In the next eight years, millennials will make up for 75% or more of the global workforce. This finding was clearly stated in a study titled, Global Millennials Survey Part 1 : Understanding a Misunderstood Generation, involving a huge numbers of respondents as much as 16,000 across 43 countries in 2014.
Some employers might consider this fact as a threat, however this piece is intended to delineate from the stereotypes that creates perceptions about millennials as threat to the global workforce influencing workplace dynamics.
This technologically advanced generation is mostly associated to be the lazy, disloyal, narcissistic, highly consumptive, and even chronic job hoppers causing increasing loss to businesses.
However, according to the study, millennials are more likely to be great future leaders. 41 percent respondents from the survey confirmed that, it was very important for them to become a leader or a manager. Younger millennials expressed particular interest towards coaching and mentoring as an integral part of a leadership profile.
The attitudes and life perspectives of the millennials, indeed, have significant differences drawn in comparison to its predecessors (Baby boomers and Generation X).
As important it is to become a manager, only 24 percent strongly want to pursue a fast-track career path with continuous promotions. Most millennials’ focus to grow and learn new things (45 percent) believe it is the second most important goal in their lives after work-life balance.
A whopping 73 percent choose work-life balance over a higher salary and 82 percent would prefer a better work-life balance over their position in a company, while 42 percent would prefer to have no job than the one they hate.
Senior leaders and employers do not have much options, as this generation would reign the future workforce. Instead of being pessimistic, they should believe and encourage this generation budding with ideas to contribute to significant changes to the company.
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By creating a suitable workplace environment and culture, millennials can do a lot more better to influence the workplace. Here are some changes we foresee the millennials would influence in the workplace of the future:
Older generations have specific perspective towards personal and professional lives in the business. Most baby boomers and Gen Xers, senior leaders consider their personal lives as the ‘other life’ that shouldn’t come to existence during the 8 hours assigned for work.
However, millennials are different. They don’t mind to blend their working lives and their personal interests and routines. This generation loves flexibility, and by omitting the standard working hour restrictions to allow flexi-hours arrangement will make the workforce more productive. This generation values work-life balance as one of the important perks offered by employers.
The virtually grown up generation doesn’t adhere to the old-school measurement of working performance evaluation. When an employee registers at their desks for 8 hours per day, it doesn’t mean that they are productive, while they might be physically present but mentally absent from work, completely out of focus on job. Instead of focusing on the calculated working hours and numbered working days, millennials prefer to use some additional performance indicators to accurately gauge and measure the employees’ productivity at work.
The annual performance review is considered to be less effective by these generations, as the long period of evaluation doesn’t bring about significant better change to one’s performance. Millennials would prefer to do more frequent and informal feedback strategies that would allow for better communication between managers and employees.
Older generations seem to distance their colleagues and subordinates in their ways of working. The generations of the past might have loved to draw a clear demarcation of line of personal life sharing with colleagues and subordinates at work. Some employers are also of an opinion to view workplace relationships with colleagues and peers as temporary in nature, to mean just business.
Millennials’ new perspective revolves around enhancing workplace relationships to draw a personal connect with their fellow workers and superiors. They consider colleagues and subordinates as real friends for life. Working in an established company is an important, inseparable part of their life, and the personnel working towards the company’s common goal are as important as their families and relatives.
Millennials are willing to try new things, challenge processes, and think differently about a situation. The employers are equally supportive to sponsor employees’ education needs, and providing them with learning and growth opportunities.
Meanwhile the previous generations are uncomfortable with the existing system, afraid of implementing new changes that would bring about differences to the business. Keep the employees working as per standard systems and processes, rather than giving them a chance to grow and initiate an idea.
Millennials are grown up in the most fast-paced technologically advanced world. They are used to finding quick and trustworthy solutions to resolve issues through virtual references. This Google-friendly generation are keen to adopt new technologies to bring about transformation in workings, help business enhance profits.
Success in careers and personal lives is a great orientation millennials carry towards their future, however there is still need for more learning and experimentation to achieve this goal. HR managers, senior leaders and stakeholders should give time and space with stable workplace environment and culture to supports the endeavors of millennials to become the best in the industry.
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