The Millennial generation, or Generation Y, consists of those people born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s.
There are many negative stereotypes about this generation: that they are self-absorbed, greedy1 and disloyal2 amongst others. There are also positive stereotypes, but whatever you choose to believe about Millennials the fact is that they make up an increasingly larger portion of your workforce. There is a lot of information available that says you need to alter your business to accommodate this new demographic because their needs are different to those that have gone before. But is it the case that the generations are so different? The Baby Boomers and Millennials might have different priorities in life because of their experience, (or lack thereof) or because of the stage of life they are at, but when it comes to how they are treated in the workplace don’t they all want the same things?
It’s possible that it’s a change in attitude and a shift in culture as a whole rather than a new generation that has created a need for changes in the workplace. Historically, employees didn’t have any benefits; it’s only because of a change in global attitudes that has meant employees are valued as talented individuals rather than worker drones to be used and exploited. Employees are demanding more from you as a group; it’s not just Millennials who want it all. Millennials are stereotyped as wanting to progress quickly through the ranks3; but didn’t everyone want that when they were at that stage in their careers? One of the main reasons why employees’ priorities change is because they get older and their needs at different stages in life change. Employees of all ages want to believe in their company values and trust their employer; they want regular communication and to have their opinion heard – Millennials do not have the monopoly on these concerns.
It’s important for you to recognize that employees will have different needs, and your job is not to provide different benefits for the different generations, but to provide benefits that can match the needs of each employee throughout the whole of their working career. Those needs change and will reflect the needs of a wider society, but not that of a single generation.
2Deloitte Millennial Survey 2016
For the full original article and other similar posts, please visit the Jelf Group blog.