The People Behind The Racks - A Global Wellbeing Survey. Today’s Insight: Motivation by Age

The response to the Global Wellbeing Survey has been exceptional, with more than 700 submissions so far – a huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their input

We’re already uncovering some powerful insights, and we’ll be sharing the full report in September. In the meantime, here’s an early look at one important finding.

Why Motivation Matters

Motivation is one of the strongest predictors of performance, resilience, and retention. It reflects the underlying drivers that determine whether teams thrive, stagnate, or burn out. Balanced motivation reduces mistakes, lowers attrition, and unlocks unrealised potential

Today’s Insight: Motivation by Age

The chart above shows three core factors across age groups in the Data Centre sector.

→ Autonomy is consistently strong across all ages – people value the freedom to shape how they work.

→ Proficiency lags behind, suggesting widening skills gaps as technology evolves.

→ Psychological Safety is lowest among 18–29-year-olds, meaning younger professionals may feel less comfortable raising concerns – a key risk for errors and early attrition. Which is worrying - all the efforts underway to attract young people into our industry - and we are at risk of losing them.

Key Insight: Autonomy can motivate – but only when paired with confidence in skills and a culture where people feel safe to voice challenges. Right now, the gap suggests many teams are running hard but without enough guardrails.

If we want sustainable growth in digital infrastructure, we need to close the gap between autonomy, proficiency, and psychological safety. That’s the pathway to high performance and workforce wellbeing.

Do these trends resonate with your experience? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Take the Survey

The Survey is open until the end of August with results shared in September.

The Survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous.

Here's the link → TAKE THE SURVEY

Next up, we’ll share insights on Motivation by Gender – stay tuned.

#WorkforceInsights #DataCentres #Wellbeing #Leadership #EmployeeExperience

This insight comes from MindAlpha’s Global Workforce Study – a streamlined version of our full Motivation Metrics™ model. If you’d like to understand the specific drivers of retention, burnout, and performance in your organisation, we offer a free consultation to show what a deeper diagnostic can achieve. Message me or visit mindalpha.co.uk to learn more.