The American workforce believes that the most important employee initiatives for organizations involve training, according to a new study released by Finn Futures, the polling and research division of Finn Partners. Diversity and inclusion programs came in last in importance. This view held true regardless of racial or ethnic background. For non-Caucasian groups, investing in employees, providing flexible working environments, and developing effective recruitment tools topped the list of importance, and diversity programs ranked near the bottom. The only group holding a different view of training and development programs was Millennials, who felt social responsibility was more important than employee enrichment. Also, running contrary to the current trend of open office spaces and collaborative working environments, nearly half of those polled said they preferred to work alone, with only one-third saying they preferred to collaborate on projects. "The lower ranking of diversity programs seems to fly in the face of what we believe we know about the value of diversity to businesses' bottom lines,” says Finn Partners director of research Christopher Lawrence. “But the fact that this ranking is consistent across all demographic groups may indicate that these programs themselves are not seen as immediately beneficial to individual workers who are hyper-focused on career growth and trajectory. They place greater value on training and investment—color-blind programs that benefit all employees, regardless of gender, age or race.”