Are millennial employees more entitled than the generations before them? The answer varies depending on who you ask. Call them what you will, but there’s no denying that millennials are disrupting today’s workforce with their clear expectations and lack of fear around leaving jobs that don’t meet their demands. With millennials taking up a growing majority of the workforce and Gen Z making its way into the candidate pool, business leaders must focus on how to consistently attract fresh talent, as well as on how to keep them engaged and motivated enough to stick around for the long term.
Read on for a list of the top things that millennials value in employers.
Impact
Sky-high revenues and solid pay are no longer enough to attract new employees. According to a 2018 Deloitte survey, over 80% of younger millennials say that they would be more motivated and committed at work if their organization was making a positive impact on society. This investment in social impact extends beyond employee/ employer relationships. In Deloitte’s 2019 Millennial study, 42% said “they have begun or deepened a business relationship because they perceive a company’s products or services to have a positive impact on society and/or the environment”.
Flexibility
The typical workday has shifted far from the traditional 9-5, especially for millennial employees. As disconnecting from work becomes increasingly difficult, millennials have come to expect their employers to trust them to meet deadlines, even if it means working outside of traditional office hours. Remote work in the U.S. has grown by 44% in the past 5 years, and with millennials taking over the workforce, that number is expected to continue rising. Offering flexibility around work hours and location is sure to make you stand out as a potential employer for younger candidates.
Room to grow
Millennials may get a bad wrap for being self-centered and constantly touting a “grass-is-greener” mentality in their professional lives, but have you ever considered that they’re just bored? On average, millennials are more educated than any generation before them, with approximately 39% having a bachelor’s degree or higher. Millennials are also notoriously ambitious, and when confined to an entry level corporate position with no clear path to advancement, they can feel underused and undervalued. Making a clear path to growth within your organization– and offering support to help them achieve that growth is one way to keep millennials focused and motivated.
Work-life balance
The millennial generation’s views of success are much different than generations before them. Millennials actively seek work that aligns with their lives, as opposed to making their lives fit around work. Millennials seek to have control over their work life. This means that employers should consider ways that they can make employees feel more in control. A stronger commitment to health and wellness initiatives, more flexibility around vacation and personal days, and clear boundaries around downtime are all things for organizations to take into consideration.
Millennials aren’t entitled. They just want to feel in control of their lives. This generation doesn’t live to work. Rather, they seek to work and live in a way that supports their growth, makes an impact, and leaves them feeling empowered to do what they’re passionate about. The bottom line is that in order to consistently attract and retain millennial employees, your organization needs to truly stand by the things that millennials value. Which values do you think are missing from this list?
