Generation Z's leadership preferences : A Quantitative Study on Leadership Preferences and Their Importance for Work Engagement

Generation Z currently constitutes the largest group of newly established individuals in the labor market and, as the youngest working generation, they bring new expectations, values and preferences with them.There are currently four active generations in the labor market, these generations are Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z.There are differing opinions on whether these generations and the differences between them pose a problem for today's employers or not.One side of the discussion argues that there are strong generational differences in leadership preferences, while the other side argues that differences in preferences cannot be attributed to generational differences.Based on LMX-theory, this study examines what preferences exist for leadership and whether these differ between Generation Z, which is of primary interest, and older generations.The study also investigates whether there is a correlation between employees' work engagement and the extent to which their preferences are fulfilled.This is examined based on the following research questions:1. Do preferences differ between those belonging to Generation Z and those belonging to older generations in relation to LMX-theory? 2. Is there a correlation between employees' work engagement and the extent to which their leadership preferences are fulfilled?The study is conducted with a deductive approach and a quantitative research method in the form of an online survey.The empirical data consists of questionnaire responses from 140 respondents, which are analyzed in relation to previous research.The study's results show that there are no tendencies toward generational differences in leadership preferences related to LMX-theory.However the results indicate a statistically significant correlation between work engagement and the extent to which preferences are fulfilled, where high work engagement correlates with the perception that the current leader acts in accordance with expressed preferences.