The co-workers of 20-somethings are less than enthused with the younger generation's work ethic, according to a poll released Monday.

The national telephone poll of 637 working Americans was conducted on behalf of Workplace Options, a Raleigh-based consulting firm. The results showed that 77 percent of workers felt the millennial generation has a different attitude toward workplace responsibility than other age groups. Millennials are people born primarily in the 1980s and early 1990s, who started coming of age at the new millennium.

Furthermore, 68 percent said they think millennial workers are less motivated to take on responsibility and produce quality work; 46 percent said they think millennials are less engaged at work than others.

Bill Crigger, president of Charlotte-based Compass Career Management Solutions, said he hears of such conflicts when talking with human-resources professionals.

"Part of it is just how fast technology and workplaces are changing," said Crigger, 62. "Anytime there's a large influx of people into the workforce, it changes."

Many conflicts, Crigger said, originate because of differing attitudes about corporate cultures. Older workers expected to climb a career ladder, he said. "I literally sat in chair one, then moved to chair two, and so on," Crigger said. "(Young workers) are not interested in climbing a ladder. They've been raised under the tech gurus, the whole 'anyone can do this in a garage' mindset. Other generations find that a little frustrating."

Workplace Options said the poll's results could be partially due to timing. "The attitudes reflected in this poll may stem, in part, from the responsibilities younger workers typically have as more junior employees, but this is certainly a trend to monitor," said Workplace Options CEO Dean Debnam, in a statement.

Respondents in the millennial generation didn't grade themselves much better, the poll found. Fifty-four percent said peers in their age group are less motivated to take on responsibility, and 34 percent said millennial workers are less engaged than others.

The one area where everyone agreed they had an edge is technology - 78 percent said millennials have an advantage.

The poll, conducted in September, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent, Workplace Options said.