While most employees depend on the workplace as their main source of benefits information, Generation Y workers are more likely to rely on family members and friends as informants, according to a new survey commissioned by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company and conducted by Harris Interactive.

"While we expected the workplace to be the primary source of benefits information for employees, we were surprised to learn that Gen Y workers rely more on family and friends for this information than their older colleagues do," says Stephen Bygott, assistant vice president of marketing analysis and programs for Colonial Life.

Of the Generation Y respondents, the survey shows that 51 percent of those participating in insurance plans say the workplace is a primary source of benefits information, compared to 69 percent of those ages 34 to 44, 75 percent of those ages 45 to 54 and 71 percent of those over the age of 55. When it comes to relying on family and friends, 40 percent of Generation Y workers are much more likely to compared to 29 percent of those ages 35 to 44, 16 percent of those ages 45 to 54, and 12 percent of those over the age of 55.