According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center,
By 2020, Millennials will form 50 percent of the global workforce.
That’s right, in four short years, half of the workforce will be those born from 1982 onward. Part of the generation of text messages and social media, and the world at immediate fingertips. With the number of Millennials in the workforce, it will certainly reshape the way both leaders and the workplace culture will be in the future. Baby Boomer and Gen X leaders will need to learn to embrace Millennials’ fast-moving, entrepreneurial spirit.
Here are a few ways Millennials will reform the workplace in a positive way.
Millennials want a revamp on organizational charts.
“Millennials don’t work for you; they work with you.” – Forbes.
Millennials want to work in an environment of mutual interest, rather than structured hierarchies. Unstructured hierarchies provide the opportunity for open and more frequent communication from people of different ages, experiences and walks of life. They believe in order to be successful there must be a true collaboration of thoughts and ideas over generational borders. Millennials seek training and development from those their senior in the workforce, but also want opportunities to take on challenging and important assignments. Sounds like a win-win.
Millennials want open communication.
“Unlike their professional predecessors, millennials display more socially tolerant attitudes and a preference for close, personal relationships. Although many view the millennial generation as only tech savvy micro-bloggers (who speak only through social networks), millennials actually value genuine and personal communications.” – Daily Business Review.
We’ve learned that Millennials would rather be given constructive criticism on a more frequent, causal basis, rather than during a quarterly review. Having mastered the short and concise texting dialect (LOL, G2G, TTYL) for years, Millennials like straightforwardness and directness.
Millennials want genuine relationships with coworkers. Millennials enjoy genuine relationships with coworkers. Happy hours, work retreats and team building activities have become more and more popular over the years, and Millennials don’t want that to change. They enjoy getting to know colleagues on a more personal level, so they can understand each other better on the professional level.
Millennials get connectedness and networking.
“When it comes to engagement, millennials have the advantage over previous generations. Millennials have grown up in a connected world. From the use of mobile and social technologies, immediately communicating, engaging and connecting is second nature for them.” – Daily Business Review.
Millennials have relationships with people through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, blogs, emails, in-person encounters – you name it, they’re on it. The core principles of networking and business development are more or less innate to Millennials.
Work-Life balance is important to Millennials.
“We’re becoming a workforce where the amount of time you spend in the [office] chair is not the issue, it’s the results of the work. It’s about what’s been achieved.” – U.S. News & World Report.
With technology advancing at such a rapid pace, Millennials prefer and see the benefits of fluid workweeks. And if employees work better in the early morning hours rather than the evenings, it can be mutually beneficial.
As Millennials become the dominant force in the workplace, companies will need to begin reevaluating and embracing this new generation of individuals. Soon, Millennials will be the majority of clients, customers and decision makers. We believe the future holds a mutually beneficial exchange of work experience and knowledge with communication and collaboration to create a fresh workplace intertwining generational borders.
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