It's easy to dismiss Millennials (generally defined as the generations born between 1980 and 2006) as selfish, self-centered, entitled and lazy. Time magazine called them "The Me Me Me Generation" in a profile earlier this year—and provided statistics about how prevalent narcissistic disorder has become in this group.
Yet a 2011 study from the Career Advisory Board presented by DeVry University shows that many managers are buying into myths about this hyper-connected, tech-savvy generation:
- 89% of the hiring managers surveyed indicated that salary was the top motivating factor of Millennials
- 69% of managers over age 50 ranked starting salary as the Millennials' top priority
Yet fewer than half of Millennials surveyed ranked salary as one of their top three priorities.1
90.2% ranked gaining skills to enhance career over international opportunities, teamwork and work only within the US. If money doesn't motivate them, what does? In its 2013 Millennial Career Survey, the National Society of High School Scholars asked 9,000 Millennials what they were looking for in their next job.
- 77.7% chose benefits (including health insurance, retirement, etc.) over flexible work hours, base salary and performance bonuses.
- 71.7% ranked treats employees fairly over corporate social responsibility, prestige of company and brand image
- 69.2% chose work/life balance over friendly colleagues, workplace welcomes people of all backgrounds or accessible office2
Implications for Managers
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2015 Millennials will make up more than half of the workforce—and grow to 75% of the workforce by 2030.
That's daunting news for managers who aren't impressed by what they've seen so far. How will managers meet productivity goals with a workforce that values work/life balance and meaningful work over performance bonuses and executive perks?
Millennials tend to be fast, agile problem solvers. They push technology to the limits because slowness is boring and frustrating to them—and they are more productive as a result.
"It's not that Millennials don't want and expect performance to be acknowledged, they just aren't as motivated by money," says Deb Wood, senior consultant at VITAL WorkLife. "They'll be more appreciative of a day off with pay than a $100 bonus."
Hyperconnected & Digitally Smart
One of the more notable—and sometimes offensive—Millennial traits is their hyper-connectedness to technology. It's not uncommon for Millennials to text both at meetings and during one-on-one conversations.
There are several aspects of this trait managers may want to explore. First, Millennials may be unaware that texting while talking may be perceived as offensive enough to limit their career advancement.
"When you need someone to take notes at a meeting, the Millennial may be a natural choice," explains Wood. "Most Millennials would have no trouble participating and typing at the same time."
Millennials often bring added value to a wide variety of research projects because they're adept at surfing the web and can easily access collective intelligence and perspectives from online sources and their international networks of social media "friends."
Mentoring and Teamwork
Middle-class Millennials were raised with an unprecedented level of supervised activities, participation "trophies" and self-esteem building. They bring an expectation for expect mentoring and feedback to the workplace.
- In the DeVry survey, 47% of Millennials cited mentoring as the most helpful way for them to overcome their workplace weaknesses.
- In a recent MTV survey, 75% of Millennials said they'd like to have a mentor and 8 out of 10 want regular feedback from their boss.3
On the other hand, they also believe managers can learn a lot from them—two thirds of the Millennials responding to the MTV survey thought they should be mentoring older co-workers on technology.
"Millennials working in healthcare have had a much easier time learning how to keep Electronic Medical Records than older physicians and nurses," says Wood. "They're not only great tutors, they're good at recognizing bugs in the system that need fixing."
Given their preferences for challenging work, skill at multitasking, and shorter attention span, Millennials can and should be assigned to multiple project teams at the same time.
"Working as part of a team is extremely important to Millennials," says Wood. "Hierarchy and titles aren't as important to them as opportunities to network, grow and have their ideas heard and tried. They see management as colleagues and want to be viewed in the same way."
Engaging a Restless Generation
Despite the economic downturn and shortage of jobs for Millennials, MTV's No Collar Workers study found that:
- 49% of young people believe job security will continue to worsen
- 50% of Millennials would "rather have no job than a job they hate"4
"Mentoring and coaching skills are going to be really important for managers and supervisors who want to retain Millennials," says Wood. "If you're more comfortable giving orders than developing teams, chances are you'll have a tough time retaining Millennial contributors."
Free Manager/Supervisor Coaching:
An Important Part of Your EAP Benefit
Your EAP benefit includes unlimited telephone consultation—available 24/7 by calling 1.800.383.1908. Your benefit also includes free face-to-face counseling with master's- and doctorate-level professionals.
"Many managers are struggling with finding ways to utilize Millennials effectively," says Wood. "We're here to listen to your situation and help brainstorm solutions that work for you, your reports and your organization."
Managing Millennials:
Helpful Online Resources
The VITAL WorkLife website offers helpful tools and information designed to help you deal with motivating and managing employees, including the following articles:
- What Drives Your Employees?
- Creative Ways to Motivate Employees
- Do's and Don'ts for Building a Can-Do Work Force
- How Managers Can Help Their Employees Succeed
- How to Retain Your Top Achievers
- Managing Performance
- Striking it Rich in Productivity
- Praising Employees
- To find these articles, go to www.vitalworklife.com, click on member login and enter your user name and password.
- On the page that comes up, in the left hand column, click on the "Your Work & Life Resources" button.
- In the shaded area at the top of the screen, click on the pull down menu that says "Working" and pull down to "Effective Manager."
- In the Categories box on the right side of the Communication page, click on "Employee Motivation and Recognition," then click "View All" in the articles section.
Log on to your member website by clicking member login above to access these resources or contact us online.
Sources:
1"Tips to Position Millennials for Career Success," Careeradvisoryboard.org/tips-to-position-millennial-employees-for-career-success
2National Society of High School Scholars 2013 Millennial Career Survey, https://www.nshss.org/media/1583/nshss-career-survey-2013.pdf, retrieved 12/10/13/
3Hillhouse, Andrea, "Consumer Insights, MTV's No Collar Workers, MTV Research, October, 2012 Retrieved from http://blog.viacom.com/2012/10/consumer-insights-mtvs-no-collar-workers/, December 2013
4Ibid
