Employee Experience and Agile Working: How To Improve Engagement, Job Satisfaction, and Productivity of Millennial Workforce

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Employee Experience and Agile Working: How to Improve Engagement, Job

Satisfaction, and Productivity of Millennial Workforce
Thesis · February 2021

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.21623.34726
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Employee Experience and Agile Working: How to Improve Engagement, Job
Satisfaction, and Productivity of Millennial Workforce
MASTER’S THESIS
Submitted to the
School of International Business (SiB)
of Bremen University of Applied Sciences
In Partial Fulﬁllment of the Requirements
For the Degree
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Submitted by: Shah Naoaj Ahmed

Quiddestraße 10
81735 München
Matriculation No.: 5020388
First Examiner: Dr. Mihaela Jucan

Second Examiner: Dr. Nadia Ianeva
Due Date: 05.02.2021

Dedication
I dedicate my thesis to the memory of

my beloved grandfather,
who was there at the beginning of this journey but breathed his last before the end.
… you will be missed and will always be in my prayers.
ii
Acknowledgment
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Alhamdulillah! all praise is to Allah, who has granted me the strength and the capability
to complete this humble work. I thank Allah for everything that he has blessed me with.
This thesis would not have been possible without the inspiration and support of some
wonderful individuals. My thanks and gratitude to all of them-
I owe my deepest gratitude to my first supervisor, Dr. Mihaela Jucan, for supervising me,
guiding me, and giving me unwavering support, and insight throughout this research. My
heartfelt thanks to my second supervisor, Dr. Nadia Ianeva, for supervising me and
helping me with this research.
My sincere thanks to all my professors who have taught me in this program and helped
me to increase my knowledge in their respective courses. My heartfelt gratitude also to
my program coordinators Ms. Regine Hink and Ms. Astrid Decker, and all the members
of IGC, for their support and guidance since the admission to this last step of my master’s.
I would also like to acknowledge the colleagues from my internship. It is by working with
them I got this research idea. I learned a lot from them.
Last but not the least, my deep and sincere gratitude to my parents, all the family
members, and friends for their continuous and unparalleled love, help, and support. I am
forever indebted to my parents for their time, attention, resources, and all the graceful
sacrifices they made for giving me the opportunities and experiences that have made me
who I am. I thank my late grandfather for being the biggest inspiration of my life. I am a
proud grandson of a great man.
iii
Table of Contents
Dedication .........................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgment .............................................................................................................iii
List of Figures .................................................................................................................vii
List of Tables..................................................................................................................viii
List of Abbreviations........................................................................................................ ix
Abstract ............................................................................................................................. x
Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 11
1.1. Theory of Generations .......................................................................................... 11
1.2. Significance of Millennials/Generation Y ............................................................ 15
1.2.1. Significance of Millennials in Current and Future Workforce ...................... 15
1.2.2. Significance of Attracting and Retaining Millennials for Organizations ...... 17
1.3. Employee Experience (EX) .................................................................................. 19
1.4. Agile Working Practices....................................................................................... 20
1.5. Problem Description ............................................................................................. 20
1.6. Aim of the Research ............................................................................................. 21
1.7 Objectives of the Research .................................................................................... 21
1.8. Research Question ................................................................................................ 21
1.9. Research Scope ..................................................................................................... 22
1.10. Organization of the Thesis ................................................................................. 22
Chapter 2: Literature Review .......................................................................................... 23
2.1. Chapter Overview ................................................................................................. 23
2.2. Employee Motivation ........................................................................................... 23
2.2.1. Popular Motivation Theories ......................................................................... 24
2.2.2. Rewards Management.................................................................................... 25
2.3. Millennials/ Generation Y .................................................................................... 26
2.3.1. Definition of Millennials ............................................................................... 26
2.3.2. Characteristics and Attitudes of Millennials at the Workplace ..................... 27
2.3.3. Millennials’ Motivation Factors in the Workplace ........................................ 29
2.4. Employee Experience (EX) .................................................................................. 31
2.4.1. The Concept of EX ........................................................................................ 31
2.4.2. Employee Experience Definition ................................................................... 32
2.4.3. Jacob Morgan’s Employee Experience Theory ............................................. 35
2.4.3.1. The Physical Environment ...................................................................... 35
iv
2.4.3.2. The Technological Environment ............................................................. 36
2.4.3.3. The Cultural Environment....................................................................... 37
2.5. Agile Working Practices....................................................................................... 39
2.5.1. The History of Agile ...................................................................................... 39
2.5.2: What is Agile? ............................................................................................... 41
2.5.3. Agile Mindset ................................................................................................ 42
2.5.4. Agile Methodology ........................................................................................ 44
2.5.5. Doing Agile vs Being Agile........................................................................... 44
2.5.6. Agile Way of Working (AWOW) ................................................................. 45
2.5.7. The Characteristics of Agile .......................................................................... 47
2.5.8. Advantages of Agile Working ....................................................................... 48
2.6. Job Satisfaction..................................................................................................... 50
2.7. Employee Engagement ......................................................................................... 50
2.8. Productivity .......................................................................................................... 51
2.9. Impact of EX on Job Satisfaction, Engagement, and Productivity ...................... 52
2.10. Conclusion of Literature Review........................................................................ 53
Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................. 54
3.2. Research Process .................................................................................................. 54
3.3. Research Philosophy ............................................................................................ 55
3.4. Research Method .................................................................................................. 56
3.5. Research Design ................................................................................................... 56
3.6. Pilot Study ............................................................................................................ 57
3.7. Structure of the Questionnaire .............................................................................. 57
3.8. Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 59
3.9. Tools for the Analysis .......................................................................................... 60
3.10. Measures ............................................................................................................. 60
3.11. Significance of the Research .............................................................................. 60
Chapter 4: Results and Discussion .................................................................................. 61
4.2. Results .................................................................................................................. 61
4.2.1. Demographic Details of the Participants ....................................................... 61
4.2.1.1. Gender of the Participants ....................................................................... 61
4.2.1.2. Age of the Participants ............................................................................ 62
v
4.2.1.3. Participants’ Highest Level of Education ............................................... 62
4.2.1.4. Professional Experience of Participants .................................................. 62
4.2.2. Descriptive Statistics: Employee Experience Preferences ............................. 63
4.2.2.1. According to All the Participants ............................................................ 63
4.2.2.2. According to Gender ............................................................................... 65
4.2.2.3. According to Different Age Brackets ..................................................... 67
4.2.3. Descriptive Statistics: Perspective Change Before and After COVID-19 ..... 69
4.2.4. Descriptive Statistics: Agile Practices and Millennials’ Working Behavior . 71
4.2.5. Reliability of the Scale ................................................................................... 76
4.2.6. Test of Validity .............................................................................................. 76
4.3. Discussion ............................................................................................................ 78
4.3.1. Demographic Details of Generation Y Participants ...................................... 79
4.3.2. Employee Experiences Preferred by Millennials........................................... 80
4.3.3. Change of Perspective of Millennials Before and After COVID-19 ............. 82
4.3.4. Agile Working Practices and Millennials’ Working Behavior ...................... 83
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation ................................................................. 84
5.1. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 84
5.2. Limitations of the Research .................................................................................. 86
5.3. Recommendations for the Organizations ............................................................. 86
5.4. Suggestions for Future Research .......................................................................... 87
References ....................................................................................................................... 88
Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 104
Questionnaire for the Research Survey ..................................................................... 104
Declaration of Honor..................................................................................................... 107
vi
List of Figures
Figure 1-1: An overview of the working generations
Figure 1-2: Labor force share, by age group, 1999, 2009, 2019, and projected 2029
Figure 1-3: Five Generations in the workplace
Figure 1-4: Millennials became the largest generation in the labor force in 2016
Figure 1-5: Millennials are the least engaged generation at work
Figure 2-1: Stages and functions of the employee life cycle
Figure 2-2: The Employee Experience Equation
Figure 2-3: The Irresistible Organization
Figure 2-4: The Employee Experience Variables
Figure 2-5: Manifesto for Agile Software Development and the principles behind it
Figure 2-6: Comparing Software Development Paradigms: 2013
Figure 2-7: The Agile Onion
Figure 2-8: Ahmed Sidky’s definition of Agile
Figure 2-9: Characteristics of Fixed and Agile mindset
Figure 2-10: EX is positively associated with work performance
Figure 3-1: Research process
Figure 4-1: Gender of the participants
Figure 4-2: Age brackets of millennials
Figure 4-3: Educational qualification of the participants
Figure 4-4: Professional experience of the participants
vii
List of Tables
Table 4-1: Employee experience preferences according to all the participants
Table 4-2: Employee experience preferences according to gender
Table 4-3: Employee experience preferences according to different age brackets
Table 4-4: Perspective before and after COVID-19 according to all the participants
Table 4-5: Perspective before and after COVID-19 according to gender
Table 4-6: Perspective before and after COVID-19 according to different age brackets
Table 4-7: Agile practices and millennials’ working behavior according to all the
participants
Table 4-8: Agile practices and millennials’ working behavior according to gender
Table 4-9: Agile practices and millennials’ working behavior according to different age
brackets
Table 4-10: Reliability of the scale
Table 4-11: KMO and Bartlett’s Test
viii
List of Abbreviations
AWOW Agile Way of Working
BT British Telecom
EX Employee Experience
Gen-X Generation X
Gen-Y Generation Y
Gen-Z Generation Z
WHO World Health Organization
ix
Abstract
Studies have shown that engaged workers are usually healthier and happier, stay longer
with the organization, and are more productive. That’s why engagement has become one
of the main focus areas for organizations and over the years, organizations have been
spending tons of money on engagement improving initiatives to make employees more
engaged. Even after spending all that money, organizations’ scores on engagement
surveys remain consistently low. Especially in the case of the millennial employees, who
are the biggest generation of the current workforce and have very different priorities and
perceptions regarding their career, in comparison to other generations.
Thus, the concept of Employee Experience (EX) emerged and entered the scene. EX is
the sum of all the experiences that an employee comes to have during their employment
life cycle. It is believed to have the potential to drastically improve employee engagement.
Therefore, all kinds of researches are being done all over the world on organizational EX.
However, despite being the biggest generation in the current workforce with the
probability of reaching 75% of the total workforce in near future, there haven’t been many
researches focused only on millennials’ employee experience preferences.
Therefore, our study attempts to identify the specific experiences that millennials would
like to have in their workplace and implementation of which would increase their
engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity. To achieve this, we have discussed in our
study, the various aspects and theories of employee motivation and rewards in the context
of millennials. This includes McGregor’s X and Y theory, Herzberg’s Two Factor
Theory, and Vroom’s Expectancy Theory. We have also looked into the famous Agile
way of working (AWOW) in our research as a potential EX for millennials. Furthermore,
we have also analyzed how much the COVID-19 crisis has affected millennials’
perception of office and work-life.
This research is carried out as a generational study concerning the working behaviors and
preferences of Generation Y individuals exclusively. The findings of which can
significantly facilitate an organization while dealing with the employees from the
millennial generation. Especially while recruiting, attracting, engaging, and retaining
them.
Keywords: Generation Y, Millennials, Employee Experience, Agile, Agile Working,

Employee Engagement, Job satisfaction, Job performance, Productivity, COVID-19.
x
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1. Theory of Generations

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word Generation means “all the people about
the same age within a society or a particular family”. It is very commonly used to define
the people born in a similar time period, share similar historical and social life events
during the growth phase (mostly childhood and adolescence) of their lives, and are
impacted by common forces (i.e. peers, parents, media, technology, culture, etc.) that
form shared values and traits among them and differentiate them from people who grew
up at different times (Twenge et al., 2010). The effects of these experiences and life events
stay relatively stable over their lives and influence their feelings toward the organization,
authority, and work values and distinguish the generations from one another (Jurkiewicz
& Brown, 1998). In their research on the different value sets of the generations, Smola
and Sutton (2002) illustrated the existence of generational differences. Their findings
strongly indicate that generational experiences influence work values more than age and
maturity. These differences have influenced our society to label each generation
differently, which separates the cohorts from one another (Twenge et al., 2010).
Based on their years of birth, the most recent five generations are- Traditionalist/
Maturists (Pre–1945), Baby Boomers (1945–1960), Generation X (1961–1980),
Generation Y (1981–1995), and Generation Z (born after 1995) (Redmond, 2013). A
detailed overview of these generations is shown in Figure 1.1. This chain of generations
goes on and in the course of time, older generations get replaced by the younger
generations with their own distinctive ideas and characteristics (Berkup, 2014). Some
common traits and features of these generations are as follows:
The Traditionalists/ Maturists (Pre-1945)

The Traditionalists/ Maturists/ Silent Generation/Veterans were deeply affected by the
Great Depression and the World Wars and saw hardships in their lives. They preferred to
live with modesty, steady employment was a big priority as it ensured safety and security.
Work ethics such as ‘working hard’, ‘work first pleasure next’ and ‘working to live’ was
part of their practice. They also considered serving a single organization for a lifetime as
an exemplary practice (Weingarten, 2009). In a survey when they were asked which age
cohort was most productive, 92% of Maturists, 78% of Boomers, and 63% of Generation
X said that Maturists were the most productive (Smith & Clurman, 1997).
11
The Baby Boomers (1945-1960)
The baby boomers are the demographic cohort immediately after the Traditionalists and
immediately before Generation X (Gen-X). The baby boomer generation was born
immediately after the end of World War II. During that time, the birth rates spiked, and
more babies (about 1 billion) were born in this generation than any other previous
generations. Thus, the name ‘baby boomers’ was given to this generation. Because of the
increased population, they saw a great deal of competition which made this generation
highly competitive. The mottos of this generation were ‘living to work’ and ‘work hard
for reaching the top’. Being loyal to one organization until the end was seen as a
successful career. Achieving personal goals while working as a team was a priority for
this generation. The members of this generation were individualists and were called the
“Me Generation”. They were also considered unable to balance family and work-life,
which gave them the label ‘workaholics’ (Berkup, 2014).
Figure 1-1: An overview of the working generations

(Source: Redmond, 2013)
Generation X (1961-1980)
Most of Gen-X are the children of baby boomers who were also known as the “workaholic
generation”. A record number of women from the baby boomer generation participated
in business activities which made Generation X members to be called “Latchkey Child”
which meant the child whose parents work. Gen-X is considered as a transitional
generation as they were in between older tradition-loving generations and the new
12
technology-loving generations. Unlike their parent generation, Generation X are less
competitive, global thinkers, likes the balance between family and work, and their motto
became ‘work to live’ instead of their parent’s motto ‘live to work’ (Berkup, 2014).
Generation X saw a period of financial uncertainty and unemployment which forced them
to become the only generation that made less money from their previous generations. But
that also made them independent, creative, innovators, and not very loyal or dependent
on their employers. They preferred questioning the authority, learned to tolerate diversity,
became highly self-reliant, and very much open to change (Tolbize, 2008). They also
liked to create a suitable work environment according to their needs when not provided
by the employers (Berk, 2013). Though individualistic, they might still like teamwork
more than the baby boomers do (Karp et al., 2002).
Generation Y/Millennials (1981-1995)

This generation is the demographic cohort preceding Generation Z and following
Generation X (Jain & Pant, 2012). A fair variety of labels were also given to this
generation over the course of time. Such as Generation Y also known as Gen-Y,
Generation Next, Echo Boomers, millennials, Nexters, Digital Generation, Generation
www, Net Generation, and Trophy Kids. Different characters of this generation are
represented by each of these labels. Among them, the two most popular interchangeably
used labels are millennials and Generation Y. The authors, Howe and Strauss, in their
book named “Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069”, first
mentioned the term millennials, to identify the generation graduating after the year 2000.
The other term, Generation Y, is used to address the fact that they are the immediate
generation after Generation X. This generation grew up seeing very rapid technological
innovations such as the personal computer, the smartphone and everyday use of the
Internet with Google, YouTube, and various social platforms. Therefore, adaptation to
modern technologies came very naturally to them, and the attachment to technology
became a part of their identity. The population of Gen-Y is three times the size of Gen-X
(Schrode & Warren, 2005).
According to Berkup (2014), different events have considerably influenced this

generation’s unique personality as well. Such as globalization, the rapid advancement of
information and communication technology, the death of Princess Diana, terrorist attacks
such as September 11, dissolution of the Soviet Union, natural disasters, stand against
racism, the war in the Middle East, various political scandals, and digital innovations.
Living together with the technology, millennials are very much used to have everything
13
done instantaneously, which made them a bit impatient but very much tolerant of fast
changes. They can do all sorts of tasks very quickly. As they were born into a globalized
world, Gen-Y individuals are able to think more globally than any of their predecessors.
They have more respect for different cultural values, races, sexes, sexual choices, and
ethnic origins. Gen-Y has certain traits similar to Gen-X. Similar to Gen-X, they like
collective actions and teamwork, are self-reliant, independent, optimistic, adaptable to
change, embrace diversity, desire a balanced life, seek flexibility, and are a very highly
educated generation (Tolbize, 2008). According to Adiguzel et al. (2014), Gen-Y, similar
to Gen-X, believes that the workplace creates different opportunities for learning and
development, believes in mentorship at work, likes receiving constant feedbacks, and
prefers to perform the task on their own wishes while being coached or trained.
Generation Z (born after 1995)

Generation Z (Gen-Z) is the youngest generation in the workforce and the immediate
generation after Generation Y. They are commonly called as Digital Natives, Children of
Internet, iGen, Digital Generation, .com Generation, Media Generation, Instant Online,
(Levickaite, 2010), post-millennial (Laudert, 2018), Centennials, Plurals, Founders
(Nichols & Wright, 2018), etc. The term Digital Natives refers to the fact that unlike the
previous generations, the members of Generation Z were born in the technology era rather
than becoming habituated to it. Since they were babies, they were well equipped with
digital devices and various communication media (e.g. social media) which is now an
important part of their life. Barkup (2014) says, Gen-Z has a good command of the
Internet technology and could as well be called tech addicts, as they like to be online 24/7,
socialize on the Internet, play Internet-based games, get most of the information from the
Internet and continuously share. Members of this generation can get into contact and start
sharing information within seconds with anyone in any place in the world, and therefore
they are believed to be the most connected generation ever born. Barkup (2014) also
mentions that this generation, the same as Gen-Y, is impatient and wants everything to
happen quickly and instantly. On the other hand, they have better coordination of motor
skill of hand, able to be interested and handle several topics simultaneously, show more
creativity, excel in multitasking, and prefer a workplace that is personalized and
unconventional. As this generation is still young and not fully in the workforce yet, it is
hard to predict how their work-life will be in the future. But it is fairly obvious that
technology will be a major part of it.
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1.2. Significance of Millennials/Generation Y
1.2.1. Significance of Millennials in Current and Future Workforce

All generations have their own preferences, behaviors, and ideas that are unique to only
that generation. Which they bring along to their workplace and make the workplace and
the way of working more diverse (Goh & Lee, 2018). According to the Collins Dictionary,
“The workforce is the total number of people in a country or region who are physically
able to do a job and are available for work” or “The workforce is the total number of
people who are employed by a particular company”. There have always been multiple
generations working in companies at the same time. But for the first time in modern
human history, five generations are seen to be working side by side under the same roof:
Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen-X, Gen-Y, and Gen-Z (Meister & Willyerd, 2009;
Newman, 2017). This is mostly because older generations are pushing their retirement
further and working in their 60s, 70s, even in their 80s thanks to modern health care and
medical science, which is allowing people to live healthier than ever before (Meister &
Willyerd, 2009). In an employment projection, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020)
showed that 23.4% of the total workforce were aged above 55 years in 2019, and by 2029
it will be more than 25% (Figure 1-2).
Figure 1-2: Labor force share, by age group, 1999, 2009, 2019, and projected 2029
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020)
As the older two generations (Traditionalists and Baby Boomers) are on their way to
retirement and the position is slowly being taken over by the new generations (millennials
and Generation Z), the share of these two new generations in the total labor force is rising
very fast. Some even claim millennials will comprise three quarters (approximately 75%)
of the global workforce by 2025 (EY, 2015; PWC, 2012; Deloitte, 2014; Morgan, 2014).
However, there are strong points against this claim as well (Lettink, 2019). According to
15
the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projection report, it was
predicted that by 2015 millennials will be the majority of the workforce and overtake the
baby boomers (Figure 1-3) (Meister & Willyerd, 2009).
Figure 1-3: Five Generations in the workplace

(Source: Meister & Willyerd, 2009)
This projection of 2009 is very much visible in the current population. According to the
analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data of 2017 by Pew Research Center, 35% (around 56
million) of the American labor force were millennials. Which was at the time more than
one-third of the total labor force (Figure 1-4) (Fry, 2018).
Figure 1-4: Millennials became the largest generation in the labor force in 2016
(Source: Fry, 2018)
16
After observing these facts and the generational trends, it is clear that millennials
currently hold and will keep on holding a significant percentage of the total labor force
in the future. The way of working will also be influenced significantly by the new
generations’ mindset and there will be a major shift in work culture, environment, and
how people do their jobs (Solnet et al. 2016; Rothman, 2016; Nichols & Wright, 2018).
It will be a drastic change in the direction of communication and information technology
advancement in comparison to older generations (Goh & Lee, 2018). The emergence of
many convenient digital technologies such as smartphones, media players, short
messaging, the world wide web, PDAs, and iPads has already epidemically altered the
functionality of the workplace (Kapil and Roy, 2014).
1.2.2. Significance of Attracting and Retaining Millennials for Organizations

It is a very well-known fact that employee engagement has a very positive impact on a
company’s productivity and profitability. According to Gallup research, highly engaged
teams are 22% more profitable, 21% more productive, and outperform their competitors
(Sorenson, 2013). According to research from the Harvard Business Review (2013), a
survey of 568 companies with 500 or more employees found that “71% of respondents
rank employee engagement as very important to achieving overall organizational
success” and “they recognize that a highly engaged workforce can increase innovation,
productivity, and bottom-line performance while reducing costs related to hiring and
retention in highly competitive talent markets”. Therefore, over the years, organizations
have been taking lots of engagement boosting initiatives and spending tons of money to
make employees more engaged. Even after all that effort and spending all that money,
scores of the organization’s engagement surveys remain consistently low. Gallup’s 2017
“State of the Global Workplace” report, where they surveyed 155 country workforces,
showed that only 13% (one in eight workers) of the total employees were “highly
engaged” and 26 percent were “actively disengaged”. This means for every engaged
employee there are two actively disengaged employees in an organization. These numbers
show how much ineffective the engagement initiatives taken in the organizations are.
These figures are even worse for the millennial workforce. In the 2016 Gallup How
Millennials Want to Work and Live report, it was shown that 55% of millennials were
‘not engaged’ and another 16% were ‘Actively Disengaged’ in the workplace. Which
makes them the least engaged generation among all the generations at the workplace
(Figure 1-5). This disengagement costs $284 to $469 billion annually in lost productivity
in the U.S. economy alone.
17
Figure 1-5: Millennials are the least engaged generation at work
(Source: Gallup, 2016)
Millennials are not the same as the previous generations who were happy with a 9 to 5
job and a paycheck at the end of the month which allowed them to afford a comfortable
life. Millennials do not want to just “get by”, they want to contribute and feel connected
to their job and workplace. Their ultimate goal is to find a job that fuels their sense of
purpose and allows them to lead a life “well-lived”. They want to find work that matches
their passion and do not even care to leave the job if they are not getting what they want.
As they do not fear getting unemployed, they keep on looking for a job that feels
worthwhile and well connected to their passion. This trait gave them the label “Job
Hoppers”. When they see a better opportunity, they take it without a second thought
(Gallup, 2016). Young people, these days, do not enter an organization with the purpose
of providing a lifetime service or to get any assured retirement benefits. This is evident
from the increased turnover rates in organizations all around the world. This high rate of
turnover is a strong indicator that employees are not satisfied with the current job and
confident enough to switch it (Maurer, 2016). Millennials are considered to be the
consumers of the workplace, and retaining them is very challenging (Gallup, 2016).
The investment an organization makes during an employee’s tenure is substantial, and

the transfer of jobs is not at all a positive thing for employers. A study from the Center
for American Progress (2012) has found that the average cost of a highly skilled employee
leaving the company equals 213% of that person’s annual salary (Boushey & Glynn,
2012). Josh Bersin (2013) believes that “the total cost of losing an employee can range
from tens of thousands of dollars to 1.5-2X annual salary” and the total cost would be this
18
cost plus the cost of hiring and onboarding a new person, lost productivity of the existing
person, lost engagement, training costs and last but not least the cultural costs. Work
Institute’s 2017 Retention Report stated that turnover alone could cost organizations 33
percent of an employee’s annual salary. If applied to the U.S. median employee salary of
$45,000, the average cost of turnover would be $15,000 per person (Work Institute,
2017). Thus, holding on to the employees after their initial recruitment and training is
both challenging and rewarding at the same time for an organization. Moreover, these
financial losses and lack of manpower created by leaving employees lead to overtime for
existing employees (Thomas & Mitchell, 1994). Which can be very frustrating and can
critically affect employee motivation. Therefore, proactive approaches are needed to be
taken by the organizations to retain the new generation employees, approaches such as
adopting Agile practices and new ways of working in the workplace and redesigning the
entire employee experience (EX) (Bersin et al., 2017).
1.3. Employee Experience (EX)

EX is defined as the sum of all the different experiences that employees come to have
during the employee life cycle, which begins before entering the organization and goes
on until the very end of their employment in an organization (Plaskoff, 2017; Morgan,
2017). Employees’ interaction with the teams, managers, software, tools, and all the other
facilities made available to them at their workplace, are included in the employee
experience (Tegze, 2019). Morgan (2017) views EX as something that creates engaged
employees by concentrating on the technological, cultural, and physical design of the
organization. Plaskoff (2017) says that the entire EX needs to be thought holistically with
empathy to understand the employee’s perception. The development and modification of
experiences have to be made first by considering employee needs instead of starting with
the company needs. To put it another way, we can think of it as “Customer experience”
except here we have to put employees in place of customers. We all know how all
companies try to offer a better customer experience by designing and developing better
products or services to increase customer satisfaction. Similarly, companies are trying to
understand their employees’ expectations and needs, so that they can design and develop
experiences that can increase job satisfaction and engagement of their employees while
they are working for the company (Tegze, 2019). Which is a necessity for all the
employees, especially the new generations.
19
1.4. Agile Working Practices
As the world is becoming more globalized and new technologies are being invented, the
world is seeing new global and technology-savvy generations both at the workplace and
as customers. These generations are impatient and used to get everything done very
quickly, thanks to the internet and modern technology. They are challenging and rapidly
changing all the dynamics of doing work and delivering products (PWC, 2011). Time and
speed have now become competitive advantages, and those who can be fastest in
developing and delivering the products win the loyalty of the customers and the lion’s
share of the market. This trend has made companies around the world look for faster ways
to do their job. Thus, the Agile way of working (AWOW) emerged and entered the scene
to better meet these requirements of modern-day business.
AWOW uses Agile practices and methodologies to modify and improve the workplace,
the way people work, and the overall employee experience in an organization. It is
increasingly being adopted by organizations around the world. According to the 10th
Annual State of Agile Report of 2015, 56% of their respondents were from North
America, 26% were from Europe, and 18% from South America, Asia, Africa, and
Oceania. Whereas, in their 2020 report, the percentage changed respectively to 41%, 31%,
and 28%. Which shows how fast the whole world is adopting Agile. Agile working
practices are holistic and flexible. They challenge the traditional assumptions and respond
to change while motivating collaboration, communication, and self-organization. In
Agile, getting things done is more important than documentation, and co-creation is
encouraged with the continuous involvement of stakeholders and customers while
developing the product. Which perfectly goes hand-in-hand with the needs and
characteristics of Generation Y employees (Sivula, 2017). Therefore, including Agile
practices in the workplace as part of the EX may prove beneficial in increasing their
engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity.
1.5. Problem Description

Studies have shown that engaged workers are usually healthier and happier, stay longer
with the organization, and are more productive. That’s why engagement has become one
of the main focus areas for organizations, and many engagement boosting initiatives are
being researched and implemented by organizations around the world (Morgan, 2017).
Considerable numbers of research have also been made on employee experience to prove
the fact that it has the potential to increase engagement (Plaskoff, 2017; Morgan, 2017;
Bersin et al., 2017). However, despite being the biggest generation in the current
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workforce with the potential to reach 75% of the total workforce in near future, and being
the least engaged among all the generations, there hasn’t been much-focused research on
improving millennial individual’s engagement and job satisfaction. There is also no
clarity on which experiences matter most to millennials.
1.6. Aim of the Research

The preceding discussions indicate that employee engagement is very important for an
organization. As millennials are and will keep on being the biggest generation for quite
some time in the future, we have decided to focus our research on the millennial
workforce. This research will aim to identify ways to improve the engagement, job
satisfaction, and productivity of the millennial workforce by using employee experience
and the Agile way of working practices.
1.7 Objectives of the Research

This research was undertaken to achieve the following objectives:
1. Characterizing the Generation Y individuals presently working in different
organizations and understanding their perceptions of the workplace.
2. Identifying the significance of attracting and retaining the millennial generation.
3. Identifying and prioritizing the experiences millennials want to have in their
workplaces.
4. Identifying whether or not Agile working practices are suitable to be offered as
part of millennials’ employee experience to increase their engagement, job
satisfaction, and productivity.
1.8. Research Question

How can an organization improve engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity of the
millennial workforce by using Employee Experience and Agile practices?
Sub questions:
● What are the characteristics and perceptions of millennial individuals currently
working with organizations?
● Why is it important to attract and retain millennials?
● What are the employee experiences organizations need to provide to increase
engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity of the millennial workforce?
● Will incorporating Agile practices in the workplace increase engagement, job
satisfaction, and productivity of millennials?
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1.9. Research Scope
The scope of this research is confined exclusively to investigating the expectations and
perceptions of the individuals born between 1981 and 1995, who are commonly known
as millennials or Generation Y (Redmond, Sept. 2013). Which includes their expectations
regarding the choice of employment, office relationships, working behaviors, and the
experiences they want to have in their workplace. This study also looks into the suitability
of the Agile way of working (AWOW) as a possible employee experience for millennials.
Furthermore, this study also looks into the perceptions of millennials on home office and
flexible working before and after the COVID-19 crisis.
1.10. Organization of the Thesis

The organization of this thesis is structured into five chapters:
Chapter 1 offers an introduction to the study topic. Which includes the theory of
generations, introduction to Generation Y individuals, their significance in the current
and future workforce, the significance of attracting and retaining them, introduction to
EX, and the introduction to Agile working practices. This chapter also includes the
research problem, aim of the research, its objectives, questions, scope, and the
organization of the thesis.
Chapter 2 provides a detailed review of various established literature relating to the goals
of the present research. This review is portrayed into various segments: employee
motivation, millennials/Generation Y, employee experience, Agile working practices,
and the impact of EX on job satisfaction, employee engagement, and productivity.
Chapter 3 discusses the methodology and the research design utilized in this study. It
includes the process, philosophy, methods, design, data collection, and tools of the
research. It also includes the structure of the questionnaire and the discussion on research
significance.
Chapter 4 presents the results of the analysis of our survey data. The data was analyzed
using various statistical methods and software. This chapter also provides elaborated
discussions on the research findings in the context of existing literature.
Chapter 5 summarizes the findings of the research and provides a conclusion. It also
enlists the limitations of the research, recommendations for the organizations, and
suggestions for future research.
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1. Chapter Overview

This chapter provides a comprehensive discussion on the literature and studies done in
the fields of Motivation and Rewards in the context of millennials, their characteristics,
and working behavior. According to Salie and Schlechter (2012), motivation factors must
first be understood to grasp the benefits of reward initiatives. Therefore, in order to gain
a deeper understanding of millennials’ motivation factors, different popular motivation
and reward theories have been reviewed in this chapter. Apart from that, this chapter also
discusses the theories and concepts of Employee Experience, Agile Working, Job
Satisfaction, Engagement, and Productivity in detail.
2.2. Employee Motivation

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, motivation is “willingness to do something, or
something that causes such willingness”. Oxford Learners Dictionary also mentions
motivation as “the feeling of wanting to do something”. Business Dictionary defines
motivation as “Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to
be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to
attain a goal”. Motivation is defined as an inner desire to accomplish an unfulfilled
objective to facilitate the cycle of attaining a certain target (Dobre, 2013). According to
Ganta (2014), motivation arises from the mutual effects of a conscious and unconscious
nature such as the magnitude of the needs of a person, the sense of rewards of a goal, and
the presumption of an individual or their colleagues. Priya and Eshwar (2014) stated that
motivation is a process that reflects and regulates the employee’s attitude to accomplish
certain objectives. It is a trait that strongly influences one’s actions and efforts. Identifying
appropriate ways for companies to inspire workers effectively is a widely discussed
subject nowadays. Employees, once motivated, seem to get intrinsically interested in
doing their jobs (Ford, 2011), and would match their personal ambitions with the
accomplishment of the corporate goals (Dobre, 2013). Frankl (1984) suggested that
motivation represents people’s quest for meaning, and the degree to which people have
found meaning in their jobs may represent their job satisfaction. An employee with little
motivation for work is defined as unmotivated, whereas an employee involved with the
achievement of an objective is deemed to be motivated.
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2.2.1. Popular Motivation Theories
In the area of employee and organizational motivation, there are numerous frameworks
and theories that various researchers have suggested. Such theories are designed to aid in
the development of resources that can help companies build cost-effective employee
experiences to achieve corporate goals (Shultz, 2014). Some of the very well-known
motivation theories are described below:
Theory 1: Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Frederick Herzberg’s well-known Two-Factor Motivation Theory, otherwise known as
the Motivation-Hygiene Theory or Dual-Factor Theory, was designed in the year 1959
(Fauziah et al., 2013). In this theory, Herzberg proposed two sets of factors while defining
employees’ level of performance and work attitudes: hygiene factors and motivation
factors. Hygiene factors are extrinsic factors to avoid discontent in workers. On the other
hand, motivation factors are the intrinsic factors that increase worker’s job satisfaction.
Herzberg suggested that the complete availability of hygiene factors alone cannot
increase satisfaction among employees. Motivation factors must also be addressed to
increase the satisfaction, performance, and productivity of the employees (Fauziah et al.,
2013). Besides that, a clear difference between job dissatisfaction and job satisfaction was
suggested by Herzberg (1966). According to him, the opposite of job satisfaction is not
dissatisfaction, rather it is the absence of satisfaction and vice versa. Hygiene factors, also
known as dissatisfiers, are considered as extrinsic factors that trigger dissatisfaction
among employees when not confronted. Such extrinsic factors include supervision,
company policies, working environment, remuneration, etc. (Furnham et al., 2009). On
the other hand, motivation factors such as recognition, responsibility, achievement, and
growth are considered intrinsic (Furnham et al., 2009). Most notably, in his study,
Herzberg identified money as a hygiene factor, which makes money an extrinsic factor
and the opposite of intrinsic factor (Bassett-Jones & Lloyd, 2005). This indicates that
intrinsic factors such as growth, recognition, achievements, and responsibilities need to
be addressed in order to improve employee motivation.
Theory 2: McGregor’s X and Y Theory

Douglas McGregor’s X and Y Theory is considered one of the highest-ranking theories
amongst all the contemporary studies in the field of organizational behavior (Miner,
2003). He first proposed this theory in 1957 (McGregor, 1957) and further developed it
in 1960 (McGregor, 1960). Two types of motivation were suggested in his theory that
affects any employee behavior: Theory X and Theory Y. These two theories provide a
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very different and mostly opposite perception of the nature of employees. Theory X
suggests that employees are lazy and irresponsible and it is the management’s duty to
plan, guide, monitor, and modify employees’ behavior. Otherwise, they may become
inactive or even unwilling to work. Theory Y, on the other hand, claims a more optimistic
outlook on human behavior, indicating that workers are not passive, that they want to
work, and that they are generally inspired. It is the responsibility of management to allow
growth opportunities for their employees so that they can release their potential and freely
put their efforts to achieve organizational goals (Gannon & Boguszak, 2013). In a
nutshell, Theory X suggests that employees are inspired by financial benefits and by the
risk of punishment or penalty, and on the contrary, Theory Y suggests the development
of a comfortable working atmosphere by the mutual alignment of personal and
organizational goals (McGregor, 1979).
Theory 3: Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory is a famous motivation theory that suggests that human psychological
mechanisms affect the motivation of employees (Vroom, 1964). Essentially, the theory
claims that the intensity of willingness to behave in a certain way depends on the strength
of the expectations that a certain outcome will follow the action and the appeal of that
outcome for the person (Robbins, 1993). The theory shows that the motivation and
rewards are connected (Salie & Schlechter, 2012) and employees get motivated to take
actions because they believe their actions will bring a certain desired outcome (Bagga &
Parijat, 2014). That means the expectation of a reward motivates employees (Armstrong,
2002). According to this theory, there are three cognitive elements that influence and
motivate behavior: Valence, Instrumentality, and Expectancy. Due to these elements, the
expectancy theory is also referred to as the VIE theory (Ramlall, 2004). Valence refers to
the positive aspects that are connected to the rewards, Instrumentality refers to the belief
that a reward will be received if expected performance is met and Expectation refers to
the worker’s perception that efforts would result in desired performance (Vroom, 1964).
The high level of these three components ultimately results in motivation (Bagga &
Parijat, 2014).
2.2.2. Rewards Management

Rewards are the tangible incentives awarded to employees in return for their services,
achievements, and efforts (Taylor, 2015). According to Bratton and Gold (1994), rewards
involve the incentives earned by the workers as part of their work arrangement, such as
all the monetary, non-monetary, emotional, and organizational expenses that fall into
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worker’s remuneration. Rewards can be of various categories, intrinsic, extrinsic,
collective, individual, monetary, non-monetary, fixed, variable, etc. (Chen et al., 1999).
Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are usually offered by the company to achieve greater
performance, and after the successful completion of the tasks monetary and non-monetary
rewards are granted (Mahaney & Lederer, 2006). Studies have shown that a proper
rewarding system increases workers’ performance by inspiring them to progress and
reach greater levels of performance (Bowen, 2004). Therefore, proper reward
management is essential for an organization. It drives employee performance growth and
ultimately improves organizational performance (Priya & Eshwar, 2014).
2.3. Millennials/ Generation Y
2.3.1. Definition of Millennials

The depiction of the millennial generation is still rather vague, as there are no universally
recognized start and end dates to define them. Over the years, various dates (as early as
1977 and as late as 2000) have been used to recognize them (Gaillot, 2018). Millennials
are identified by many sources as Generation Y and others define them as having no
specific end date. On the other hand, numerous other sources have been mentioning a new
generation called Generation Z as the immediate generation after this generation. An
overlap of the start date of Gen-Z and the end date of Gen-Y is also noticeable in some
sources. Thus, the ultimate definition of the millennial generation is kind of blurry and
for the sake of the research, we need to determine ourselves if the millennial generation
is just a synonym to call Generation Y or is it a terminology representing both Generation
Y and Z together.
To have a clear and aligned vision throughout this research, the start date of 1981
(assumed as the end date of Gen-X) and the end date of 1995 is chosen as the defining
age cohort for the millennial generation (Redmond, 2013). This indicates that by the end
of 2020, these people will be in the age range of 26 to 40-year-olds. It is projected that
the future labor force will predominantly be made up of millennial individuals and they
will gradually be replacing the soon to be retired baby boomer generation (PWC, 2011;
Metcalf, 2017). Therefore, a big shift in the working culture is expected to happen as the
characteristics of millennials greatly differ from that of baby boomers. In our definition,
we followed the majority of the sources, which say that the terms millennial generation
and Generation Y are indeed used to represent the same group of people. Both of these
terms will be used interchangeably throughout this research. Furthermore, our study
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particularly sets apart Gen-Z from this research, as it is believed that Gen-Z is very
different from the millennial generation and deserves a completely separate analysis.
2.3.2. Characteristics and Attitudes of Millennials at the Workplace

A very interesting trait of millennials, according to Barkup (2014), is that they like to
make short-term to long-term plans and set life goals. They want any work they do to be
fruitful, and as long as their work creates value, they are more than happy to keep the
money as a second priority. The parents of Generation Y are called ‘helicopter parents’,
because their life pretty much revolves around their children and very much fond of them,
protect them and fulfill all their desires. The message generation Y got from this type of
parenting is that they should “run back home when the going gets tough” (Fleschner,
2007). The impact of that is very much visible in this generation’s adulthood as well.
According to Barkup (2014), as millennials grew up having this strong support from their
family, they expect their seniors at work to be their mentors believing and supporting
them. Millennials do not usually like orders and hierarchy and always challenge authority.
They like to be coached but not ordered (Gallup, 2016). This generation’s impatience is
very much visible in their work-life, as they commonly expect quick promotions and may
easily change the job if not given what they desire. Switching jobs seems very normal to
them, as they have no fear of becoming unemployed. This is due to the confidence this
generation has in their families that they are always there for them. As they are very open
to change, they can easily adapt to the new environment of the new company. Barkup
(2014) mentions that millennials consider knowledge as power and education as a key to
success for the business. They believe in ‘lifelong learning’ and consider their workplace
as an opportunity to learn.
Millennials are technology savvy and technology course through their veins (Randstad,
2016) as they had access to an abundance of technology while growing up, had computers
in their classrooms, the first generation who had internet in their early ages and they had
access to cell phones, smartphones, reality shows, Music Television (MTV) and social
networking throughout their life (Bolton et al., 2013; Chaudhuri & Ghosh, 2012; Johnson
& Lopes, 2008). As a result, millennials can execute various tasks through digital
communications very quickly and almost seamlessly (Cekada, 2012). Thanks to the
exposure to an abundance of information technology since they were born, millennials
are able to easily access and accumulate a vast amount of information from the internet
and filter out the exact information they need to solve the specific issues of themselves
and their organization (Buckley et al., 2001).
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Many millennials are very skeptical of long-term commitments and jobs as they have seen
their parents getting affected by the high divorce rates and the layoffs due to the Dot-com
bubble (Kaifi et al., 2012). Millennials also saw both of their parents work and earn for
the family and having very few vacations for their own, which made millennials give
more significance to their free time (Twenge et al., 2010). Moreover, they give more
significance to equality and diversity, work-life balance, recognition of their
accomplishments, and making a difference by their work (PWC, 2011).
According to Twenge et al. (2010), millennials commonly don’t place very high interest
in socializing at work. This may be because they can very easily connect to life outside
the workplace using communication technology. They do not usually rely on formal
gatherings, as they can very easily communicate and make decisions using technology
such as laptops, cell phones, or other similar devices. In contrast to previous generations
who may think of these as a waste of time, to millennials, texting, emailing, blogging or
instant messaging seem to be very popular communication methods (Cekada, 2012). This
generation loves to and is very much used to message texts, slang, acronyms, and symbols
to their friends (Gibson & Sodeman, 2014). However, these could also have a negative
effect on the usual methods of communication in the workplace, e.g. team building, active
listening, conflict management, etc. (Hartman & McCambridge, 2011).
Millennials have been multitasking all their lives between school, work, home, and other
activities, which made them very much used to it. They bring the same expectation to
multitask in their workplace as well and hope to have the flexibility to do so (Kilber et
al., 2014). According to Cekada (2012), millennials work very well in environments that
allow them to have the flexibility of going from one piece of work to another anytime and
anywhere very easily. They tend to have good engagement in such environments that
have the latest technologies and creative communications, so that they may stay
connected while multitasking (Ferri-Reed, 2010; Bolton, 2013). Social media is very
common and popular among millennials when it comes to communication. Ninety-six
percent of the millennial generation are reported to be using social networks (Gibson &
Sodeman, 2014). Thus, social media could be a very powerful tool to get in touch with
potential employees of this generation (Ennis, 2011).
Generation Y is the first generation who tend to stay connected all the time. Often with
the help of their mobile devices, they like to do things such as internet surfing, emailing,
texting, and watching videos. In a survey conducted with generation Y individuals, more
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than 80% of the participants said that they sleep having their phone kept nearby
(Malikhao, 2011). In a similar study by Lim and Chen (2012), accessibility of internet at
work was supported by 85% of female and 97% of male participants, 75% of the
participants believed that work becomes more appealing with access to the internet, 57%
thought Internet makes it easier for them to solve practical and personal issues, 52%
believed that having the access of internet they could improve as a worker and 49%
acknowledged that they found the internet to be useful for their work-related issues. It is
fairly clear from these survey data that millennials want to stay connected and support
having the internet at work. Thus, attracting and retaining talents from the millennial
generation might take companies to rethink their strict internet policies.
2.3.3. Millennials’ Motivation Factors in the Workplace

A considerable number of researches have been conducted on millennial’s workplace
motivation factors as well as on the various rewards that may increase their motivation.
Many researchers claimed that in comparison to previous generations, Generation Y
values intrinsic rewards (e.g. recognition) more than extrinsic (e.g. monetary rewards)
ones. They also added a very interesting fact that Gen-Y does not put their job at the top
of their priority, and many of them would not even work if they did not require the money.
(Twenge et al., 2010; Smith et al., 2011). Which is unlike the other generations who
would continue to work even without the need for money (Kuchinke et al., 2011).
In a survey conducted by Randstad (2016) with 2,101 Gen-Y respondents across ten
global markets (Argentina, Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Poland, South
Africa, UK, and the U.S.) the following results were found:
• Millennials value diversity in the workplace: 39% of millennials reported to like

different points of view at the workplace, and 37% reported to value different
fields of specialty.
• Millennials value collaborative workplace: 56% of millennials reported that
collaboration from co-workers helped them do their best work.
• Millennials value communicative workplace: 39% reported that the most
communicative method for them is “in person”.
• “Millennials want their managers to engage with them to do their best work: 51%
by listening to and valuing their ideas and opinions, and 46% by mentoring and
giving quality feedback regularly.”
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• Millennials want to work in the same industry: 49% of millennials reported that
they expect to work for the same company for their entire career, 25% reported 3
to 4 years, and only 19% reported 1 to 2 years.
• The most important employment benefits for Gen-Y are workplace flexibility
(19%), healthcare coverage (17%), training and development (15%).
• The most important motivating factors for Gen-Y for working harder and staying
at the organization longer are monetary rewards (32%), growth opportunities
(20%), meaningful work (12%), and lastly, a satisfactory benefit package (10%).
• Millennials want technology deployment in the workplace: younger generations
want employers to incorporate social media (41%), open online courses (18%),
and integrating emerging technologies i.e. robotics (20%), virtual reality (26%),
and wearables (27%) in their place of work.
According to Gallup’s How Millennials Want to Work and Live report (2016), millennials
don’t just want a paycheck, they want purpose and meaning in their work while having a
fair remuneration and a decent career development. The report shows that learning and
growth opportunities (59%), quality of manager and quality of management (58%),
advancement opportunities (50%), and overall compensation (48%) are extremely
important to millennials when applying for a new job. The report also shows that when
millennials understand what achievement looks like in their role, their engagement
skyrockets. Based on 250,000 randomly selected respondents from Gallup’s
CliftonStrengths database of 12 million, the characteristics: Empathy and Adaptability
are unique to only millennials (Gallup 2016). Millennials are most likely to communicate
through technology more than any other generation, 71% of millennials use the internet
as their source for information and news and very few of them use television, newspapers,
or radio as an information source (Gallup 2016). Millennials also want their work to be
enjoyable. They like to work for a place where fun is in the culture and promoted through
different events such as taking an afternoon off to ensure individual growth, company off
days, and away days (Moore, 2013).
A 2018 report from TD Ameritrade showed that when deciding on a job offer, 72% of
baby boomer and Gen-Y investors believe that the most crucial benefit to be considered
is the ‘base salary’. On the other hand, Krahn & Galambos (2014) says that in comparison
to baby boomers, Generation Y gives more value to extrinsic rewards, e.g. higher pay.
But, interestingly enough, they are unwilling to put extra effort (i.e. overtime) to get those
extrinsic rewards. Millennials put leisure time and holidays in high importance and have
30
a great sense of entitlement that they deserve a higher salary and status (Twenge et al.,
2010). In contrast to these opinions, Huff (2006) says that millennials prioritize and search
for self -growth and recognition. Lee and Lee (2013) extend further by saying that the
firms need to include recognition initiatives in their reward programs for successfully
motivating millennials at work. Non-monetary rewards such as management initiatives,
feedbacks, implementation of flexible hours are also seemingly very important factors of
motivation to them rather than only financial incentives (Norman, 2011). Millennials also
long for continuous learning, as they were exposed to it during their childhood and expect
to have continuous learning opportunities in their workplaces as well. They want to keep
on improving their capabilities and skills so that they can use them in their present and
future jobs (D’Amato & Herzfeldt, 2008). Also, compared to other generations,
millennials like to have freedom at work more. They are task-oriented and need specific
instructions beforehand to understand the expectations. Although they enjoy team
collaboration and the social aspects of the teams, they prefer to work individually
(Campione, 2014). Gen-Y like to have flexibility in their work rather than sticking to a
strict 9 to 5 workday. Which could mean that on some days they would work until late to
fulfill the requirement of a project and on some other days they may leave early to meet
personal commitments (Sujansky & Ferri-Reed, 2009). In their study, Singh et al. (2012)
observed an increased preference for intrinsic motivation in millennials as they enter the
workforce seeking meaning in life. Thus, the intrinsic motivational preference among
Gen-Y is also very high.
2.4. Employee Experience (EX)
2.4.1. The Concept of EX

“People who love going to work are more productive and more creative. They go home
happier and have happier families. They treat their colleagues and clients and customers
better” (Sinek, 2009).
EX is not as modern as it may seem. This has in turn existed for as long since there were
jobs that needed to be done by people. Anyone who had a career of any sort and was
employed had their own experience. However, until a few years ago, EX was not
recognized as a concept. Over recent years, the importance of EX seems to have become
evident and very popular among business leaders and authors. There has been a high
emphasis on how focusing on EX can lead to business success. According to Yohn
(2018), organizations should focus on EX and make it their top priority instead of
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customer experience and called 2018 the year of EX. Hyacinth (2018) stated that
employees will treat the customer exactly they are being treated in the organization. She
added that business success starts with EX, and only when employees feel valued,
supported, validated, and heard they naturally provide a superb customer experience.
Morgan (2017) similarly explained that when EX is the prime focus in an organization,
employees spend not only more on customer services naturally but also encourage and
assist each other.
The current workforce comprises five different generations with their unique
characteristics, preferences, and expectations towards the workplace. According to
Plaskoff (2017), in order to attract and retain skilled individuals, companies all over the
world are now more concerned about the relationships with their workforce. This is
especially due to millennials, who are the biggest generation in the current workforce and
predicted to reach 75% of the total workforce in near future. This generation is one of the
strongest drivers that is forcing companies to rethink the EX. They are eager to change
the landscape of today’s workplace in their own way (Johnson, 2015). As we know that
millennials are technology savvy and the first generation who do not consider work and
personal life as two different concepts, the line between work and life is very thin for
them. Millennials like flexibility in their job and work from wherever and whenever they
want (Cekada, 2012). The things they most look for from their jobs are interaction and
mentoring, flexibility and autonomy, and meaningful work (Dhingra et al., 2018). The
focus on EX in organizations is now stronger than ever, as this young generation is not
hesitant to change jobs whenever they do not get the experience they want (Gallup, 2016).
Employees of previous generations could have tolerated a less satisfying job environment
for the sake of career stability, but not this generation (Payne 2017). In their book, Maylett
and Wride (2017) suggested to think and behave like a millennial and continue to
challenge current EX. Only by questioning the old ways and searching for new solutions
can there be transformations and innovations.
2.4.2. Employee Experience Definition

Employee experience could be defined as “a set or spectrum of experiences that
employees come to have during their life cycle in an organization”. “The employees’
interaction with the team, managers, tools, software, and all other things and facilities
made available to them at their workplace are included in the employee experience.” EX
could be thought of as the customer experience, just here we have the employees at the
place of customers (Tegze, 2019).
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EX can also be defined as the holistic view of workers regarding their relationship with
their company resulting from all the activities at different points of contact along the
journey of the employee (the stages of employee life cycle). It begins with the pre-
employment stage with the creation of the employer brand and attraction of the talent and
finishes with retirement or other changes during or after the employment. EX includes all
the interactions between the employer and the employees throughout the employment
journey. Therefore, it is necessary not only to gather incidents, but to think holistically
about the entire journey, and to recognize that this relationship begins when the person
joins the business and continues until they leave (Plaskoff 2017).
From the very start of the employee life cycle “as potential hires and recruits, employees
look at everything that happens at work as an integrated experience that impacts daily life
in and outside the workplace, including overall physical, emotional, professional, and
financial well-being. Therefore, candidates assess future employers from the very start of
the talent acquisition experience and make quick judgments about what life will be like
for them in the organization” (Bersin et al., 2017). The various stages and aspects of the
employee life cycle are presented in Figure 2-1.
Figure 2-1: Stages and functions of the employee life cycle

(Source: Vulpen, 2020)
Morgan, in his popular book “The Employee Experience Advantage” (2017), recognized
EX as something that can make engaged employees by emphasizing three organizational
environments: technological, cultural, and physical (Figure 2-2). He stated that the aim
of the company should be to make people feel that they want to come to work instead of
they have to (Morgan, 2017).
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Figure 2-2: The Employee Experience Equation
(Source: Morgan, 2016)
Josh Bersin (2019) defines EX as a giant vortex, and all the programs in HR e.g.
performance management, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, employee
engagement, etc. are all parts of it (Figure 2-3). According to him, EX is not a problem
to solve but a journey to undertake (Bersin, 2020). According to Bersin (2019), an
irresistible organization should have the following employee experiences implemented
(Figure 2-3).
Figure 2-3: The Irresistible Organization

(Source: Bersin, 2019)
Dhingra et al. (2018) define EX as “companies and their people working together to create
personalized, authentic experiences that ignite passion and tap into purpose to strengthen
individual, team, and company performance”. According to them, a human-centric
approach is required to understand the desires and needs of an employee to create the
moments that really matter in their day-to-day job, the moments that create immense
delight and inspire in them the sense of loyalty and retention.
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2.4.3. Jacob Morgan’s Employee Experience Theory
Author and futurist Jacob Morgan has created one of the most popular and widely used
models of EX. It is based on extensive research and is popularly used throughout the
world in various literature. His framework is therefore considered as the primary source
of EX theory in this research as well. Below we are going to discuss Morgan’s framework
from his 2017 bestselling book “The Employee Experience Advantage”.
Morgan’s study is focused on the analysis and systemic examination of 252 global
corporations. Morgan also developed the world’s first Employee Experience Index (EXI)
as part of his study, which tests and grades those companies through 17 variables grouped
into three EX environments: technological environment, physical environment, and
cultural environment. Each activity of an organization shapes its EX and falls into at least
one of these three environment categories. These three EX environments and their
distinctive features (Figure 2-4) will be explained below.
Figure 2-4: The Employee Experience Variables

(Source: Adapted from Morgan, 2017)
2.4.3.1. The Physical Environment

The physical location where workers actually work is referred to as the physical
environment in Morgan’s book (2017). It accounts for 30% of the overall EX according
to him. Our workplace includes everything from the art that hangs on the wall to the
catered meals that the company provides to the desks and the spacious halls where
workers work. Workspaces motivate workers and can allow them to become more
35
innovative, motivated, and linked to the organization for which they work. Not just that,
the physical spaces we operate in serve as symbols reflecting the organization and our
willingness to work there. Poor physical spaces serve as the opposite and can be a cause
of unwillingness. According to Morgan (2017) organizations ought to pay attention to
four major characteristics to build a better functional atmosphere for workers. They are:
1. Choose to bring in friends or visitors: A very significant identifier of a good

physical environment is, when allowed, do the employees bring in their family
and friends to visit their workplace or not. It is one of the most simple and efficient
ways for companies to recognize that the workers are related, proud, and confident
in their workplaces.
2. Offering flexibility: Another significant characteristic of a good physical
environment is whether an organization offers flexibility to pick when and where
they work to their employees or not. Workplace flexibility, according to Morgan
(2017), continues to be a massive area of desire for employees and focus for
organizations where the work-life balance has been obliterated and replaced by
work-life integration. Flexibility offers workers and the company several
advantages, such as increased productivity, reduced turnover, and more healthy,
happy, and satisfied staff.
3. Organization’s values are reflected: Whether the values of an organization are
reflected in its workplaces or not is a very important trait of a great physical space.
If an organization claims to support or believe something but their activities do
not represent it, then they are not just deceptive to everyone who deals with them
but also to themselves. Values need to be shown and practically performed in the
workplaces as well.
4. Leverage multiple workspace options: Whether the organization is offering the
option of multiple workspaces is another great characteristic of a good physical
environment. Morgan (2017) states, to do their best work, employees need access
to different environments and organizations should ensure that they get it.
According to him (2017), “none of the forward-thinking organizations in the
world commit to just a single type of workspace environment (or even two or
three!)”, they offer a range of varieties.
2.4.3.2. The Technological Environment

The technological environment is the second EX environment. This environment
comprises all the technology that is used in the workplace including software, apps,
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hardware, and the user interface. Morgan (2017) suggested that this environment also
accounts for 30% of the total EX and identified three characteristics that make the ACE
technological environment for employees. They are:
1. Available to everyone: If a certain technology is offered, it should be offered to

every employee. Making some tools available for some and not for others makes
an employee feel neglected. “Employees are the ones doing the actual work, so
they should clearly have a say in the types of technologies that they are using,
especially if another team or department already has access to it” (Morgan, 2017).
2. Consumer-grade technology: Technologies used in the workplace should be so
well developed, secure, flexible, valuable, useful, and fun that the standard would
be at the same level as the technology made for customers. It will make employees
think more advanced and also empower them to be the most flexible, updated, and
active in their work.
3. Employee needs vs. business requirements: Creating a great technological
environment requires knowing what the workers need for their work, rather than
the business requirements. But instead of doing that, most IT departments use a
predetermined checklist of items to set the workplace technology up. IT should
collaborate with HR before deciding the technology.
2.4.3.3. The Cultural Environment

The last EX environment described by Morgan (2017) which forms 40% of the total EX
is the cultural environment. Unlike the previous environments, the cultural environment
needs to be felt to realize its existence. Also, it is the only environment that always exists
whether the organization chooses to control it or not. It is the overall vibe of the
organization, whether positive or negative. It is the culture of the company that mostly
defines the behavior towards employees, the service or product development, the
establishment of partnerships, and even how employees do their jobs. That is why it is
very important to carefully control and design the environment instead of just letting it
exist. Morgan identified 10 attributes that form positive employee experiences and called
it a CELEBRATED culture. They are-
1. Company is viewed positively: The way the employees really feel about the
company could be recognized by looking at how the company is viewed by the
people outside the company. If the company is admired by the people, it is most
likely to be admired by the employees as well.
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2. Everyone feels valued: Employees need to feel genuinely valued in order to love
their workplace. “Compensation and benefits, having employee voices heard and
employees being recognized for the work they do”, are all the things that
ultimately add up to employee’s sense of valuation.
3. Legitimate sense of purpose: According to Morgan (2017), it is the
responsibility of both the employee and the organization to make sure that their
work has meaning. A sense of purpose helps to create the connection between the
organization and its workers and assures that the workers are doing the task
because they want to rather than they have to.
4. Employees feel like they’re part of a team: Having a sense of belonging makes
an employee more self-confident to express his thoughts. He thinks out of the box
and more likely to go above and beyond to help fellow co-workers.
5. Believes in diversity and inclusion: Diversity means having a diverse group of
people based on religion, race, generation, sexual orientation, and more. This
allows the organization to create a great culture where everyone is identified by
their job rather than who they are. This also helps an organization to attract and
retain the best talents.
6. Referrals come from employees: The positivity of the cultural environment can
also be measured by whether the workers are referring the company to their family
and friends as a nice place to work or not. Morgan (2017) suggested that, in their
Net Promoter Score (NPS), instead of asking whether the employees would
recommend the workplace to their family or friends, the organizations should ask
whether they actually do so.
7. Ability to learn new things and given the resources to do so and advance:
Human beings are naturally curious and inquisitive, when we learn we grow, both
as individuals and as employees. If there is no room for learning and development
and career path in an organization, people eventually leave the company. They do
not want to be an empty shell and go to the office just for the paycheck. This is
true for millennial employees as well. Learning, development, and proper career
growth need to be present in an ideal work environment (Morgan, 2017).
8. Treats employees fairly: Fair treatment of all employees is another significant
characteristic of the cultural environment. According to Morgan (2017), fairness
means being free from bias, dishonesty, and injustice regardless of the situation.
No one wants to work in a workplace plagued by injustice and biases.
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9. Executives and managers are coaches and mentors: Another trait of a great
culture is that instead of sitting on top and act like bosses, managers and
executives would act as mentors and coaches according to Morgan (2017). He
addressed managers as the modern-day fitness trainers for the organization, who
will oversee individual growth and help employees be successful.
10. Dedicated to employee health and wellness: Forward-thinking organizations
should ensure employees’ health and wellbeing. They should first realize that
providing a gym facility and good food is not enough, they need to take care of
the employees’ mind and body properly. Employees do way better when they
know they are being taken care of, which ultimately benefits the organization
through higher employee morale, lower absenteeism, and reduced turnover.
2.5. Agile Working Practices
2.5.1. The History of Agile

The word ‘agile’ according to Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries means “able to move
quickly and easily”, and “able to think quickly and in an intelligent way”. Agile as a
concept was also created on a similar idea. It was built in response to the fast changes and
volatility of the modern world. It allows firms to thrive in an increasingly VUCA (volatile,
uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world (Denning, 2016).
The idea of Agile as a concept has apparently begun as a reaction to the drawbacks of
traditional approaches to product development, such as inflexibility and failure to address
the customers’ requests and the frequency of changes. In the 1990s, this annoyance with
the traditional development methods (i.e. Waterfall method) motivated many software
developers to innovate new ideas and methods that switched the emphasis of the
development more on the software itself than on its documentation and design
(Sommerville (2007). The rapid spread of different methodologies during that time
created a need to define some common ground that could unify the ideology of all these
methodologies. As a result, the philosophies behind Agile’s software development
methods were put on paper in February 2001, by a group of 17 leading developers who
came together and aligned their ideology and views to describe this new and flexible way
of software development and put them into 4 simple values known as the “Agile
Manifesto” or “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” and 12 principles behind
them (Figure 2-5) (Highsmith, 2001; Ashmore & Runyan, 2014). These 4 values and 12
principles of Agile Manifesto are the core of all Agile software development concepts
39
and are typically defined by those (Laanti et al., 2013). This approach to software
development was made to provide a better solution to the issues faced in the traditional
software development methods, such as reduced time and cost, better quality software,
increased user satisfaction, and improved quality of codes (Ashmore & Runyan, 2014).
The same party of seventeen people that gathered and created the Manifesto for Agile
Software Development identified themselves as The Agile Alliance (Highsmith, 2001).
Later in 2001, some of the original authors along with some other people formed a non-
profit organization named Agile Alliance to distribute information about Agile (“About
Agile Alliance,” 2020) and to partially promote the principles and values listed in the
Agile Manifesto (Laanti et al., 2013).
Figure 2-5: Manifesto for Agile Software Development and the principles behind it
(Source: Manifesto for Agile Software Development, 2001)
Since the creation of the Agile Manifesto, Agile has become very popular. All the
different surveys regarding the success and failure rate of Agile compared to traditional
(i.e. Waterfall) methods have shown promising results, such as the Ambysoft survey in
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2013 of over 173 respondents. The result of the survey (Figure 2-6) shows that the project
that was following the Agile principles had 64% success, 8% failure, and 26% faced
challenges; compared to the Traditional (Waterfall) model, which has only 49% success,
18% failure and 33% challenges (Ambler, 2014).
Figure 2-6: Comparing Software Development Paradigms: 2013

(Source: Ambler, 2014)
Thanks to the extremely flexible characteristics of Agile and encouraging feedback from
organizations such as Ambysoft’s 2013 project success rates survey, Agile has now
become a major worldwide phenomenon and reforming the whole corporate world like a
storm. The initiative that started in 2001 by software developers has now spread into all
kinds and parts of sectors. All over the world, there are now over 70 varieties of Agile
practices and hundreds of thousands of Agile practitioners already (Denning, 2016).
2.5.2: What is Agile?

Because of the rising popularity, vast adaptation, and various types of users, the actual
definition of Agile has become somewhat blurry. According to Cobb (2020), people tend
to explain Agile from their own partial understanding, experience, and exposure to the
concept. Some even confusingly explain the definition of different methods and tools (i.e.
Scrum) that follow Agile philosophy as Agile itself. Some even explained it as a
framework and explained agility as flexibility (Laanti et al., 2013). Not only that, but
people also use the word ‘agile’ to explain various other things that have no relation with
software development. This is because the word ‘agile’ is a generally used dictionary
word with different synonyms, and the authors of Agile Manifesto do not have any
copyright to the word (Fowler, 2006). Therefore, to have a uniform point of view
throughout our research, it is very important to have a clear understanding of Agile as a
concept.
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In our research, we have followed the definition provided by the same people who created
the Agile Manifesto. According to the Agile Alliance, “Ultimately, Agile is a mindset
informed by the values contained in the Agile Manifesto and the 12 Principles behind the
Agile Manifesto. Those values and principles provide guidance on how to create and
respond to change and how to deal with uncertainty. You could say that the first sentence
of the Agile Manifesto encapsulates the whole idea: ‘We are uncovering better ways of
developing software by doing it and helping others do it.’ When you face uncertainty, try
something you think might work, get feedback, and adjust accordingly. Keep the values
and principles in mind when you do this. Let your context guide which frameworks,
practices, and techniques you use to collaborate with your team and deliver value to your
customers” (“Agile 101,” 2020).
The shorter definition provided by them, “Agile is the ability to create and respond to
change. It is a way of dealing with, and ultimately succeeding in, an uncertain and turbulent
environment” (“Agile 101,” 2020). The authors of the Agile Manifesto selected the term
“Agile” to describe this entire philosophy, as the word represented rapid adaptability and
responsiveness to change and was in perfect alignment with the authors’ common views
(Fowler, 2006; “Agile 101,” 2020).
2.5.3. Agile Mindset

According to Cambridge Dictionary, mindset is “a person’s way of thinking and
opinions” and according to Collins Dictionary “If you refer to someone’s mindset, you
mean their general attitudes and the way they typically think about things”. Therefore, an
Agile mindset would be this internal predisposition that switches one’s behavior towards
iteration, experimentation, collaboration, and increased value for customers (Vasileva,
2020). According to Measey (2015), to have an Agile mindset means to absorb Agile into
someone’s identity to the point that it becomes the default way to interact with the world.
An organization may implement different tools and processes, but that is only the first
level and the next level would be the practices, next principles, then values, and ultimately
the Agile mindset on top, wrapping everything together as the outermost layer (Figure 2-
7). He also addressed Agile as a journey, rather than a destination, and the best hope the
organizations can have is that their teams become more Agile by implementing the Agile
mindset. Once their thinking is switched to Agile, they would be on their true path of
becoming Agile.
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Figure 2-7: The Agile Onion
(Source: Powers, 2016)
The Agile Manifesto itself speaks about principles, values, philosophies, priorities, and
guidelines that lead to agility (Vasileva, 2020). A famous and clear definition was
presented by a well-known author and thought leader in the Agile community, Dr. Ahmed
Sidky aka Dr. Agile in 2015 (Sidky, 2020). According to Sidky (2015), “Agile is a
mindset described by the four values and twelve principles of the Agile Manifesto and
manifested through an unlimited number of practices” (see Figure 2-8). Two things are
very clear from this definition, First, Agile is a mindset with a set of principles that will
guide you in the choices you make to manifest your ideologies, but the choice would
completely be yours. Second, there is no limit to how many practices, tools, and methods
(i.e. Scrum, Kanban) can be innovated by those principles.
Figure 2-8: Ahmed Sidky’s definition of Agile

(Source: Sidky, 2015)
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2.5.4. Agile Methodology
If Agile is a mindset, then what about the famous term “Agile Methodology”? According
to Powers (2016), if someone thinks Agile is a collection of methodologies for software
development, then he/she would be only very partially correct. Agile is a whole lot more
than that. By definition, Methodology means, “a set of methods and principles used to
perform a particular activity” (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary). One of the authors of Agile
Manifesto, “Alistair Cockburn suggested that a methodology is the set of conventions that
a team agrees to follow. That means that each team is going to have its own methodology,
which will be different in either small or large ways from every other team’s
methodology” (“Agile 101,” 2020). The famous methods such as Scrum and Extreme
Programming (XP) were once a methodology of a single team and later became a
framework when they were made universally available to others. These frameworks can
only be used as a tool and a starting point, but should not be a methodology that defines
a team. Teams always need to adapt and fit properly to their own individual contexts
(“Agile 101,” 2020). Thus, so many different tools and methods can be seen created by
different organizations and their people over the years by following the Agile mindset.
Nowadays, “there are more than 70 different Agile practices” (Denning, 2016). Among
them, a few of the most famous are Scrum, Kanban, XP, Lean, etc.
2.5.5. Doing Agile vs Being Agile

As there are already so many Agile practices available, lately, the tide of discussion has
popularly shifted mainly towards the question, “which is the right Agile
framework/method for you” rather than how to implement the Agile mindset. This is
mostly because following the rules is much easier than changing the mindset and innovate
new ideas to do the task (Vasileva, 2020). Following the rules such as implementing
frameworks and tools, sending employees to a course, and hiring consultants could be
essential steps for creating agility habits in an organization. But it is important to see them
as the starting point rather than the shortcut to Agility (Powers, 2016). Because
implementation of the practices, tools, and processes without the Agile mindset, values,
and principles is not truly Agile (Denning, 2016). In fact, this could be the most unagile
thing someone can do (Vasileva, 2020). This could only mean someone is doing Agile
but not truly being Agile.
Doing Agile is when the focus is only on learning the practices and applying them without
knowing the mindset and principles, and being Agile means considering Agile as a
mindset and culture. Agile mindset is the differentiator between doing Agile and being
44
Agile (Chawre, 2019). Measey (2015) states, “Agile is not about doing Agile, it is about
being Agile and having an Agile mindset”, and the Agile mindset is very important for
Agile initiatives to be successful. The ultimate goal of an individual or an organization
should be “being Agile” and reaching the mindset level where agility will come naturally.
A very famous diagram by Simon Powers (2016) (see Figure 2-7) shows us, the mindset
is the most powerful but less visible of the layers that make up the Agile. In the diagram,
the use of tools and processes is described as the start of the journey and mindset as the
ultimate goal that will change people’s behavior and eventually will create an
organization-wide Agile culture (Powers, 2016). Co-author of Agile Manifesto Alistair
Cockburn introduced three stages of learning: Shu-Ha-Ri, which explains the difference
between doing Agile and being Agile very well. The Shu level is the initial level where
everyone follows the existing rules, which is well-aligned with people who are doing
Agile. Ha level is the level where all the techniques are well known to the learners and
they can use them without any difficulty, and Ri level is when people can innovate new
techniques according to their needs. Being Agile is well suited to the Ri stage (Fowler,
2014).
2.5.6. Agile Way of Working (AWOW)

Until recently, Agile was viewed as a series of software development related
organizational practices because its foundation, the Agile Manifesto, was developed by
software developers. With the passage of time Agile is now being used in all kinds of
organizations in all aspects of their industry because they realized that the only way
companies can deal with the volatile customer-driven world of today is to become Agile
(Denning, 2016; Allsopp, 2009). Today’s world is highly global and customer-driven,
where all the dynamics of doing business are rapidly changing and becoming
unpredictable. Time and speed are now considered as competitive advantages, and
companies are needing to pursue different ways to adapt to this volatility. Thus,
responding to these needs, the AWOW emerged and entered the scene (Christopher,
2000). AWOW could be defined as “bringing people, processes, connectivity and
technology, time and place together to find the most appropriate and effective way of
working to carry out a particular task. It is working within guidelines (of the task) but
without boundaries (of how you achieve it)” (Allsopp, 2009). The Agile way of working
allows organizations to implement continuous improvement with utmost flexibility. Agile
work relies on short cycles or sprints, trial and error, reviews, constant feedbacks, and
response to consumer demands while ensuring that the finished product aligns with
45
business demand (Boehm & Turner, 2005). AWOW helps companies to deal with rapid
change, meet the demands of the new globalized markets, and evolving businesses while
ensuring cost reduction, fast decision making, and capitalizing each individual’s and
team’s unique strengths with greater collaboration (Cockburn & Highsmith, 2001).
According to Business Matters (2019), “Agile working is about changing the idea of a
rigid workspace and making it more fluid by allowing the free flow of employees”, more
possibilities for distance work, more flexibility in the workspace, less oppression to
workers, facilitating the free-flowing of ideas, fostering creativity, enhancing morality
and boosting productivity in the process. It is also about “using the technology available
and bringing people, places, processes and time together in order to find the most
appropriate and effective method to carry out certain tasks”. Agile working allows
employees more freedom in managing their time better, making their own decisions,
working based on their strengths, and focusing on actual results rather than hours worked.
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ report (Winter, 2009), work
is an activity, not a location, and Agile working is more than just remote work. It can
equally be applied within the office as well. Flexibility is a trait of Agile Working. But
Agile working is even more than flexible working according to British Telecom (BT)
(McNestrie, n.d.). They described flexible working as first-generation thinking and Agile
working as next generational thinking, a transformational tool. Flexible working is
flexible, but Agile working is extremely flexible (McNestrie, n.d.). Allsopp (2009) says,
the slogan “anytime, anyplace, anywhere” can be a perfect definition for flexible working.
Which is observably only two-dimensional, while Agile working is multidimensional and
transformational. Agile working incorporates flexibility not only in location (where do
people work?) and time (when do people work?) but also in the source (who carries out
work?) and role (what do people do?) while generating values for both the employer and
the employee (Allsopp, 2009).
As Agile working follows Agile values and principles, there is no one size fits all. It is all
about helping employees to work when, how, and where they like while embracing both
physical and digital workplaces in maximizing their innovation and productivity, and
providing the maximum value to the organization in the process. “The goal of Agile
working is to create more responsive, efficient and effective organizations based on more
balanced, motivated, innovative and productive teams and individuals.” Agile also
involves a change in organizational culture and individual mindset, particularly in senior
46
and middle management (Allsopp, n.d.). Agile mindset embedded in the organizational
culture is the path to reach true benefits of Agile working regardless of the methods used
(Denning, 2019).
2.5.7. The Characteristics of Agile

A very clear comparison of characteristics between the Agile mindset and the non-Agile
mindset (fixed mindset) is shown by Measey (2015) in his book “Agile Foundations”
(Figure 2-9). In the comparison we can see that the characteristics of the Agile mindset
are continuous growth, learning, embracing the change, and taking failure as an
opportunity to learn. On the other hand, a non-Agile mindset is static, avoids change and
feels helpless when changes occur, and sees failure as humiliation and definition of their
identity.
Figure 2-9: Characteristics of Fixed and Agile mindset

(Source: Measey, 2015)
After reviewing various literature, we have come across many characteristics of Agile
mindset, being Agile, and Agile working constantly being mentioned by different
scholars and Agile coaches which also are in alignment with the Agile principles and
Manifesto (Aghina et al., 2018; McIntosh, 2016; Chawre, 2019; Abtin, 2018; Denning,
2016; Cobb, 2020; “Agile 101,” 2020; “Agile Characteristics”, 2020). The most common
among those characteristics are given below:
1. Work is done in small, autonomous, accountable, and multidisciplinary teams

2. The team shares the same Agile mindset
3. Value-driven with a shared purpose and vision for the whole team
4. Interactive, cross-functional, and frequent communication
5. Team thinking, empowerment, collaboration, and trust
6. Challenge the traditional thinking and asking “why” to the status quo
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7. Embrace and react to change
8. Keeping it simple while maximizing the value
9. Rapid and instant feedback
10. Iteration, reflect, and adjust continuously
11. Less structured, more flexible, and continuous adaptation
12. People-oriented i.e. continuously adding more value while keeping end customers
in mind
13. Looking at failure as a learning opportunity
14. People are intrinsically motivated
15. Teams welcome diversity of thoughts and have fun at work
16. Teams practice brutal transparency
17. Managers work as a coach and give instructions
18. Small teams working on small tasks
19. Coordinating work in an interactive network where people willingly share
knowledge
2.5.8. Advantages of Agile Working

Deloitte and McKinsey survey reports indicate that more than 90% of senior leaders put
a high priority on becoming agile, whereas fewer than 10% of organizations currently are
highly agile (Denning, 2019). Agile is now being adopted by all types of organizations,
such as manufacturing, retailing, petroleum, strategy, human resource, budgeting,
auditing (Denning, 2019), as well as by the copyrighters, architects, contractors, designers
(Business Matters, 2019). Therefore, Agile’s popularity is often described by the phrase,
“Agile is eating the world” (Denning, 2019). Researching the literature, we have found
various advantages of Agile which motivated this immense adoption of Agile working.
Such as-
1. Agile provides flexibility in the workplace and daily work, which attracts better
talents, especially millennials. As 75% of the global workforce is predicted to be
millennials and they prioritize flexible working, adoption of Agile seems like an
obvious choice (Business Matters, 2019).
2. An Agile workplace allows workers more freedom, which results in higher
retention. For example, 99 percent of the workers in BT reported having returned
after maternity leave (the UK average 40 percent) due to the Agile working
initiatives taken by the organization (McNestrie, n.d.).
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3. Agile working acknowledges that the Monday to Friday, 9-5 job arrangement is
not for everyone and therefore attracts a more diverse workforce, and gets access
to a much wider talent pool. Such as people like job-sharers, parents, students, and
also people from different religions (Business Matters, 2019).
4. Agile working does not follow a rigid job description and does not put employees
in a box of strict rules. Which allows them to pursue tasks that suit their strengths
and skills and are well aligned with their chosen career path (Business Matters,
2019).
5. Agile allows freedom of work, space, and time, which saves money spent on
commuting and office Space (Business Matters, 2019). For example, by following
Agile working practices, UK local government reduced the space it occupied by
20-30%, which saved the running costs of up to £7 billion a year (Allsopp, 2012).
6. Agile has huge potential benefits for the human spirit as it creates workplaces that
allow human beings to contribute their full talents on meaningful and worthwhile
tasks that create values for other human beings (Denning, 2018).
7. Agile working increases job satisfaction. In a survey done by Leadership IQ, 38
percent of mobile workers and 45 percent of telecommuting workers say they love
their job in contrast to only 24 percent of office workers (Murphy, 2016).
8. Another massive advantage of Agile working is its eco-friendliness. Estimations
suggest that even if 10% of EU employees switch to Agile working, annually
22.17 million tons of carbon emission could be reduced (McNestrie, n.d.).
9. Agile working helps to reduce stress dramatically. In BT, stress-related illness had
been down by 35%, employee sick days has gone down and the retention of staff
has gone up after the implementation of Agile working (McNestrie, n.d.).
10. Agile working increases productivity. Such as, in BT, employees have shown a
30% increase in their productivity (McNestrie, n.d.).
11. Due to Agile working, People tend to be happier and healthier, work longer and
out of work hours. In BT, the time that was saved by employees while working
from home was devoted on average 60% on their work and 40% on other things
(McNestrie, n.d.).
12. Agile working is very friendly and flexible. This way of working has allowed
companies like BT to recruit more people with caring responsibilities, such as
disabilities, young children, old parents (McNestrie, n.d.).
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2.6. Job Satisfaction
“Job satisfaction is the collection of feelings and beliefs that people have about their
current jobs and its various aspects such as the kind of work they do, their co-workers,
supervisors or subordinates and their pay” (George & Jones, 2008). According to
Hoppock (1935), “job satisfaction is any combination of psychological, physiological,
and environmental circumstances that cause a person truthfully to say I am satisfied with
my job”. Armstrong (2006) says, “Job satisfaction can be defined as the attitudes and
feelings people have about their work. Positive and favorable attitudes towards the job
indicate job satisfaction. Negative and unfavorable attitudes towards the job indicate job
dissatisfaction”. Thus, anything that goes towards making an employee feel positive for
their job, increases their job satisfaction. Therefore, improving experiences for the
employees in the workplace and implementing the experiences they want to have, will
surely result in improving their job satisfaction.
2.7. Employee Engagement

William A. Kahn (1990) was the first to propose the concept of employee engagement.
He defined it as “the harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; in
engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and
emotionally during role performances”. Since the proposition of this concept by Kahn,
various other researchers have also contributed to this topic. According to May et al.
(2004), employee engagement involves both the cognition and the flexible usage of
emotions and behaviors. Cha (2007) described it as the active participation of the
employees in work with the state of complete physiological, psychological, and emotional
association relating to three components: organizational recognition, work engagement,
and sense of work value. Employee engagement was summarized by Bakker (2011) as a
highly awakened positive emotional state with two distinct attributes: involvement and
energy. A model of employee engagement was created by Soane et al. (2012) which
includes three prerequisites: positive effect, activation, and a work-role focus. Hewitt
(2015) explained employee engagement with three features: Say, Stay and Strive. Say
refers to the fact that positive language is used by workers to describe their job,
colleagues, and the company. Stay refers to the fact that instead of using current
employment as a temporary transfer, workers truly want to work in the organization for
a long period, and Strive means that workers willingly put extra effort to ensure the
company’s success. Xie (2006) stated that employee engagement is an employee’s
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commitment to his job, which includes working hard, loyalty to the boss, dedication
towards the organization, and self-confidence.
All of these definitions could be summarized and concluded to this recent definition by
the author Maylett (2019), “employee engagement is an emotional state where we feel
passionate, energetic, and committed toward our work. In turn, we fully invest our best
selves, our hearts, spirits, minds, and hands in the work we do”.
2.8. Productivity
According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, productivity is “the rate at which a worker,
a company, or a country produces goods, and the amount produced, compared with how
much time, work, and money is needed to produce them”. Productivity as a concept was
first used in an article by a French mathematician in 1766, according to Sumanth (1990).
A very common and short definition of productivity is that it is the ratio of output and
input (Ali 1978). Vittal (2002) upgraded the concept a bit more and added the objective
of the organization with the concept. According to him, productivity is the ratio of input
and output, but only growth in output has no value unless the output meets the objectives
of the organization or the environment where the production happens. Industry
Commission (1997) very similarly defined productivity as “a measure of the rate at which
outputs (of goods and services) are produced from given amounts of inputs (skills, effort,
land, raw materials, machinery, management and so on). Higher productivity means more
goods and services can be produced for the same commitment of resources and effort”.
Mahoney (1998) agreed to the concept of productivity being the input-output ratio and
further added performance into the concept. He explained that productivity is also a
variable of performance, which could be best demonstrated in contrast to other variables
of performance. Babin et al., (1994) explained employee performance as a rating system
used in different companies to measure the abilities and outputs of their employees.
Which could include an employee’s cooperativeness, presence at work, timeliness of
output, and the quality of his output (Güngör, 2011). Thus, in the case of an employee,
productivity and performance are very similar and strongly connected to an extent that
the performance of an employee is measured by the productivity of the individual
(Industry Commission, 1997). Therefore, in this research, it is assumed and accepted that
employee performance and productivity are closely connected, and enhancing one will
inevitably enhance the other.
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2.9. Impact of EX on Job Satisfaction, Engagement, and Productivity
Studies have shown that higher job satisfaction can be achieved in an organization
through providing various engagement opportunities to the employees (Dash & Panda,
2019; Kim-Soon and Manikayasagam, 2015). Engagement and job satisfaction have a
direct effect on companies’ productivity and profitability as well. According to Gallup’s
2017 State of the American Workforce report, companies with a high level of employee
engagement had 21% higher profitability and 17% higher productivity in comparison to
their peers. Engagement’s significance on employee retention is also shown very high in
the report by stating that “actively disengaged employees are almost twice as likely as
engaged employees to seek new jobs”. Another study conducted by economists at
Warwick University found that satisfied employees were 12% more productive and
dissatisfied employees were 10% less productive (Oswald et al., 2015). According to
Sgroi (2015), happier employees are up to 20% more productive.
Scholars and companies now realize that at a fundamental level engagement and job
satisfaction are generated and driven by EX, which the leaders of the organization have
either planned and constructed or haphazardly embraced along the way (Wride, 2020;
Morgan, 2017). Zeng and Han (2005) stated that proud, pleasant, and encouraging
experiences accompany the engagement at work. According to IBM and Globoforce’s
2016 The Employee Experience Index report, EX’s association with performance is
positive (Figure 2-10), the more pleased and valued the employees of an organization are,
the better the effort they put into their work, which eventually results in greater
performances and productivity. The report (2016) also stated that EX and engagement go
hand in hand. “When employees are positive about their experience at work and high in
engagement, they become passionate about what they do, and when they are negative
about their experience and low in engagement, they appear apathetic.”
Figure 2-10: EX is positively associated with work performance

(Source: IBM & Globoforce, 2016)
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According to Bowers (2019), engagement is more of an outcome of a bigger component:
employee experience, which drives the engagement. He also says that a positive EX needs
to be created by an organization in order to have a highly productive workforce.
According to Gallup’s (2018) Designing Your Organization’s Employee Experience
report, engaged employees produce most of the innovation, excellence, and creativity in
a company, and experiences in the employee life cycle play a major role in engagement.
Critical and continual experiences are always an essential part of a well-designed
employee engagement. In the report (2018) Gallup also stated that “engagement is
foundational to high performance and ongoing development. With engagement, high
performance is easy to coach. Without engagement, high performance is unlikely”.
“When employees have their basic psychological needs met, they can focus on mastering
their tasks and producing exceptional outcomes.” Therefore, EX is fundamental for
employee’s engagement, job satisfaction, performance, and exceptional outcomes or
productivity (Gallup, 2018).
2.10. Conclusion of Literature Review

In this chapter, we have discussed different motivation and reward theories, and behaviors
of the millennial generation towards life, work, and the world. We also researched how
they grew up and the major drivers that shaped their characteristics. Then we researched
Employee Experience, its history, definition, and how it is explained by different scholars,
institutes, and organizations. Which will allow us to identify and enlist the appropriate
potential employee experiences for our research questionnaire. Next, we discussed Agile,
its history, definition, way of working practices, characteristics, importance, etc. So that
we can better understand the suitability of Agile practices with millennials’ way of
working. Then we researched engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity while
showing how they are inter-related, and improving one would surely improve all. Lastly,
we studied how investing in EX and choosing the appropriate experiences for the
employees can dramatically improve their engagement, job satisfaction, and
productivity/performance.
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Chapter 3: Methodology

There are two main objectives of this research. The first is to identify the core employee
experiences that are most motivating to millennials and influence their job satisfaction,
engagement, and productivity the most. The second is to identify whether or not the Agile
way of working practices match millennials’ working behavior and could be implemented
as a part of their EX. This chapter attempts to explain the methodology adopted by this
research to attain the research objectives and answer the core research questions. In other
words, the research procedures, methods, approaches, tools and the overall setup of this
research will be discussed here. In addition, it will also describe the processes followed
for the collection and analysis of data.
3.2. Research Process

According to the Oxford Learners Dictionary, research is “a careful study of a subject,
especially in order to discover new facts or information about it”. Research is a systematic
way to find things that were previously unknown to people, which starts simply by
identifying a research problem and then following a clear and well-thought process
(Pardede, 2018). “The research process involves identifying, locating, assessing, and
analyzing the information you need to answer your research question, and then
developing and expressing your ideas” (University of South Florida Libraries, 2020).
The research process of our study followed the same principles. We first identified the
research problem and formulated concrete research questions. Then we reviewed the
literature from various scholars and researchers, which are explained in the second
chapter of this paper. Then we carefully chose the research design, planned the data
collection, created the research instruments, and conducted the research. The entire
process is portrayed in Figure 3-1.
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Figure 3-1: Research process
3.3. Research Philosophy

According to Saunders et al., (2019), “the term research philosophy refers to a system of
beliefs and assumptions about the development of knowledge”. Whether we are
consciously aware or not, a number of types of assumptions are made at every stage of
research. Those can be about knowledge of humans (epistemological assumption), about
the encountered realities in the research (ontological assumption), and the influence of
our values and beliefs on the research process (axiological assumptions). These
speculations eventually form how we consider the research questions, the approaches we
use, and how we view the results (Saunders et al., 2019).
The philosophical establishments expressed in the present study explain the path the
research would take. In this study, we have chosen Ontology, which refers to the
philosophy that studies what it means to exist (constructionism and objectivism), and
Epistemology, which refers to the philosophy of how we know things, what encompasses
relevant, legitimate, and reliable knowledge and how the knowledge should be
transmitted to others (positivism and interpretivism), as two key perspectives (Carter and
Little, 2007). Our research also perceives reality as constructionist, a philosophy that
demonstrates that reality arises from social factors and that those social factors can be
used to explain any social phenomenon. (Bell & Bryman, 2007). Furthermore, a
positivistic approach was implemented when obtaining the concepts from different
55
studies. Positivism is “the belief that knowledge comes from things that can be
experienced with the senses or proved by logic” (Cambridge dictionary). Therefore, this
research was conducted based on realistically logical analysis and comparison of facts
and findings on millennials’ behavior, motivation, engagement, and job satisfaction with
employee experience and Agile working practices. The data and facts were collected from
reviewing many pieces of literature and conducting a survey with the focused group
(millennials) keeping the philosophy of constructivism and positivism in mind. All the
conclusions obtained from this study while generalizing the research findings were based
solely on logical, descriptive, and statistical interpretation from a neutral observer’s point
of view. As this research has undertaken the process of formulating theories and
strengthening those theories by validating the study results against reality using logical
and statistical methods, we could assume this research to be empirical. This means the
approach of this research is deductive in nature (Bhattacherjee, 2012).
3.4. Research Method

There are various types of methods that have been used in academic researches.
According to Muirhead (2002), historically, researchers have had a divided preference in
their use of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Each of these methods offers a broad
variety of potential strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, it is the research questions that
provide the ultimate foundation for selecting a suitable methodology for the research.
Leedy and Ormrod (2001) say that the use of the quantitative method is appropriate when
the aim is to analyze, forecast, and manage the interaction between the various factors
influencing a phenomenon, whereas qualitative approaches are appropriate when the aim
is to recognize, explain and react to complicated situations of the phenomenon. Thus, a
quantitative method was chosen for our study as the study intention is to set out the
relation among different factors, such as EX, AWOW, engagement, job satisfaction, and
productivity. Furthermore, the usage of quantitative approaches allows the study of many
respondents, hence, allowing the test findings to be applied generally to all Gen-Y
individuals.
3.5. Research Design

After careful consideration of the study objectives, a descriptive design has been selected
for this research. This method was chosen because this research is intended to measure
specific characteristics of a certain group, such as the impact of EX and AWOW on Gen-
Y and their working behavior. Moreover, a survey method was chosen as the research
instrument and the data collection was performed using a well-structured questionnaire.
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After the initial design of the questionnaire as the research instrument, an initial pilot
testing was conducted with the participation of some volunteering millennials. Based on
the results of pilot testing, the final questionnaire was created and conducted for data
collection. After the collection of data, data filtering was conducted by eliminating
abnormalities and inconsistencies. Then the data was rechecked, labeled, and adjusted for
the analysis. In addition, to justify and ensure the efficiency of the research instrument,
the tests of Reliability and Validity were conducted. Finally, the data was analyzed using
suitable statistical methods that were selected depending on the study objectives.
3.6. Pilot Study

As mentioned earlier, a pilot study was conducted before finalizing the questionnaire and
the initiation of the main data collection. It was conducted to specify and weed out
unnecessary questions from the main questionnaire. In this study, some volunteering
millennials were asked to participate in a survey that was made from a draft version of
the questionnaire and give their feedbacks. Based on the results of the pilot testing, the
questionnaire was modified by removing unnecessary and delicate questions and
replacing them with suitable questions. Only after going through this pilot study phase,
we finalized the questions for the questionnaire and conducted the survey for data
collection.
3.7. Structure of the Questionnaire

In order to formulate a well-structured questionnaire that represents the purpose of the
research, we have analyzed various relevant literature and reports on EX, Agile working,
and the characteristics of millennials and explained them in detail in the literature review
area. The first part of the questionnaire is the demographics of the participants’ gender,
education, age, and professional experience. The second part of the questionnaire consists
of the list of potential employee experiences that have been identified by reviewing
various reports, articles, studies, and books from different scholars and big companies on
millennials’ behavior, likes, dislikes, and tendencies. This part of the questionnaire will
allow us to identify the topmost experiences that millennials want to have in their
workplace. Which we can then recommend to the organizations to implement in order to
increase the job satisfaction, engagement, and productivity of their millennial employees.
The list is as follows:
1. Freedom of where, when, and how to work (Flexible work, home office) (PWC,
2011; Randstad, 2016; Sujansky & Ferri-Reed, 2009)
2. Availability of necessary technologies at work (Randstad, 2016; Morgan, 2017)
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3. Higher than market average salary (Ameritrade, 2018)
4. Clarity of the company values and purpose (Gallup, 2016)
5. Trust, collaboration, and transparency among co-workers (SHRM, 2014)
6. To be paid fairly, equally, and timely (Krahn & Galambos, 2014)
7. Job security and stability (Bencsik, et al., 2016; Gallup, 2016; SHRM, 2014)
8. Balanced workload (Fisher, 2020)
9. Good company culture (Morgan, 2017)
10. Regular feedback and recognition from managers and co-workers (Randstad, 2016;
Huff, 2006; Lee and Lee, 2013)
11. Meaningful and value generating task with proper instructions (Randstad, 2016,
Gallup, 2016)
12. Continuous learning and development, i.e. trainings, online courses (D’Amato &
Herzfeldt, 2008; Gallup, 2016)
13. Monetary rewards and bonuses (Randstad 2016)
14. Quality and behavior of manager and management (Randstad 2016; Rigoni &
Adkins, 2016)
15. Decent level of diversity in the workplace (Randstad, 2016; Morgan 2017)
16. Fast career growth opportunities (Randstad, 2016; Gallup, 2016)
17. Health and well-being coverage (Randstad, 2016, Morgan, 2017)
18. Free food and snacks (Hartmans, 2016)
19. Transportation subsidy (company transport/allowance) (Robert Half International &
Yahoo Hotjobs, 2008)
20. Availability of internet at work (Lim & Chen, 2012)
21. Sport and gym facilities/subsidy (Gallup, 2016)
22. Organization as a fun place to work (Gallup, 2016; Moore, 2013)
23. Encouragement of creativity by the organization (Gallup, 2016)
Part-3 of our questionnaire is to identify the change in millennials’ perception of flexible

work and home office after the COVID-19 crisis. In this part, we have asked millennials
to grade the level of importance they gave flexible work and home office before COVID-
19 and after COVID-19. As COVID-19 crisis is one of the biggest phenomena of the 21st
century and has the potential to change the way of working forever according to many
scholars (Friedman, 2020; Boland et al., 2020). This part of the questionnaire will
determine how much of a change of perception on the way of working of millennials was
motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part-4 of our questionnaire is designed by considering the characteristics of the Agile

mindset, Agile way of working, and the characteristics of millennials altogether. The
58
purpose of these questions is to identify whether and to what extent the Agile way of
working is suitable to millennials’ way of working. The questions are given below:
1. I would prefer flexible working (freedom of when, where, and how) rather than 9 to
5 office. (Barkup, 2014; Kaifi, et al., 2012)
2. Money is a second priority to me as long as my work creates value (Barkup, 2014)
3. If I did not need money, I would prefer not to do a job. (Twenge et al., 2010; Smith
et al., 2011)
4. I would question my manager’s decision if I feel it is wrong and it can be harmful in
the long run (Barkup, 2014)
5. I want my manager to be a mentor/coach rather than a boss (Gallup, 2016; Morgan,
2017)
6. I feel change is natural and embrace it rather than holding on to the existing
environment (Chawre, 2019)
7. I think failure is a great opportunity to learn rather than a matter of shame (Chawre,
2019)
8. I prefer instant feedbacks and flexible communication with the team during a task
rather than scheduled meetings (Denning, 2016)
9. I perform better in a small team rather than a big team (Denning, 2016)
10. I prefer working in a team where people willingly share knowledge (Chawre, 2019)
11. Please choose the one that suits your personality and working style (“Agile
Characteristics”, 2020)
a. More structured, timely scheduled, and planned work
b. Less structured, more flexible, and continuous adaptation work
3.8. Data Collection

As we described earlier, our research followed a quantitative method in general, and for
the data collection, a survey method was followed. Consequently, a structured
questionnaire was created and different members of the millennial generation were
approached by the researcher either personally or via email or different social media i.e.
Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn to participate in the survey. It is worth mentioning that it
was very carefully ensured that the respondent’s year of birth fell into the range between
1981 to 1995, which was defined as the birth year range of the millennial generation
earlier in this paper. The objectives of the study were properly explained to the potential
respondents and only after their full agreement and willingness to participate in the study
the questionnaire was sent to them and their responses were collected.
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3.9. Tools for the Analysis
In order to analyze the data obtained by the questionnaire, the software Microsoft Excel
and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used. Suitable analytical methods
and techniques, such as descriptive analysis, standard deviation, mean, weighted average,
were utilized to quantify the data and calculate the results. On the other hand, the tests of
validity and reliability of the instrument were conducted using the Reliability testing and
the Factor loading analysis.
3.10. Measures
In order to achieve the research objectives, a comprehensive questionnaire was created as
part of the quantitative research design of this study. There are four major parts of the
questionnaire. Part 1 consisted of the questions regarding participants’ demographic
details. Part 2 contained the list of employee experiences, and part 3 contained the
questions regarding the COVID-19 scenario. Both parts 2 and 3 were measured using a
5-point Likert scale, where 1 denoted not important, 2 meant less important, 3 meant
important, 4 equals very important and 5 equals mandatory.
The measure for part 4 was also a 5-point Likert scale. The components were identified
by digits 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, which represented strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree,
and strongly agree respectively.
3.11. Significance of the Research

More and more modern organizations are seeking ways to attract and retain talented
young employees and to increase their engagement in the workplace. Engagement is very
beneficial to the organization and EX is thought to be a long-lasting solution to increase
employee engagement (Plaskoff, 2017; Morgan, 2017; Bersin et al., 2017). Based on this
framework, the proposed research is expected to shed some light on the EX preferences
of millennials, the biggest generation in the current workforce.
The suggested study is of substantial value for the organizations, as they would obtain an
understanding of the significance of EX for the Generation Y workforce. They will also
be able to identify and prioritize the experiences to incorporate for facilitating the Gen-Y
workforce. Moreover, they will also be able to understand whether or not the popular
(Denning, 2019) Agile way of working is suitable to millennials’ working behavior and
whether offering it as part of EX to millennials would positively affect their engagement,
job satisfaction, and productivity.
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Chapter 4: Results and Discussion

As mentioned, this research was carried out to assess the perceptions of millennials/Gen-
Y individuals on various employee experiences and the suitability of their characteristics
and working behavior with AWOW practices. In this chapter, data obtained from 156
Generation Y participants were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods and
discussed in an elaborated manner.
This chapter is composed of two sections. The first section presents the results of the
analysis of the survey data using the methods of statistical analysis described in the
methodology chapter. The second section discusses the findings in detail in the context
of existing literature.
4.2. Results
This section is structured into two sub-sections. The first sub-section presents the analysis
performed on the participants’ demographic data with frequencies and percentages. The
second sub-section presents the outcomes of the descriptive statistics performed on the
survey data.
4.2.1. Demographic Details of the Participants

The analysis of demographic factors typically contributes to a strong understanding of the
participants’ characteristics and their suitability for involvement in the research. Hence,
different demographic details were collected from the respondents such as gender, age,
educational qualifications, and overall professional work experience.
4.2.1.1. Gender of the Participants

Among the 156 participants, there were 93 male (60%) participants and 63 female
(40%) participants.
Figure 4-1: Gender of the participants

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4.2.1.2. Age of the Participants
Since our research is only on millennials, we strictly chose the respondents who are in
between the pre-defined age range of 26 to 40 years, which corresponds to the birth years
of 1981 to 1995. Then we distributed the selected participants into three age brackets. Old
(36-40), middle (31-35), and young (26-30). Among the 156 respondents, there were 9
old (6%), 29 middle (18%), and 118 young (76%) millennials.
Figure 4-2: Age brackets of millennials
4.2.1.3. Participants’ Highest Level of Education

Among all the participants in our research, the majority have a master’s degree (54%),
33% have a bachelor’s degree, 10% have completed an Ausbildung (a type of training
program common in Germany) and 3% have a secondary diploma.
Figure 4-3: Educational qualification of the participants
4.2.1.4. Professional Experience of Participants

This section of the results revealed how much professional experience our participants
have. The majority of the participants (42%) have 3-5 years of professional experience,
39% of the participants have 0-2 years of experience, 15% have 6-10 years of experience,
and 4% have 11-20 years of experience.
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Figure 4-4: Professional experience of the participants
4.2.2. Descriptive Statistics: Employee Experience Preferences

As mentioned, our aim was to identify the top employee experiences that millennials want
to have in their workplace that will impact their engagement, satisfaction, and
productivity the most. Therefore, we have identified 23 of the most commonly known
employee experiences based on the existing literature review. The participants were asked
to grade these experiences according to their preferences on a Likert scale of 1 to 5, where
1= not important, 2= less important, 3= important, 4= very important, 5= mandatory.
Next, we have analyzed the perception of the 156 millennials who participated in our
research survey with the help of descriptive statistics. While analyzing, to gain a better
understanding of millennials’ EX preferences, we have filtered the data and presented it
into three different categories: according to all participants, according to gender, and
according to different age brackets. We have calculated the mean and standard deviation
of all the experiences and ranked them according to their mean value from the biggest to
the smallest in those categories. This will allow us to know and compare which of the
experiences are most suitable and important to millennials. The experience with the
biggest mean value is assumed as the most important (rank 1) and respectively with the
smallest value as the least important (rank 23) to millennials.
4.2.2.1. According to All the Participants

In this section, we have filtered and analyzed the data into the first category: according to
all the participants. From Table 4-1, it is evident that the most important experience for
all millennials is to be paid fairly, equally, and timely with the mean score of 4.404
(±0.853) which corresponds to a value in between mandatory and very important in our
Likert scale. Next, with a score of 4.301 (±0.835), the second most favorable experience
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is trust, collaboration, and transparency among the co-workers, followed by availability
of technologies at work (M=4.263 ±0.921), job security and stability (M=4.128±0.939),
availability of internet at work (M=4.083±1.160), quality and behavior of manager and
management (M=4.077±0.874), and good company culture (M=4.013±0.954) as the third
to the seventh important experiences respectively with the score corresponding to
between very important and mandatory in the Likert scale. The next in the rank are
balanced workload (M=3.859±1.028), health and well-being coverage (M=3.859±
0.930), meaningful and value-generating task with proper instructions (M=3.827±0.948),
continuous learning and development, i.e. trainings, online courses (M=3.827±0.948),
clarity of company values and purpose (M=3.712±1.032), freedom of where, when, and
how to work (Flexible work, home office) (M=3.686±0.939), regular feedback and
recognition from managers and co-workers (M=3.679±1.006), encouragement of
creativity by the organization (M=3.596±0.999), and decent level of diversity in the
workplace (M=3.513±1.041) respectively in the 8th to 16th position, corresponding to
very important in the Likert scale, and the list goes on based on their levels of importance.
On the other hand, with the least mean values, some of the least important experiences
for millennials according to our survey data are transportation subsidy (M=2.853±
1.073), sport and gym facilities/subsidy (M=2.500±1.095), and free food and snacks
(M=2.359±1.019).
Table 4-1: Employee experience preferences according to all the participants

Employee Experiences Mean S.D. Rank
To be paid fairly, equally, and timely 4.404 0.853 1
Trust, collaboration, and transparency among co-workers 4.301 0.835 2
Availability of necessary technologies at work 4.263 0.921 3
Job security and stability 4.128 0.939 4
Availability of internet at work 4.083 1.160 5
Quality and behavior of manager and management 4.077 0.874 6
Good company culture 4.013 0.954 7
Balanced work load 3.859 1.028 8
Health and well-being coverage 3.859 0.930 9
Meaningful and value generating task with proper instructions 3.827 0.948 10
Continuous learning and development, i.e. trainings, online courses 3.827 0.948 11
Clarity of company values and purpose 3.712 1.032 12
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Freedom of where, when, and how to work (Flexible work, home
3.686 0.939 13
office)
Regular feedback and recognition from managers and co-workers 3.679 1.006 14
Encouragement of creativity by the organization 3.596 0.999 15
Decent level of diversity in the workplace 3.513 1.041 16
Fast career growth opportunities 3.301 1.083 17
Organization as a fun place to work 3.231 1.197 18
Higher than market average salary 3.141 0.843 19
Monetary rewards and bonuses 3.103 1.069 20
Transportation subsidy (company transport/allowance) 2.853 1.073 21
Sport and gym facilities/subsidy 2.500 1.095 22
Free food and snacks 2.359 1.019 23
4.2.2.2. According to Gender

As we have previously shown, among all the participants (156) there were 63 female and
93 male participants. Similar to table 4-1, in table 4-2, we have ranked the experiences
from 1 to 23 according to their mean scores. However, in table 4-2, we have separated
the opinion of respondents according to their gender. Which will allow us to separately
observe the different EX preferences among male and female millennials.
In table 4-2, we can see that both males and females gave top priority to be paid fairly,
equally, and timely. But for female millennials, it is nearly mandatory (M=4.714±0.517)
in the Likert scale, where for males it corresponds to very important (M=4.194±0.965).
For both male and female millennials trust, collaboration and transparency among co-
workers, and availability of technology in the workplace are very important (rank 2 and
3 for females, and 3 and 2 for males). The female participants gave more importance to
the quality and behavior of manager and management than the males (rank 4 by females
and 7 by males). Nevertheless, this experience was graded very high by both parties.
Availability of internet at work is equally very important to both (rank 5). Job security is
also very important to both. However, it matters slightly more to males (rank 4) than
females (rank 6). Company culture has nearly the same importance to both (rank 7 for
female and 6 for male). But, when it comes to health and well-being coverage, female
millennials give it more priority (rank 8) than males (rank 11). The balanced workload is
similarly very important for both the parties and at rank 9 for female and 8 for male
millennials. Continuous learning and development are equally important (rank 10) for
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both male and female millennials. However, meaningful and value generating task is
given slightly more priority by the male (rank 9) than by the female (rank 11).
On the other hand, some of the mid-level priority experiences for both male and female
millennials are clarity of company values and purpose (female 12, male 13), regular
feedback and recognition from managers and co-workers (female 13, male 14), flexible
work and home office (female 14, male 12), decent level of diversity in the workplace
(female 15, male 16), encouragement of creativity by the organization (female 16, male
15) and fast career growth opportunities (rank 17 for both).
Interestingly enough, both male and female millennials graded the same experiences as
the lowest priority: organization as a fun place to work (female 18, male 19), higher than
market average salary (female 19, male 20), monetary rewards and bonuses (female 20,
male 18), transportation subsidy (female 21, male 21), sport and gym facilities/subsidy
(female 22, male 22), and free food and snacks (female 23, male 23).
Table 4-2: Employee experience preferences according to gender

Female Male
Employee Experience
Mean S.D. Rank Mean S.D. Rank
To be paid fairly, equally, and timely 4.714 0.517 1 4.194 0.965 1
Trust, collaboration and transparency
4.492 0.710 2 4.172 0.887 3
among co-workers
Availability of necessary technologies at
4.381 0.862 3 4.183 0.950 2
work
Quality and behavior of manager and
4.254 0.712 4 3.957 0.949 7
management
Availability of internet at work 4.175 1.120 5 4.022 1.182 5
Job security and stability 4.127 0.826 6 4.129 1.008 4
Good company culture 4.095 0.868 7 3.957 1.004 6
Health and well-being coverage 4.048 0.844 8 3.731 0.963 11
Balanced work load 3.984 0.917 9 3.774 1.089 8
Continuous learning and development, i.e.
3.921 1.074 10 3.763 0.847 10
trainings, online courses
Meaningful and value generating task with
3.905 0.830 11 3.774 1.017 9
proper instructions
Clarity of company values and purpose 3.873 0.934 12 3.602 1.079 13
Regular feedback and recognition from
3.794 0.995 13 3.602 1.007 14
managers and co-workers
Freedom of where, when, and how to work
3.778 0.765 14 3.624 1.036 12
(Flexible work, home office)
Decent level of diversity in the workplace 3.746 0.796 15 3.355 1.151 16
Encouragement of creativity by the
3.714 1.030 16 3.516 0.968 15
organization
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Fast career growth opportunities 3.317 1.005 17 3.290 1.132 17
Organization as a fun place to work 3.270 1.250 18 3.204 1.160 19
Higher than market average salary 3.190 0.732 19 3.108 0.909 20
Monetary rewards and bonuses 2.921 0.997 20 3.226 1.099 18
Transportation subsidy (company
2.810 0.957 21 2.882 1.144 21
transport/allowance)
Sport and gym facilities/subsidy 2.317 0.989 22 2.624 1.145 22
Free food and snacks 2.270 0.912 23 2.419 1.081 23
4.2.2.3. According to Different Age Brackets

As we previously mentioned, we have divided the millennial participants into three age
brackets in our research: old (36-40 years), middle (31-35 years), and young (26-30 years)
millennials. In this part of our analysis, we have observed the differences in EX
preferences among these age groups by similarly ranking them from most to least
important on the basis of the mean scores in table 4-3. Which will allow us to have a clear
understanding of the differences in EX preferences among different age groups.
From table 4-3, it is observable that all the age groups have similarly graded the
experiences with some slight differences. Among them, it is noteworthy that both young
and middle millennials ranked (2 and 3) availability of technology much higher than older
millennials (rank 5). For middle and older millennials top-most importance goes to trust
and collaboration among co-workers. But for younger millennials, it comes at rank 3,
after fair pay and technology. Nevertheless, for middle and old millennials, fair payment
is very important as well which comes immediately after trust and collaboration among
co-workers at rank 2. On the other hand, Job security is more important to older (rank 3)
millennials than to younger (rank 4) and middle (rank 5). It is also noteworthy that the
availability of internet at work is much more important to young (rank 5) millennials than
to middle (rank 8) and old (rank 9). The experiences, Quality and behavior of manager
and management, and good company culture, are graded similarly by all the age groups.
However, the quality of the manager is slightly more important to older millennials (rank
4) and good culture is slightly more preferred by middle millennials (rank 4).
On the other hand, when it comes to health and wellbeing coverage, a very big difference
can be observed in the level of importance. Older millennials have graded it very low
(rank 15) in comparison to the middle (rank 9) and young (rank 8) millennials. Similarly,
continuous learning and development are given much lower importance by middle
millennials (rank 14) than by their younger (rank 9) and older (rank 8) counterparts.
Balanced workload matters more to older (rank 7) millennials than to young (rank 10)
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and middle (rank 10). Meaningful work, regular feedback, and flexible work were graded
similarly by all the age groups and encouragement of creativity was given more
importance by the older (rank 11) millennials in comparison to young (rank 14) and
middle (rank 16).
Interestingly enough, when it came to the clarity of company values and purpose, middle
millennials have graded it way higher (rank 7) in comparison to young (rank 15) and old
(Rank 14). Apparently, diversity is more important to the middle (rank 15) and young
(rank 16) millennials in comparison to old (rank 20), and fast career growth is equally
important to all (rank 17). Organization as a fun place to work, higher than market
average salary and monetary rewards are similarly graded by all the groups (rank 18, 19,
or 20). However, monetary rewards and bonuses are slightly more important to older
millennials (rank 16).
Similar to the previous sections, in this section, the lowest graded experiences by all the
age groups are transportation subsidy, sport and gym facilities, and free food and snacks.
Table 4-3: Employee experience preferences according to different age brackets
26-30 years (young) 31-35 years (middle) 36-40 years (old)

Employee
Experience
Mean S.D. Rank Mean S.D. Rank Mean S.D. Rank
To be paid fairly,
4.410 0.849 1 4.379 0.887 2 4.444 0.831 2
equally and timely
Availability of
necessary
4.256 0.888 2 4.310 1.054 3 4.333 0.816 5
technologies at
work
Trust, collaboration
and transparency 4.248 0.886 3 4.414 0.617 1 4.556 0.685 1
among co-workers
Job security and
4.094 0.952 4 4.172 0.912 5 4.444 0.831 3
stability
Availability of
4.085 1.174 5 4.069 1.048 8 4.000 1.333 9
internet at work
Quality and
behavior of
4.034 0.924 6 4.138 0.681 6 4.444 0.685 4
manager and
management
Good company
3.940 0.981 7 4.207 0.804 4 4.222 0.916 6
culture
Health and well-
3.855 0.927 8 3.966 0.999 9 3.556 0.685 15
being coverage
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Continuous learning
and development,
3.838 0.924 9 3.690 1.086 14 4.111 0.737 8
i.e. trainings, online
courses
Balanced work load 3.821 1.051 10 3.897 0.923 10 4.222 1.030 7
Meaningful and
value generating
3.821 0.984 11 3.862 0.860 12 3.778 0.786 10
task with proper
instructions
Regular feedback
and recognition
3.650 1.049 12 3.793 0.924 13 3.667 0.667 12
from managers and
co-workers
Freedom of where,
when and how to
3.641 0.929 13 3.897 0.845 11 3.556 1.257 13
work (Flexible
work, home office)
Encouragement of
creativity by the 3.641 1.008 14 3.379 1.031 16 3.778 0.629 11
organization
Clarity of company
3.615 1.003 15 4.103 0.885 7 3.556 1.423 14
values and purpose
Decent level of
diversity in the 3.573 1.015 16 3.448 0.968 15 2.889 1.370 20
workplace
Fast career growth
3.342 1.055 17 3.138 1.224 17 3.444 0.831 17
opportunities
Organization as a
3.316 1.174 18 2.966 1.129 19 3.000 1.563 19
fun place to work
Higher than market
3.154 0.802 19 3.034 0.890 18 3.222 1.133 18
average salary
Monetary rewards
3.128 1.000 20 2.828 1.341 20 3.556 0.685 16
and bonuses
Transportation
subsidy (company 3.009 1.042 21 2.517 1.038 21 2.000 0.943 22
Sport and gym
2.581 1.048 22 2.241 1.194 22 2.111 1.100 21
facilities/subsidy
Free food and
2.462 1.009 23 2.207 0.996 23 1.667 0.816 23
snacks
4.2.3. Descriptive Statistics: Perspective Change Before and After COVID-19

In this part, we analyzed the change of perception of millennials on flexible work and
working from home after the COVID-19 crisis. The respondents showed their opinion by
grading the level of importance they gave to flexible work and home office before
COVID-19 and after COVID-19 on a Likert scale of 1 to 5, where 1= not important, 2=
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less important, 3= important, 4= very important, 5= mandatory. Same as EX data, we
have analyzed and presented the COVID-19 data by filtering them into the same three
categories: according to all the participants, according to gender, and according to age.

After analyzing the scores given by all the 156 respondents, we found that before the
COVID-19 crisis the importance of the home office and flexible working was
corresponding to less than important with a mean score of 2.846 (±1.001) in the Likert
scale. But after the COVID-19 crisis, the importance drastically increased and the mean
score became 3.942 (±0.982) which corresponds to very important in the Likert scale.
The mean score increased by 1.096 points.
Table 4-4: Perspective before and after COVID-19 according to all the participants
Before and After COVID-19 Mean S.D.
Before COVID-19, you considered flexible work and home office as 2.846 1.001
After COVID-19, you consider flexible work and home office as 3.942 0.982
Average change 1.096

In this part of our analysis, we have measured the opinion of male and female millennials
separately in table 4-5. In the table, we can see that before COVID-19 both female
(M=2.889±0.875) and male (M=2.817±1.077) millennials had a similar opinion about
flexible working and home office. The mean score of their opinion corresponded to less
than important in the Likert scale. But after COVID-19, both the scores changed
drastically. The mean score for female millennials’ opinion (M=4.143±0.814) after
COVID-19 increased 1.254 points. The mean score now corresponds between very
important and mandatory. Similarly, for males (M=3.806±1.060) the average increased
0.989 points and now corresponds to very important in Likert scale.
Table 4-5: Perspective before and after COVID-19 according to gender
Female Male
Before and After COVID-19
Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
Before COVID-19, you considered flexible work and
2.889 0.875 2.817 1.077
home office as
After COVID-19, you consider flexible work and home
4.143 0.814 3.806 1.060
office as
Average change 1.254 0.989
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Similar to gender, we have also measured the opinion change of millennials on flexible
work and working from home according to different age brackets. We have separated the
opinions of old (36-40 years), middle (31-35 years), and young (26-30 years) millennials.
According to table 4-6, before COVID-19 the mean scores for young, middle, and old
millennials’ opinions were M=2.881±0.976, M=2.690±1.086, and M=2.889±0.994
respectively. Which corresponds to between less important and important in the Likert
scale.
On the other hand, after COVID-19 all the mean scores of all the age groups have
drastically increased. The score increased the most for the middle millennials: 1.276
points, then for the young millennials: 1.085 points, and the least for the old millennials:
0.667 points. The mean score became M=3.966 for both young and middle millennials,
and M=3.556 for old millennials. Which corresponds to very important in the Likert scale.
Table 4-6: Perspective before and after COVID-19 according to different age
brackets
26-30 years 31-35 years 36-40 years
Before and After COVID-19 (young) (middle) (old)
Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
Before COVID-19, you considered flexible
2.881 0.976 2.690 1.086 2.889 0.994
work and home office as
After COVID-19, you consider flexible
3.966 0.947 3.966 0.999 3.556 1.257
work and home office as
Average change 1.085 1.276 0.667
4.2.4. Descriptive Statistics: Agile Practices and Millennials’ Working Behavior

In this part of our analysis, the compatibility of Agile practices with millennials’ working
behavior is measured. We analyzed the data by dividing it into the same three categories:
all the participants, gender, and age brackets. But this time we have measured the opinion
of the participants according to their level of agreement. The participants graded their
opinion on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5, where, 1=Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree,
3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly agree. Based on the level of agreement of millennials
on all the specified characteristics of Agile, we have measured the compatibility of
millennials with AWOW. The stronger the agreement is, the stronger the suitability. In
tables 4-7, 4-8, and 4-9 the lists are ranked from large to small according to their mean
scores. Where a higher mean score indicates higher agreement.
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From table 4-7, it can be said that in almost all the points participants have shown their
agreement. Participants have strongly agreed that they support knowledge sharing in a
team (M=4.442±0.826), want to have their manager as a mentor/ coach rather than just a
boss (M=4.288±0.870), they support fairness and do not hesitate to question the
manager’s decision if they think it is wrong (M=4.103±0.826), and they prefer flexible
working rather than 9 to 5 office (M=4.045±0,956). Moreover, the participants showed
agreement that they think failure is a great opportunity to learn (M=4.000±0.941), they
are very welcoming to change and embrace it (M=3.981±0.858), they support free and
flexible communication and instant feedbacks (M=3.776±0.910), they perform better in
small teams rather than big (M=3.718±1.055), and they prioritize value-generating task
over money (M=3.603±1.011).
However, their opinion was neutral when they were asked to choose between more
structured and scheduled work, and less structured and flexible work (M=2.955±1.247).
It is also noteworthy that their score was near to disagreement when they were asked
whether they would quit their job if they did not need the money (M=2.417±1.245).
Nevertheless, the average of all the mean scores of all the Agile practices came out to be
M=3.757, which corresponds to agree in our Likert scale.
Table 4-7: Agile practices and millennials’ working behavior according to all the
participants
Agile Practices Mean S.D.
I prefer working in a team where people willingly share knowledge 4.442 0.826
I want my manager to be a mentor/coach rather than a boss 4.288 0.870
I would question my manager’s decision if I feel it is wrong and it

4.103 0.826
can be harmful in the long run
I would prefer flexible working (freedom of when, where, and how)
4.045 0.956
rather than 9 to 5 office
I think failure is a great opportunity to learn 4.000 0.941
I feel change is natural and embrace it rather than holding on to the

3.981 0.858
existing environment
I prefer instant feedbacks and flexible communication with the team
3.776 0.910
during a task rather than scheduled meetings
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I perform better in a small team rather than a big team 3.718 1.055
Money is a second priority to me as long as my work creates value 3.603 1.011
Please choose the one that suits your personality and working style:
More structured, timely scheduled and planned work (1) (2) (3) (4) 2.955 1.247
(5) Less structured, more flexible, and continuous adaptation work
If I did not need money, I would prefer not to do a job 2.417 1.245
Average of mean 3.757

When we observed the opinion of millennials according to gender, we found very similar
results. Both male and female millennials either strongly agreed or agreed to almost all
the characteristics of the Agile way of working practices. Both female and male strongly
agreed that they prefer working in a team, prefer manager as a mentor/coach, willing to
question authority’s decision whenever necessary, would prefer flexible working over 9
to 5 office, would embrace change, think failure as a great opportunity to learn, perform
better in a small team, and would prefer instant feedbacks and flexible communication.
Interestingly enough, both females and males agreed that they would care less about
money as long as they can create value with their tasks.
On the other hand, both female and male opinion is neutral when they were asked to
choose between more structured and scheduled work, and less structured and flexible
work. It is also noteworthy that they showed disagreement when they were asked whether
they would quit their job if they did not need the money. Finally, when we analyzed the
average of all the mean scores, we found the score M=3.840 for females and M=3.701
for males. Both the scores go in the direction of agreement on the Likert scale.
Table 4-8: Agile practices and millennials’ working behavior according to gender
Female Male
Agile Practices
Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
I prefer working in a team where people willingly share

4.571 0.660 4.355 0.912
knowledge
I want my manager to be a mentor/coach rather than a boss 4.333 0.756 4.258 0.938
I would question my manager’s decision if I feel it is

4.222 0.765 4.022 0.855
wrong and it can be harmful in the long run
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I would prefer flexible working (freedom of when, where,
4.190 0.870 3.946 0.999
and how) rather than 9 to 5 office.
I feel change is natural and embrace it rather than holding
4.190 0.814 3.839 0.859
on to the existing environment
I think failure is a great opportunity to learn 3.984 0.984 4.011 0.910
I perform better in a small team rather than a big team 3.984 0.984 3.538 1.063
I prefer instant feedbacks and flexible communication

3.857 0.814 3.720 0.966
with the team during a task rather than scheduled meetings
Money is a second priority to me as long as my work
3.619 0.916 3.591 1.070
creates value
Please choose the one that suits your personality and
working style:
More structured, timely scheduled and planned work (1) 2.984 1.188 2.935 1.285
(2) (3) (4) (5) Less structured, more flexible, and
continuous adaptation work
If I did not need money, I would prefer not to do a job 2.302 1.217 2.495 1.258
Average of mean 3.840 3.701

In this part of our analysis, we are going to look into the opinion of millennials according
to their age groups. We have separated the opinions of old (36-40 years), middle (31-35
years), and young (26-30 years) millennials. Which will allow us to observe closely the
similarities and differences among the different age groups of the millennial generation.
From table 4-9, it is evident that the majority of the opinions of all the age groups are very
similar, with some minor exceptions. All the groups strongly agreed that they prefer
working in a team, prefer a manager as a mentor/coach, willing to question authority’s
decision whenever necessary, and would prefer flexible working over 9 to 5 office. They
agreed that they think failure is a great opportunity to learn. Young and old millennials
agreed, and middle millennials strongly agreed that they would embrace change. All the
groups agreed that they perform better in a small team rather than a big one, and they all
prefer instant feedbacks and flexible communication over scheduled meetings. Both
young and middle millennials agreed that they would care less about money as long as
they can create value with their task, but interestingly enough, older millennials’ score on
this matter corresponds to neutral on the Likert scale.
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On the other hand, when they were asked to choose between more structured and
scheduled work and less structured and flexible work, both young and middle millennials
graded in neutral. But older millennials showed a bit more agreement towards flexible
work on the Liker scale. Interestingly, all the groups showed disagreement when they
were asked whether they would quit their job if they did not need the money. Lastly, when
we calculated the average of all the mean scores, we found the score M=3.746 for young,
M=3.812 for middle, and M=3.727 for the old millennials. All the scores are very similar
and go in the direction of agreement on the Likert scale.
Table 4-9: Agile practices and millennials’ working behavior according to different
age brackets
26-30 years 31-35 years 36-40 years
(young) (middle) (old)
Agile Practices
Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
I prefer working in a team where people

4.407 0.876 4.586 0.558 4.444 0.831
willingly share knowledge
I want my manager to be a mentor/coach
4.254 0.922 4.448 0.723 4.222 0.416
rather than a boss
I would question my manager’s decision if I
feel it is wrong and it can be harmful in the 4.093 0.802 4.172 0.833 4.000 1.054
long run
I would prefer flexible working (freedom of
when, where, and how) rather than 9 to 5 4.034 0.956 4.103 0.923 4.000 1.054
office.
I think failure is a great opportunity to learn 3.983 0.983 4.069 0.828 4.000 0.667
I feel change is natural and embrace it

rather than holding on to the existing 3.932 0.890 4.172 0.746 4.000 0.667
environment
I prefer instant feedbacks and flexible
communication with the team during a task 3.780 0.894 3.690 0.914 4.000 1.054
rather than scheduled meetings
I perform better in a small team rather than
3.771 1.061 3.483 1.102 3.778 0.629
a big team
Money is a second priority to me as long as
3.644 1.013 3.621 0.887 3.000 1.155
my work creates value
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Please choose the one that suits your
personality and working style:
More structured, timely scheduled and
2.924 1.222 2.931 1.258 3.444 1.423
planned work (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Less
structured, more flexible, and continuous
adaptation work
If I did not need money, I would prefer not
2.381 1.235 2.655 1.267 2.111 1.197
to do a job
Average of mean 3.746 3.812 3.727
4.2.5. Reliability of the Scale

Reliability refers to a measurement’s accuracy to obtain the same outcomes when the test
is repeated under the same conditions (Blumberg et al., 2005). If a test model is reliable,
it delivers consistent and reproducible outcomes. In this research, the reliability of the
scale was measured with the help of Cronbach’s alpha (Cronbach, 1951) which signifies
the internal consistency of the scale. A score above 0.5 in Cronbach’s alpha means that
the objects testing in the same configuration will provide equivalent scores (Hinton et al.,
2014). From table 4-10, it is apparent that the Cronbach’s alpha scores of all the
components of this study are above 0.5. This proves that the scales used in this study
questionnaire are reliable and would be able to achieve their intended purpose.
Table 4-10: Reliability of the scale
Cronbach’s N of
Scales
Alpha Items
Employee Experience 0.919 23
COVID 0.511 2
Agile 0.694 11
4.2.6. Test of Validity

Validity refers to the accuracy of a method to measure what it intended to measure
(Blumberg et al., 2005). A validity testing was done on the research questionnaire to
justify its adequacy to measure the intended constructs. The test of construct validity was
conducted with the help of Principal Component Analysis. The weightage of each object
for measuring the constructs is generally measured by Factor loading values ranging from
0 to 1. In our analysis, to get a better understanding of the results and to make sure that
the study’s outcomes have the greatest significance to the research questions, the
Eigenvalues above 1 and a factor loading of at least 0.5 were considered as acceptable.
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Factor Loading Analysis:
In table 4-11, the KMO measure of sampling adequacy value is 0.853, which indicates
that the sample size is large enough to perform a factor analysis and to identify the
individual contribution of each factor. Furthermore, the significance value in Bartlett’s
test of sphericity is p=0.000, confirming adequate correlation among the variables.
Table 4-11: KMO and Bartlett’s Test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. 0.853

Approx. Chi-Square 2606.312
Bartlett’s Test of
df 630
Sphericity
Sig. 0.000
When the factor analysis was performed on the questionnaire, the factor loading was
found to be above 0.5 for all the items, which confirms the intercorrelation of the item
variables and their significance in measuring the expected outcomes of this study.
Furthermore, almost all the items in the table (4-12) seem to have good communalities
(above 0.4). This is also an indication that all the items correlate with each other very
well. Hence, confirming the validity of the questionnaire.
Table 4-12: Factors of the study
Factor % of
Factors Communalities
loadings Variance
Employee Experience 36.991
Freedom of where, when, and how to work
0.577 0.516
(Flexible work, home office)
Availability of necessary technologies at
0.575 0.586
work
Higher than market average salary 0.581 0.466
Trust, collaboration, and transparency
0.641 0.640
among coworkers
To be paid fairly, equally, and timely 0.661 0.636
Job security and stability 0.660 0.585
Balanced work load 0.598 0.417
Good company culture 0.699 0.607
Regular feedback and recognition from
0.633 0.541
managers and coworkers
Meaningful and value generating task with
0.676 0.655
proper instructions
Continuous learning and development, i.e.
0.535 0.613
trainings, online courses
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Monetary rewards and bonuses 0.589 0.656
Quality and behavior of manager and
0.690 0.627
management
Decent level of diversity in the workplace 0.667 0.472
Fast career growth opportunities 0.688 0.647
Health and well-being coverage 0.611 0.461
Transportation subsidy (company
0.512 0.604
Organization as a fun place to work 0.702 0.670
Encouragement of creativity by the
0.735 0.650
organization
Agile Working 31.834
I would prefer flexible working (freedom
of when, where, and how) rather than 9 to 5 0.524 0.440
office
Money is a second priority to me as long
0.561 0.327
as my work creates value
I would question my manager’s decision if
I feel it is wrong and it can be harmful in 0.611 0.546
the long run
I want my manager to be a mentor/coach
0.704 0.600
rather than a boss
I feel change is natural and embrace it
rather than holding on to the existing 0.670 0.551
environment
I think failure is a great opportunity to
0.662 0.562
learn
I prefer instant feedbacks and flexible
communication with the team during a task 0.641 0.423
rather than scheduled meetings
I prefer working in a team where people
0.724 0.535
willingly share knowledge
4.3. Discussion
Employee Experience (EX) and the Agile Way of Working (AWOW) are two very
famous approaches in the modern workplace. These approaches are being constantly
researched upon and are being implemented by all sorts of organizations to increase the
engagement, satisfaction, and productivity of their employees (Morgan, 2017; Denning,
2016; Allsopp, 2009). The main aim of our study was to take this research one step further
and identify how can these two popular approaches be used to improve the least engaged
generation millennials’ (Gallup, 2016) engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity. As
seen from the preceding sections, questionnaires were utilized to collect essential data
related to participants’ demographics, their perception towards EX and AWOW, and their
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change of perception towards the home office and flexible working before and after the
COVID-19 crisis. After that, the data was analyzed with relevant statistical tools and
presented in the results (4.2.) section. This section of our study will interpret and discuss
those results.
4.3.1. Demographic Details of Generation Y Participants

Most of the respondents who participated in the study belonged to the 26-40 age range,
suggesting that this group of people are the members of the millennial generation. Anyone
older than 40 years and younger than 26 years was considered as a member of a different
generation and was eliminated from this study. There was a total of 156 participants who
fell into the specified age group and were chosen as millennials. The scrutiny of the
participants’ demographic details showed that the majority of the study’s participants
were male aged 26 to 30 years. Among the 156 participants, there were 93 male (60%)
participants and 63 female (40%) participants. Which shows a clear gender imbalance in
the study sample. Nevertheless, this imbalance could be justified by The World Bank
Data (2020). According to which, in 2020, the female percentage of the total workforce
was 38.784. Which supports and justifies the accuracy of the male-female ratio of our
research data. Besides, gender gaps have also been highlighted in prior studies among
various professionals (World Bank, 2012; Emslie et al., 1999), which emphasizes the
necessity of gathering gender details of the participants in our study. Since attitudes,
opinions, expectations, personalities, and job performances can differ in different ages
(Bertolino et al., 2013), differences may also exist regarding EX and AWOW practices
within millennials. Therefore, we have collected the data by dividing the participants into
different age groups in our study.
All the participants who took the survey had different levels of professional education.
Of the total participants, 85 (54%) respondents had a master’s degree as the highest level
of their education and 51 (33%) respondents had a bachelor’s degree as their highest level
of education. Other 16 (10%) respondents had ausbilding and 4 respondents had a
secondary diploma as the highest level of education. Based on this data, we can say that
Generation Y is a very educated generation and they give high priority to learning and
knowledge gathering. This could be justified by a 2018 Bloomberg article, where
millennials are identified as the most educated generation in history (Florida, 2018). A
similar claim has been made in a 2019 Pew Research Center report as well, where it is
stated that millennials are much more educated than previous generations (Bialik & Fry,
2019). It is noteworthy that at the time of the survey, the majority of the participants
79
(42%) had 3-5 years of professional experience, 39% had 0-2 years of experience, 15%
had 6-10 years of experience, and 4% had 11-20 years of experience. This indicates that
the majority of millennials are working in either entry/junior level or mid-level positions,
and very few millennials are working in upper mid-level or top-level positions. In
summary, it could be said that the participants of this research are a blend of different
ages and different backgrounds, with different levels of education and experiences.
4.3.2. Employee Experiences Preferred by Millennials

In this section of our discussion, we will address the third sub-question of this research:
“What are the employee experiences organizations need to provide to increase
engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity of millennial workforce?” and try to
conclude in light of our findings. Part 2 of our research questionnaire is related to this
question. After getting the responses we have statistically analyzed the data in several
categories. First, we have analyzed the data according to all the respondents (4.2.2.1),
then according to gender (4.2.2.2), and finally according to their age groups (4.2.2.3).
Which allowed us to cross-check and precisely identify the best employee experiences
for millennial employees.
After careful observation of the research findings from all the three categories we have
identified that, to almost all the respondents to be paid fairly equally and timely is the
most important experience to have regardless of gender. Though in the second position,
trust, collaboration, and transparency among co-workers is also very important to
millennials, especially to middle and older millennials. It is also clear that the availability
of necessary technology is indispensable to millennials, as it was graded very high in
almost all the categories, the only exception being older millennials. Older millennials
graded job security and stability, and the quality of manager and management slightly
higher than technology. Which is a fine example that tech-savviness is stronger among
the younger people. Then comes job security and stability in the list. Interestingly enough,
though it is undoubtedly very important to all participants, males graded it more important
than females. At priority number five is the availability of internet at work for male,
female and younger millennials and for middle and older millennials at priority 8 and 9.
Which is another justification for the fact that technology savviness is more among the
younger people. Quality of manager and management is at number 6 based on all
participants, young and middle millennials, and based on the male scores at number 7.
Interestingly enough, for female and older millennials, it is much high in importance (rank
4). Good company culture, balanced workload, and health and wellbeing coverage are at
80
number 7, 8, and 9 in the important list. It is noteworthy that company culture is valued
more by the middle and older millennials than by younger, and a balanced workload is
much more important to older millennials than to the middle and younger. It is also
noteworthy that health and wellbeing coverage is much more important to females than
to males and much less important to older millennials than to middle and young. Then
comes meaningful and value generating task with proper instructions in the priority list.
It is slightly more important to males than to females. These were the top 10 most
important employee experiences according to our survey data, which we would like to
specify as the top priority list.
We specified the next seven experiences as the second priority list. Which are: continuous
learning and development, i.e. trainings, online courses; clarity of company values and
purpose; freedom of where, when, and how to work (Flexible work, home office); regular
feedback and recognition from managers and co-workers; encouragement of creativity
by the organization; decent level of diversity in the workplace; and fast career growth
opportunities. Among them, continuous learning and development has equal and similar
importance to male, female, younger, and older millennials. But to middle millennials, it
is of much less importance. Meaningful work, balance workload, and regular feedback
are in higher priority for them. Furthermore, clarity of company values and purposes is
also much more important to middle millennials than their younger and older
counterparts. This indicates, though gradual improvement and lifelong learning mentality
is a common trait in millennials, it fluctuates during different periods of their life, and
most interestingly, career development gets a much higher priority than learning and
development when millennials are at the mid-level of their career. On the other hand,
diversity is observably much more important to young and middle millennials than to
older millennials. This indicates that the concept of diversity in the workplace is getting
more popular day by day.
Next six experiences we have specified as the low priority list. Because these experiences
have consistently been graded as the lowest by all the millennial participants in all the
criteria of our analysis. They are- organization as a fun place to work, higher than the
market average salary, monetary rewards and bonuses, transportation subsidy, sport and
gym facilities/subsidy, and free food and snacks.
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4.3.3. Change of Perspective of Millennials Before and After COVID-19
In this section of our discussion, we will discuss the change of perspective of millennials
on flexible work and working from home before and after the COVID-19 crisis. COVID-
19 was announced as a Pandemic by the WHO Director-General (2020) on 11 March
2020. Since then the devastating effects of COVID-19 have only risen and have been
affecting the world in every way possible including, the world economy (Chudik et al.,
2020; FitzGerald et al., 2020), mortality (Elflein, 2020), mental health (Brunier &
Drysdale, 2020), livelihood and food (Chriscaden, 2020), and last but not least the work-
life (“ILO Monitor”, 2020). COVID-19 has forced people to reimagine the office and
work-life almost overnight (Boland et al., 2020) and forced people to work from home
(Brenan, 2020).
Therefore, in this part of our research, we have tried to identify how much the COVID-
19 crisis has affected millennials’ work life. To do so, we asked millennials how much
important the flexible working and home office was for them before COVID-19 and after
COVID-19. Similar to EX, we have analyzed this data according to three categories: all
the respondents (4.2.3.1), gender (4.2.3.2), and the age brackets (4.2.3.3) to get a better
outlook of the matter. In almost all the measured categories, the importance of the home
office and flexible working has drastically increased (1 point on average) after COVID-
19 on the Likert scale. The change was the most for female (1.254) and middle (1.276)
millennials, and the least for older (0.667) millennials. In the young (1.085) and male
(0.989) category, the change was also very significant. These scores show that the
importance of flexible work and home office is comparatively low in older millennials
and high in younger millennials. Nevertheless, all the results have shown that millennials,
after COVID-19, value home office and flexible working as very important.
On the other hand, it is observable that in the previous section (4.3.2) flexible work and
home office is graded in the second priority list of EX. Which is supposed to be the normal
scenario of this experience for millennials. But very interestingly, COVID-19 has pushed
the importance of this experience one level higher from somewhat important to very
important. Based on this analysis, we can say that in the world after COVID-19, flexible
work and home office will play a vital role in the work-life of millennials and their
decision in choosing the employer to work for. It will also heavily affect their job
satisfaction, engagement, and productivity (Harper, 2020; EY Belgium, 2020; Melian &
Zebib, 2020). Organizations may have to reimagine the office and work-life (Boland et
al., 2020) if they want to attract and retain the millennial workforce.
82
4.3.4. Agile Working Practices and Millennials’ Working Behavior
In this section of our discussion, we will address the fourth and final sub-question of the
research, “Can incorporating Agile practices in the workplace increase engagement, job
satisfaction, and productivity of millennials?”. To identify the answer to this question,
we have researched and very elaboratively discussed millennials (2.3) in the literature
review part. Which includes their definition (2.3.1), characteristics and attitudes at the
workplace (2.3.2), and motivation factors (2.3.3). We have also very carefully studied
and discussed the Agile way of working practices (2.5). Which includes, the history of
Agile (2.5.1), its definition (2.5.2), Agile mindset (2.5.3), Agile methodology (2.5.4),
doing Agile vs being Agile (2.5.5), characteristics of being Agile (2.5.6), Agile way of
working (2.5.7) and its advantages (2.5.8). Based on our research on millennials and the
Agile way of working practices, we have created the 4th part of our questionnaire. In
which we have created questions based on the characteristics of the Agile mindset and
AWOW. Then we have asked the participants to reflect their level of agreement to those
characteristics on a Likert scale. Based on their level of agreement, we have measured the
suitability of the Agile way of working with millennials. Similar to EX and COVID-19
data, we have also analyzed this data according to all the respondents (4.2.4.1), gender
(4.2.4.2), and age groups (4.2.4.3) to get a better outlook on the matter.
When we observe tables 4-7, 4-8, and 4-9, we can see that almost all the mean scores of
the characteristics are equivalent to either agree or strongly agree on the Likert scale.
Furthermore, when we look at the average of all the mean scores of all the respondents
(3.757), we can see that it clearly corresponds to the agreement on the Liker scale. The
same situation is observable in the case of female (3.840), male (3.701), young (3.746),
middle (3.812), and old (3.727) millennials. In all the categories, the average mean scores
correspond to agreement on the Likert scale. On the basis of this analysis, we can
conclude that the working behavior of millennials and the Agile way of working is very
much suitable. Thus, it can be said that the implementation of Agile working practices in
the organization as part of the overall employee experience of millennials will definitely
increase their engagement (Zeng & Han, 2005). Which will lead to job satisfaction (Dash
& Panda, 2019; Kim-Soon & Manikayasagam, 2015) and ultimately to improved
productivity (“State of the American Workplace”, 2017).
83
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation
The purpose of this final chapter is to conclude and reflect on the research described in
the preceding chapters of this study and to provide some recommendations for
organizations and future studies.
5.1. Conclusion
The present study was undertaken to scrutinize how EX and AWOW can be used to
enhance the engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity of the millennial workforce in
an organization. Consequently, the following overarching question was prepared: “How
can an organization improve engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity of the
millennial workforce by using Employee Experience and Agile practices?”. Which was
then divided into four sub-questions. The objective of this research was to find the
answers to the sub-questions, which will ultimately be the answer to the overarching
question. To answer the research questions, a questionnaire was prepared based on the
literature study, and with it, a survey was conducted to get the opinion of the millennial
generation. A total of 223 individuals belonging to different generations responded to the
survey. Among them, 156 participants fell into the specified age bracket of 26-40 years
and were chosen as millennials. The results of the study were drawn based on the
responses of these 156 individuals.
The objective of the very first sub-question was to identify the characteristics and
perception of millennial individuals currently working with different organizations. To
identify the answer, we have conducted our research in two segments. First, we have
researched the general characteristics, motivation factors, and working behavior of
millennials/Generation Y from various studies, researches, and reports done by many
researchers and companies. Which we have elaboratively discussed in section 2.3 of our
literature review. Secondly, to get more specific and individual data we have gathered
and analyzed the demographic details (age, gender, the highest level of education, and
years of professional experience) of the respondents. Which allowed us to elaboratively
address the research question and better understand the characteristics and perceptions of
Generation Y individuals. Thus, fulfilling the objective.
The objective of the second sub-question of our research was to specify the significance
of attracting and retaining millennial employees. We have addressed this matter and
elaboratively discussed it in Section 1.2. Based on the discussion, it can be concluded that
the success of the organizations, regardless of country or sector, depends highly on
84
millennials, as they are and will remain for a long time the largest generation in the
workforce. Thus, attracting and retaining Generation Y talents should be given utmost
importance in an organization.
The objective of the third sub-question of our research was to identify and prioritize the
experiences millennials want to have in their workplace. Which, if implemented by their
employer/organization, would highly enhance their engagement, job satisfaction, and
productivity. This was achieved through the results from the data analysis of part 2 (EX)
and part 3 (COVID-19) of our questionnaire. Based on the results, we have specified the
top 10 experiences from the list as the top priority list, the next seven experiences as the
second priority list, and the last six experiences as low priority list according to the grades
given by the participants. While we were doing this research, the world was facing the
COVID-19 crisis and the experiences flexible working and home office were getting more
attention than ever before. Therefore, especially to address and analyze this experience,
we have created part 3 of our questionnaire. After analyzing the data from this part, we
found out that the experience (home office and flexible working) which was supposed to
be in the second priority list of the experiences according to the results (4.2.2.1), has now
become one of the most important experiences after the COVID-19 crisis. So much so
that the engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity of all generations including
millennials now greatly depend on it (Harper, 2020; EY Belgium, 2020; Melian & Zebib,
2020). However, as this experience has received increased focus from a specific event,
its significance may return to a normal state after the COVID-19 issue has been resolved.
Nevertheless, it will still remain an important experience for the millennial workforce.
The fourth and last objective of our research was to identify whether or not Agile working
practices fit millennials’ working behavior and should be implemented as part of the
organization’s EX to increase millennial’s engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity.
To identify that, we have prepared the 4th section of our questionnaire based on the
literature review (section 2.5). After analyzing the data, we have found that almost all the
characteristics of Agile working were agreed upon by the millennial participants. Not
only that, the mean scores of the total population and also of all the demographics (male,
female, young, middle, old) have corresponded in agreement on the Likert scale.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the characteristics of Agile fit millennials’ working
behavior, and implementing the Agile way of working practices in the organization will
increase millennial’s engagement and job satisfaction in the workplace, which will
ultimately increase their productivity.
85
Therefore, we can comprehensively conclude that this research was able to accomplish
all the related objectives. This research was carried out as a generational study concerning
the working behaviors and preferences of Generation Y individuals exclusively. The
findings of which can significantly facilitate an organization while dealing with the
millennial generation. Especially while attracting, recruiting, engaging, and retaining
them.
5.2. Limitations of the Research

No research is without limitations with regard to the outcomes, nor is this one. A fair
share of limitations was there for this research as well. While defining the millennial
generation, there was no universally recognized range of birth years for this specific group
of people that could be found. Although our research had a very good blend of
respondents, there were way more young millennials in comparison to their older
counterparts. Another limitation of this research was the topic of EX itself. As it is a fairly
new topic, there were not so many varieties of resources available on this topic and among
the available ones, almost all of those were done after the year 2000.
On the other hand, this research was conducted during the time of the biggest crisis of the
21st century, the pandemic COVID-19. Which had a considerable impact on this research.
The usage of very common facilities such as libraries, classrooms, face-to-face
discussions with the supervisors, as well as other common university facilities were not
available. As a result, the research was conducted depending highly on the availability of
reliable online resources. Furthermore, due to the uncertainty and unforeseen obstacles
that came with the COVID-19 crisis, all the phases of the research took much more time
to conduct than the initial estimation. Lastly, this thesis is the outcome of just six months
of research work and was limited by the standards set by the International Graduate
Center (IGC), Hochschule Bremen, Germany.
5.3. Recommendations for the Organizations

The findings of this research portray that the preferences of millennials are without a
doubt different from that of the other generations, and they give some experiences more
preference over others. As this generation is a very vital part of the current and future
workforce, the existing organizations are recommended to implement the experiences that
were shown in the top priority list in this research (section 4.3.2) without any delay. For
the new organizations or start-ups, it is highly recommended that they start the business
with these top priority experiences as part of their working setup. The experiences in the
86
second priority list are also recommended to be implemented either parallelly or
immediately after implementing the experiences in the top priority list. Moreover, though
it is shown in the second priority list, we highly recommend all the organizations to
immediately provide the facility of flexible work and working from home to all their
employees. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, this experience has become a crying need for
the safety of all the employees. We further recommend implementing the Agile working
practices in the organization if not already implemented. Because according to the
findings of this thesis, it is fairly clear that the AWOW supports the working behavior of
millennials and not to mention all the advantages of Agile working itself.
5.4. Suggestions for Future Research

As mentioned, the current study was conducted while facing various unforeseen
limitations. Therefore, an obvious suggestion for future researchers would be to plan in
advance and stay prepared for any obstacles, both mentally and in terms of resources.
Another suggestion would be regarding the six-month time restriction on this research.
We believe these topics have the potential to be researched much more in-depth if more
time is allotted. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, it would be beneficial for the analysis
itself if coherence is ensured among the sample sizes of different ages and genders when
conducting the survey. The quantity difference of each segment should not be very high
in comparison to the other.
87
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Appendix
Questionnaire for the Research Survey

Dear Participant,
I have undertaken a research study on “How to Improve Job Satisfaction, Engagement, and
Productivity of millennial Workforce using Employee Experience and Agile Working
Practices.”
I would be grateful if you could spare your valuable time to contribute to my research by
filling up the questionnaire. The data collected through this questionnaire shall be kept
anonymous, confidential and will be used for academic purposes only. Thank you very much
for your help.
Regards,
Shah Naoaj Ahmed
Part 1: Participant’s Demographic Details:

1. Gender: Male Female Other
2. Age: 26-30 31-35 36-40 Other age groups
3. Highest level of education: PHD, Master, Bachelor, Ausbildung, Other_______
4. Professional Work Experience: 0-2 years , 3-5 years  6 to 10 years 
11 to 20 years  more than 20 years 
Part 2: Employee Experience:
Please rank the following experiences based on their level of importance for you when
choosing an employer and also for your job satisfaction, engagement, and productivity in
the work:
1= Not important, 2= Less important, 3= Important, 4= Very important, 5= Mandatory
S.
No Statements 1 2 3 4 5
Freedom of where, when, and how to work (Flexible work, home
1 office)
2 Availability of necessary technologies at work
3 Higher than market average salary
4 Clarity of company values and purpose
5 Trust, collaboration, and transparency among co-workers
6 To be paid fairly, equally, and timely
7 Job security and stability
8 Balanced work load
9 Good company culture
10 Regular feedback and recognition from managers and co-workers
104
11 Meaningful and value generating task with proper instructions
12 Continuous learning and development, i.e. trainings, online courses
13 Monetary rewards and bonuses
14 Quality and behavior of manager and management
15 Decent level of diversity in the workplace
16 Fast career growth opportunities
17 Health and well-being coverage
18 Free food and snacks
19 Transportation subsidy (company transport/allowance)
20 Availability of internet at work
21 Sport and gym facilities/subsidy
22 Organization as a fun place to work
23 Encouragement of creativity by the organization
Part 3: COVID-19 and Flexible Work

Please choose your opinion on Flexible work and home office before and after the COVID-
19 Crisis
1= Not important, 2= Less important, 3= Important, 4= Very important, 5= Mandatory
S. Statements 1 2 3 4 5
No
1 Before COVID-19, you considered Flexible work and home office as
2 After COVID-19, you consider Flexible work and home office as
Part 4: Agile Working Practices:

Please indicate your level of agreement to the following statements:
1=Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly agree
S.
Statements 1 2 3 4 5
No
I would prefer flexible working (freedom of when, where, and how)
1
rather than 9 to 5 office
2 Money is a second priority to me as long as my work creates value
3 If I did not need money, I would prefer not to do a job
I would question my manager’s decision if I feel it is wrong and it
4
can be harmful in the long run
5 I want my manager to be a mentor/coach rather than a boss
I feel change is natural and embrace it rather than holding on to the
6
existing environment
105
7 I think failure is a great opportunity to learn
I prefer instant feedbacks and flexible communication with the team
8
during a task rather than scheduled meetings
9 I perform better in a small team rather than a big team
10 I prefer working in a team where people willingly share knowledge
Please choose the one that suits your personality and working style: a.
11 More structured, timely scheduled, and planned work
b. Less structured, more flexible, and continuous adaptation work
106
Declaration of Honor
I herewith declare that I am the sole author of the current master thesis according to the
regulation of Bremen University of Applied Sciences and that I have conducted all works
connected with the master thesis on my own.
Furthermore, I declare that I only used those resources that are referenced in the work.
All formulations and concepts taken from printed, verbal or online sources be they word-
for-word quotations or corresponding in their meaning are quoted according to the rules
of good scientific conduct and are indicated by footnotes, in the text or other forms of
detailed references. Support during the work including significant supervision is indicated
accordingly.
The master thesis has not been presented to any other examination authority. The work
has been submitted in printed and electronic form.
I am aware of the legal consequences of a false declaration of honor.
Date: 05.02.2021 Signature

Shah Naoaj Ahmed
107
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Employee Experience and Agile Working: How to Improve Engagement, Job

Thesis · February 2021

Shah Naoaj Ahmed

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Submitted by: Shah Naoaj Ahmed

Matriculation No.: 5020388

First Examiner: Dr. Mihaela Jucan

Due Date: 05.02.2021

I dedicate my thesis to the memory of

Keywords: Generation Y, Millennials, Employee Experience, Agile, Agile Working,

1.1. Theory of Generations

The Traditionalists/ Maturists (Pre-1945)

Figure 1-1: An overview of the working generations

Generation Y/Millennials (1981-1995)

According to Berkup (2014), different events have considerably influenced this

Generation Z (born after 1995)

1.2.1. Significance of Millennials in Current and Future Workforce

Figure 1-3: Five Generations in the workplace

1.2.2. Significance of Attracting and Retaining Millennials for Organizations

The investment an organization makes during an employee’s tenure is substantial, and

1.3. Employee Experience (EX)

1.5. Problem Description

1.6. Aim of the Research

1.7 Objectives of the Research

1.8. Research Question

1.10. Organization of the Thesis

2.1. Chapter Overview

2.2. Employee Motivation

Theory 1: Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Theory 2: McGregor’s X and Y Theory

Theory 3: Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

2.2.2. Rewards Management

2.3. Millennials/ Generation Y

2.3.1. Definition of Millennials

2.3.2. Characteristics and Attitudes of Millennials at the Workplace

2.3.3. Millennials’ Motivation Factors in the Workplace

• Millennials value diversity in the workplace: 39% of millennials reported to like

2.4. Employee Experience (EX)

2.4.1. The Concept of EX

2.4.2. Employee Experience Definition

Figure 2-1: Stages and functions of the employee life cycle

Figure 2-3: The Irresistible Organization

Figure 2-4: The Employee Experience Variables

2.4.3.1. The Physical Environment

1. Choose to bring in friends or visitors: A very significant identifier of a good

2.4.3.2. The Technological Environment

1. Available to everyone: If a certain technology is offered, it should be offered to

2.4.3.3. The Cultural Environment

2.5. Agile Working Practices

2.5.1. The History of Agile

Figure 2-6: Comparing Software Development Paradigms: 2013

2.5.2: What is Agile?

2.5.3. Agile Mindset

Figure 2-8: Ahmed Sidky’s definition of Agile

2.5.5. Doing Agile vs Being Agile

2.5.6. Agile Way of Working (AWOW)

2.5.7. The Characteristics of Agile

Figure 2-9: Characteristics of Fixed and Agile mindset

1. Work is done in small, autonomous, accountable, and multidisciplinary teams

2.5.8. Advantages of Agile Working

2.7. Employee Engagement

Figure 2-10: EX is positively associated with work performance