The Millennials Are Here!
The Millennial’s are coming here! By the year 2020 Millennials will comprise 50% of the workforce! Now is the time to start planning and learning about this new generation, so you can be ready to welcome them into your workplace. Below is a brief discussion about some of the many characteristics of Millennials, along with ideas on how to encompass this generation in your workplace.
What is a Millennial?
Millennial’s are the newest generation to embrace our world. Reports vary, but most sources define the Millennials as within the age range of early teens to early 30’s (DOB 1980 – 2000). This generation is also referred to as Generation Y, or the “ME” generation. Here is a quick recap of the generations and their current workforce coverage:
Generation Age Range % of Workforce
Traditionalists 67 + 5%
Baby Boomers 47 – 66 38%
Generation X 27 – 46 32%
Millennials 15 – 30 25%
The Good, Bad & Ugly
Millennials weaknesses often overshadow their good side. Lazy, spoiled, entitled, conceited, coddled —- are just a few of the terms associated with this generation. They are the generation where in youth sports, everyone received a trophy. In a recent article by Fast Company, titled “8 of the Strangest Interview Questions”, odd stories are revealed by hiring managers. The first story revealed in the article is about a candidate that has her mom accompany her to the interview. Can we say coddling??
Positive aspects of this generation include optimism, energy, enthusiasm, social responsibility, motivation, creativity, resourcefulness along with their savvy technology skills. Soon kindergarten classes will be learning on iPads and textbooks will be a thing of the past. Some experts would argue this is the first generation who can truly multi-task. Parents of teens, it’s true that your kids really can text, Facebook, Skype, watch TV, listen to music, do their homework AND retain the information they are learning.
Millennials in the Workplace
It’s inevitable that at some point in the very near future, your work place will have Millennials on staff. Below are a couple ideas that can help you through the transition.
Career: these high achievers, come to us with the best education so far & dreams of being the company President after 6 months. Salary will be on the forefront of their agenda, with less focus on benefits. Gone is the generation that feels loyal to a company and wants to stay for 20 years – this generation’s tenure is 18 months. Don’t let that scare you away, since there are many positive lessons to learn from this new generation. Reverse mentorship is becoming a popular workplace program – the most common form is when a Traditionalist or Boomer is paired with a Millennial. A schedule is developed between the pair and the boomer shares their business experience, such as tips on balancing a family and career, dealing with different personalities in the work place and general success stories. The millennial might share the latest technology trends – such things as how to “tweet”, steps to creating a Facebook page or the best new phone apps (maybe even a trick or two on how to pass certain candy crush saga levels). Now it’s not to say the Millennial only shares technology information, but they may also share ideas on how to be a better multi-tasker, how to arrange a work day more effectively or perhaps how to make meetings more efficient.
Work Environment: in a couple years, the “standard” working hours/week may be replaced with freedom. The Millennials ideal job would allow them freedom to choose their own hours, with opportunity to have play time. Don’t expect them to work much overtime – their mentality is “get the job done and go home.” They seek challenging and interesting work – with opportunity to give their input and use their ideas. They desire frequent feedback and transparency. Recognition is huge to them – daily recognition would bring them bliss. Coaching and mentoring is important to them, although they would like to be seen as an equal in relationships rather than a subordinate. When possible, create an open, collaborative work space ~ Millennials thrive in a teamwork environment. Some ideas would be to replace workstations or cubicles with an open seating arrangement and small collaborative areas for meetings.
Technology: The Millennials manage to embrace technology and keep up with the changes. This new generation loves smartphones, texting, tweeting, and facebooking — they will be “always on”, and co-workers around them will need to accept this. The optimists see them as an ultra-busy generation who will strive to find the best way to get their work done. Additionally, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to work polices are becoming more popular, due to the Millennial’s need to perform daily work on their own mobile devices. Companies providing laptops and cell phones as perks may be a thing of the past.
Adapting to change is not an easy process. Therefore, experience and time will help us adjust to this new generation. Someday a Millennial may be our boss, so start now by learning different ways to interact with them in the business world – as the saying goes “practice makes perfect”!
Written by Melissa Secody, PHR, Accounting Manager at DSD Business Systems
