Survey suggests millennials aren't lazy and entitled. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

Life

Millennials can't seem to escape the notion that they're of a lazy, spoiled, entitled generation. But a recent survey revealed that millennials are, by many metrics, much harder workers than older generations — even when it comes at the expense of their personal lives.

The survey — conducted by by Project: Time Off, an organization that advocates for prioritizing vacation time in American workplaces — found that millennials are more likely to pass up their vacation time, even though they typically receive fewer vacation days than their older colleagues.

Nearly half of millennials surveyed said it was a good thing to be seen by one's boss as a "work martyr" or someone who shows "complete dedication" to their job.

Shutterstock / Iurii Stepanov

The survey solicited responses from 5,600 workers and found that millennials, more than Gen X-ers or Baby Boomers, strive to be seen as completely devoted employees.

Bob Kelleher, a Boston-based employee engagement consultant and author, told the Boston Globe that many millennials participated in competitive extracurriculars growing up, competed to get into a good college and have delayed marriage and children — all factors that could contribute to a workaholic mentality. 

"This is a driven generation," Kelleher told the Globe.