different challenges including higher debt, greater responsibility for costs associated with benefits and less access to traditional pensions."

Fidelity's study of more than 1,000 Gen Y workers is a follow-up to research conducted in 2008.

Which benefits are a "must have" for Gen Y workers?

Health insurance - 82 percent
Paid vacation time - 68 percent
Access to a retirement savings plan - 57 percent

Instant Insights /

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