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Millennials – Can’t Work With ‘Em…Can’t Work Without ‘Em: So what’s a company to do?
Written by: Terri BenincasaArticle Overview: Millennials: The youngest members of your workforce, given that moniker becaue they began entering the workforce at the turn of the millennium. As with their older counterparts, they have their own set of stereotypes that come along with them: "Slackers" - "Whiners" - "The 'get a reward for everything' generation." How do companies, and particularly we Boomer bosses, make the most of these young people's capacities while we help them learn how to navigate a work world that will not always be as warm and fuzzy as was mom and the soccer coach?
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Free Download - "Bottom-line" Culture vs. a Healthy One? By Terri Benincasa |
Millennials – Can’t Work With ‘Em…Can’t Work Without ‘Em: So what’s a company to do?
Baby boomers are the “me” generation. Gen-Xers are cynical and difficult to work with. And just like these stereotypes (which, like all stereotypes have only one foot in the truth), Millennials are thought of as wanting a reward for merely showing up, and having a less than admirable work ethic.
The fact is, most, Millennials are hardworking, team-oriented and loyal to their employers. But, having come of age witnessing huge corporate melt-downs as a result of a variety of corporate bad behaviors, and large scale lay-offs of workers after decades of loyal service to the company, Millennials have rightfully learned that perhaps the corporate world cannot be trusted, and loyalty to one company is an ideal long past its prime.
Add to that the fact that their parents (Boomers), teachers, and the media at large have emphasized to Millennials the importance of believing in yourself no matter what (that everyone is special and good at something), so you can be self-confident and proud of even your smallest accomplishments, and you have a group who are at once exceptionally optimistic and demanding; untrusting and dubious.
So, how do companies, and particularly we Boomers, make the most of these young workers’ capacities while we help them learn how to navigate a work world that will not always be as warm and fuzzy as was mom and the soccer coach?
To start, let’s look at their strengths and some of the realities that belie the stereotypes.
Contrary to stereotypes, Millennials respect workplace protocols and structure, if these are designed for maximum performance enhancement (vs. “this is the way we’ve always done it” or a “just do as your told”, both unhealthy culture expectations anyway), and then the expectations are taught to them right up front. They are accustomed to being given lots of direction (a regular aspect of their upbringing by “helicopter” parents) so they are very open to learning, guidance, and absolutely respect appropriate (read respectful) authority.
They also have another wonderful trait that fits well with a healthy company culture: they take work seriously yet balance it with a well developed personal life. That’s just healthy for everyone in the company – it is, however, something Boomers didn’t do at that age so tend to translate as “slacker” behavior. It’s not. Millennials want their job to have meaning (not just a means to a paycheck) and expect your workplace to be challenging and creative, which means they want to work from your company’s vision, rather than be just a cog (isn’t that the kind of employee you really want?). In return for high productivity, complete immersion in your mission/vision, and a willingness to share ideas for innovation (rather than give you the “it’s not my job” line) they ask for flexible work hours, from the option to telecommute to having a compressed workweek (all options now being considered for gas savings…it’s unfortunate that few companies understood these as just great workforce management, like hospitals, for instance, have done for decades).
A third strength that will greatly benefit any company is their technological savvy. Millennials think of email, text-messaging, and social networking (the latest and state of the art marketing technique) as a part of their being. The downside is that now the line between work from social life can be fuzzy so you want to be diligent about that; the upside is you now have someone who can quickly move your company to the next level using the latest in technology and marketing strategies (such as internet and social marketing).
So, on to a few “how to’s” for working with them to get all this great stuff out of them.
According to Network World. Millennials described their dream boss as being “understanding, caring, flexible and open-minded, as well as someone who is authoritative but respects, values and appreciates his employees.” In other words, they do not want a supervisor who simply tells them what to do and expects such an approach to garner their respect or motivate them to work hard. That wouldn’t work for me either, frankly. A mentor who hands down firsthand knowledge and experience is OK, but not the gold ring. Millennials want a coach who will bring out the best in them, build their confidence, and give them free reign to explore new ideas and solve problems without constant oversight or “how to” direction (that does not mean a lack of accountability by the way – there’s a big difference between feeling “micro-managed” and being held to a performance standard).
Finally, they crave interaction with their managers and will gladly accept lots of feedback (again, something with which they were raised), especially if it comes with praise accompanying the steps for improvement. In return, they expect their opinions and ideas to be heard and respected, despite lack of experience. But that is not only a good thing, it’s something a healthy company culture wants from all employees: just because you don’t have lots of experience or a nifty title doesn’t mean you don’t have lots of great ideas!
Bottom line: Millennials will work very hard for you and not treat your position as just a job, as long as they know the ground rules up front, have lots of opportunities to participate in problem-solving or give constructive ideas/feed-back, and are permitted to use their 21st century talents/skills to move your company forward. That’s not chopped liver! And the good news is this: if you already have a very healthy company culture, you’re well positioned to not only attract the best and brightest Millennials, but keep them growing with you!
Attracting the Next Generation of Workers
Marketing to Millennials
Wired for work and wired for wisdom: Why you need both kinds of brains in your business
Gen Y Marketing
Getting Millennials to Drink the Kool-Aid
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About the Author: Terri Benincasa RSS for Terri's articles - Visit Terri's website  Terri holds a double Masters in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University, thus is clinically trained in the art/science of human behavior, has been a stage and commercial actress for 25 years, and has over 20 years of senior management/business ownership experience. She has spent the last 10 years (and counting) studying the charactistics, research, and trends of her generation, giving her a unique knowlege base, and insight, into what Boomers need, want, and respond to in both business and life (including what business need to do to handle both cross generational discord, and the mass exodus of Boomers as they retire, taking with them their vast knowledge and skill base). She has been seen on the Tampa Bay NBC affiliate's ‘Daytime' Show, on PAX-TV's 'The Hayward Henson Show', and is authoring her first (and soon to be released) book, Is That My Light at the End of the Tunnel, chronicling how her generation "got lost" (abandoned the ideals of their youth that brough about some of the greatest societal changes in history), and what they can do to regain their greatness. Click here to visit Terri's website   Bottomline Culture vs a Healthy One Women How to Optimize Your Inner Leader Does Your Company Suffer from CrossGenerational Crankiness SIX SIMPLE STEPS TO ENHANCING YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT Older Employees in Big Demand |
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