The owner of a Dong Guan clothing factory is upset with her employees - migrant workers, born in the 1980s who make up 60 percent of the total number of migrant workers, who swarm to cities looking for work - because, she says, they are disobedient, and lack self-discipline, the China Youth Daily reports.

"I really wonder what they are thinking!" says the woman, surnamed Liu.

Liu says that even the threat of being fired doesn't affect them, as they are more concerned with their rights and protections than the amount of money they are paid.

The new generation of migrants born after 1980 is stirring things up in the factories where they work.

A recent survey conducted by the China Youth Daily shows that only 18 per cent of migrants born after 1980 polled said they work to put food on the table. In sharp contrast nearly 80 per cent of migrants born in the 1960s who were polled, work just for money.

For those born after 1980, self-improvement and building social experience are at the top of their agendas.

More than 70 per cent said they left home for cities to broaden their horizons and get trained for a profession, the survey shows.

The new bevy of migrants, many of whom are only children and are possibly coddled by parents, are more prone to jumping from job to job. Changing jobs so frequently is is no longer about money but is more about individual taste and future career planning.

As the population of migrant workers, who used to be a silent segment of society begins to strive for self-fulfillment and self-esteem, their voices are now being heard by both employers and the rest of society.

Editor: Yan