Millennial business owners are maintaining positive attitudes about their economic conditions, making them more likely than owners from other generations to hire staff, say their businesses are growing and give employees more benefits.

A survey, conducted by Harris Poll for the Principal Financial Group, investigated the attitudes of small and medium business owners. The data shows that millennial business owners have very positive outlooks on the future of their businesses.

Millennial Business Owners Add Staff

Out of all of the businesses surveyed, 65 percent of business owners said that they had added staff within the past 12 months. Millennial business owners were very likely to have increased staff, with 83 percent of owners surveyed saying that they had added workers within the last 12 months. Compared to millennials, 66 percent of Generation X business owners said they added workers and 49 percent of Baby Boomer business owners said they had done so.

Growing or Struggling Business?

The vast majority of business owners surveyed said that they viewed the financial health of their businesses as stable or better. Others indicated their businesses were growing. Millennials were far more likely at 51 percent to say that their businesses were growing than Generation X business owners at 35 percent.

On the other side of financial health, millennial business owners rarely considered their businesses to be struggling. Zero percent of millennials surveyed said that their businesses were struggling to survive. Generation X and Baby Boomer business owners were not quite as confident, with 6 percent of Generation X owners and 8 percent of Baby Boomer owners saying that their businesses were struggling.

More Staff, Benefits

Millennial business owners appeared confident in the future. Out of the millennials surveyed, 54 percent said that they planned to add more staff in the next 12 months. Generation X, at 36 percent, and Baby Boomer owners, at 38 percent, were less likely to commit to adding staff in the same time frame.

Millennial business owners at 48 percent were also very likely to add more benefits to their workers' benefits packages within the next 12 months. Thirty-one percent of Generation X owners and 23 percent of Baby Boomers said the same, indicating they may be less confident.

Millennial business owners were also very likely to offer benefits valued by today's employees, such as 401k plans (34 percent), health insurance (25 percent), maternity leave (26 percent) and vision insurance (27 percent). These benefits were less likely to be offered by Generation X and Baby Boomer owners.

Perks at Work

According to the poll, the way business is conducted at millennial businesses is likely more inviting than at Generation X or Baby Boomer-owned businesses. Millennial businesses were much more likely to offer free food (52 percent), allow telecommuting (47 percent), have an onsite game room (31 percent) and offer nap rooms (24 percent) than Generation X or Baby Boomer businesses.

Millennial business owners were happy with their roles, but even with all of the responsibilities they have, many of them were working less than 40 hours. Millennial business owners were more likely to work 21 to 40 hours (47 percent), with the average being 38.8 hours per week. Generation X, at an average of 47.8 hours, and Baby Boomer owners, averaging 47.1 hours, were generally putting in more hours. Some 28 percent of Baby Boomers put in 51 to 60 hours.

The survey shows that millennial business owners have confidence in their companies. These business owners are confident enough to add workers, add more benefits and work less hours, while still believing their companies will continue to grow.