Are your getting insecure and concerned about millennials in the workplace? Struggling to find ways to motivate them? Don’t sulk, they are the powerhouses of productivity – just know how to leverage the best out of them. Read on!
Millennials in the workplace
Millennials in the workplace are quite dominant in the majority of organizations n various industrial sectors. Also referred to as Gen Z in the workplace, they are in constant need of mentoring and guidance. Furthermore, the people in these generations in the workforce are ambitious and are on the look-out for better salaries in the market.
In this article, we will discuss who are millennials in the workplace, why millennials are the way they are, how to handle millennials, and how millennials work. We will also share millennials in the workplace research study and analysis statistics for a better understanding of how to get millennials to work in a company.
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Who are the millennials in the workforce?
What is a millennial employee or who are the millennials in the workforce? Millennials in the workplace belong to the age group whose birth years fall between 1982 and 2000. They prosper and grow within the company along with the employees.
The crux for the management and leadership lies in synchronizing the generation gap between millenials workforce and the senior members. How to work with millennials?
To elaborate, millennials work as a team and not as individuals. They are highly qualified in their academics, capable of multi-task, and boom with confidence. Millennials workforce love to accept challenges yet prefer social interactions and work-life balance.
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Millennials in the workplace statistics
As per PEW Research, millennials in the workplace statistics, about 35% of the global workforce comprise the millennial workforce. It is anticipated to rise to 75% by the year 2025. In the US alone there are almost 56 million millennials in the workplace.
Statistics prove that millennial workers are into the tendency of switching jobs; approximately 21% have done so in 12 months. Millennials in the workplace invest extra effort and time in their regular tasks. Analysis shows 73% of them have dedicated more than 40 hours in a week which is beyond the regular office working time.
Millennial employment in the technology industry
The percentage of millennial employment in the technology industry is comparatively high than in the other industries. About 48% of millennials in the workplace are involved in various kinds of emerging, and prominent technology platforms.
Exploring the latest trends in digital technology in robotics, chatbots, artificial intelligence and machine learning are the areas millennials want to focus on. The salaries are lucrative about USD 78K per year.
The job security is consistent. Working from home is preferable since more and more customers are opting for hosting in Cloud. Millennials have witnessed the emergence of technologies since their birth hence their ardent interest is obvious.
Millennial in the workplace in customer-facing roles
Millennial in the workplace is smart and confident. Their expertise in language is good be it English or any other local language. Due to their involvement in social media platforms, they have greater interactive power. Hence it has been observed that approximately 47% of the millennials in the workplace are interested in customer-facing roles.
Customers too prefer speaking to professionals who can convince them about the products and services and provide greater before and after-sales services. The millennial generation in the workplace is earning almost USD 59K annually in these roles.
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Millennial workers in the manufacturing space
Millennial workers are involved in a variety of sub-sectors in the manufacturing space. About 42% of millennials in the workplace are in beverage manufacturing. They earn about USD 48K per annum. In footwear manufacturing, about 44% of the workers constitute workplace millennials. Their earnings are almost USD 51K yearly.
In the production and manufacturing of electronic goods, the millennial generation workforce comprises 53% of the workers. The annual salary is about USD 54K. Their innovative and creative capability is well appreciated and has resulted in great inventions in the manufacturing sector.
Millennials at work in banking and financial spaces
Millennials at work in banking and financial spaces have increased due to the rise in the investment and trading market. About 45% of workers in this particular industrial sector are occupied by the millennials in the workplace.
The understanding of financial terminologies and their impact on the economy are nowadays interesting for the millenial workforce. The salaries are also lucrative almost USD 80K per year with flexible working schedules.
Millennials in workforce have realized the future of investment and trading business. They even can dedicate much effort to increasing sales due to their knowledge on the subject; thus the sector is maximizing millennials in the workplace.
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Gen Z in the workplace of Government and policymaking
Government sectors are witnessing an influx of gen z in the workplace. In comparison to earlier years, the modern days are experiencing millennials in the workplace focusing their interests on the statutory laws, regulations, government policies, etc.
These aspects attract millennials and their intellectual ability is far superior for curating the best norms for the governments of different countries and government-related agencies. The number of millennials in the workforce under the government sector is almost 46%. They can earn an annual salary of about USD 55K per annum while working remotely from their homes.
Millennials working in agriculture and farming
Millennials working in the agriculture and farming sector have significantly increased. Statistics on millennials in the workplace show about 42% of the workers are employed in these areas. The reason being interest in the go green concept, organic farming, vegan foods, etc.
Besides the activities in this sector can be performed remotely with occasional visits to the farms and the agricultural fields. The millennial expectations are met in terms of salary being almost USD 48K per annum. The work schedules are flexible too, providing sufficient time for a comfortable work-life balance.
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Challenges & problems with millennials in the workplace
While dealing with millennials at work, there are benefits as well as problems with millennials in the workplace. Adjusting the millennial traits in the workplace and syncing up the characteristics of millennials in the workplace is challenging. The top 3 challenges with millennials in the workplace are,
- Maximizing millennial engagement in the workplace leads to excessive workload and dependencies. It may lead to transformation from a dynamic to lethargic millennials and the workforce.
- Motivating millennials in the workplace have suffered a setback due to gender bias and differentiation
- Statistics about millennials in the workplace have proved that soft skills are lower in the gen z compared to technical skills
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What millennials want in the workplace
To fulfill millennials’ expectations, it is vital to understand what millennials want in the workplace. The key expectations of millennials in the workplace,
- Lucrative salaries with incentives, health benefits are key elements of what millennials want from work
- Flexible work schedules and remote working are two vital aspects what millennials want in a job
- Continual learning programs is another aspect of what do millennials want in the workplace
- Career growth opportunities is another answer to the question of what is important to millennials
- Transparency in communication is a crucial point while trying to understand what do millennials want at work
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Importance of having diverse generations in the workforce
There are benefits of having diverse generations in the workforce; millennials in the workplace of Gen Z, Generation X, Y, and Baby Boomers.
- Variety in knowledge since the millennials and technology in the workplace is more digitized. The older generations are more versed with persuasion and soft skills
- Enhanced customer experience by targeting the audience of varied generations and age groups
- Learning opportunities are higher with varying experience levels; millennials characteristics workplace along with the baby boomers’ grey hairs.
- Increase in problem-solving abilities by mixing old experience with innovations
- Maintain a good mentor-mentee relationship between generations.
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Why nurturing millennials in workplace is a necessity?
You must be thinking who do you need to nurture millennials in workplace? To answer you must understand the millennials impact on the workplace. Here are the key points of millennial values in the workplace and how are millennials changing the workplace.
- Millennials in the workplace are self-motivated and inspired. Studies conducted on millennials expectations in the workplace proved that 65% of professionals look for personal development through learning
- Millennials working in an organization like to collaborate and work with supervisors, peers and managers.
- They possess an optimistic mindset in the achievement of objectives or goals.
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How to deal with millennials in the workplace
The next big question is, “How to deal with millennials in the workplace?” Motivating millennials at work is important aspect companies are aspiring for. We have understood the millennials needs, what do millennials want and even millennials problems in the workplace.
While working with millennial generation, we must understand that their work criteria and expectations are different from the other older or traditional generations. In the subsequent sub-sections, we will focus extensively on how to attract millennials to your company, how to retain millennials in the workplace and how to talk to millennials in the workplace.
Ensure transparency in communication while dealing with millennials in the workplace
Millennials in the workplace expect transparency in communication. Leadership decisions, the company’s future roadmap, compensation details, etc. are some of the key elements to be focused on while dealing with millennials in the workplace.
Hence if you are thinking of how to work with a millennial, ensure you have a well-defined internal communication framework. Important announcements, information, and messages must be accessible via mobile devices.
Leadership and higher management of the organization must gear up on how to motivate millennials at work through their audio and video communications. Even you must ensure engaging millennials in the workplace in different interaction sessions with the managers and team leads.
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Lucrative compensation structure for millenials in the workforce
One of the top priorities for millennials in the workforce is money. A good compensation package for millennials in the workplace as per the market trend is an answer to two questions, “How to attract millennials?” and “How to retain millennials?”
Hence if you are working with the millennial generation, design a salary structure with benefits, perks, performance rewards embedded into them. Ensure the health benefits are called out as that’s one of the crucial points of retaining millennials in the workplace. Money is directly proportional to security. Facts about millennials in the workplace have placed security as the second preference after money.
Trust and confidence in millennial work
One of the answers, “How to attract millennials to your business?” is to maintain a relationship of trust and confidence in millennial work. In a millennial work environment, if there is a work culture enriched with confidence, belief, and honesty, studies have proved that there is much likelihood of them to continue in the work for a longer duration.
Research on millennials in the workplace has demonstrated that the gen z generation will be 22 times more inclined to work for long in the same company. Hence one of the vital factors for managing the millennials in the workplace.
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Adequate support to balance the personal life of millennials and work-life
What do millennials value in the workplace? The answer is – Adequate support and flexibility to balance the personal life of millennials and work life. Flexible work schedules, provision for availing vacations, medical leaves, remote mode of employment are some of the key criteria to be considered while debating on, “How to manage millennials in the workplace?”
Millennials in the workplace prefer less time spent on transportation so that they can focus more on their work. This enables greater bandwidth in completing their tasks before the deadline and even perform multi-tasking. Even the work hours are expected to be flexible, that’s a vital aspect of what millennials want from employers.
Devise employment modes depending on how millennials want to work and live
“How millennials want to work and live?” A million-dollar question. Since millennials in the workplace are not passionate about the traditional modes of working. They prefer working as digital nomads, freelancers, contractors, remote professionals and even part-time workers.
Therefore if you are planning for engaging millennials at work, understand what do millennials need during the hiring process. You can accordingly carve out the employment mode for them as the best fit for working with millennials in the workplace. You can genuinely help the millennials by fulfilling their work preferences and earn more dedication and trust from them.
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Continual learning and compensation upgrade in millennial workplace
In the millennial workplace, investing in continual learning programs and training courses is an answer to the question of what is important to millennials in the workplace? Millennials in the workplace crave to enhance their competencies for upskilling and cross-skilling their talent and knowledge.
The reason being higher job opportunities and growth in career. Therefore if you are interested to know how to deal with millennials; formulate learning programs, certifications, and courses that cater to the latest emerging technologies. You can tie up with external training vendors for conducting the programs and courses.
Encourage collaboration and teamwork among millenials in the workplace
Millennials in the workplace like to collaborate and work in coordination with the other team members. Sharing knowledge, discussing technological concepts or domain offerings are some of the key areas to discuss what millennials want at work. By enabling millennials to interact with their colleagues through various remote software and tools enabling collaboration.
Millennials in the workplace believe in teamwork and joint working towards the program goals and objectives. Hence while understanding millennials in the workplace, ensure to embed in strong communication and interpersonal engagement framework.
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Empowering millennials and the workplace
Empowering millennials and the workplace in which they belong are crucial factors on how to deal with millennials at work. They must be involved in crucial decision making and suggestions on improvement and betterment must be welcome.
Millennials in the workplace are motivated to work once their recommendations and feedback are provided due importance by the company’s leadership and higher management. If you are wondering how to relate to millennials, involve them in devising the company’s vision and goals. It is good to invite their opinions and respect their decisions.
Embed digitization of technologies in millennials work
If you are wondering how to engage millennials, it is important to introduce the digitization of technologies in millennials work. Millennials in the workplace are the generation that relies on machine learning, chatbots, robotics, artificial intelligence in their work curriculum.
Bringing in innovations and creativity – this is how millennials are changing the workplace. With the modern state-of-the-art digital tools and software, millennials and technology at work can sync up hand in hand.
And these concepts are obvious answers to what’s important to millennials at work. For remote millennials in the workplace video conferencing facilities are important as part of digitization enabling seamless communication.
Bright career growth opportunities for generation z in the workplace
Generation Z in the workplace are ambitious and careerist. To answer the question on how to handle millennials in the workplace, provide them with attractive roles, career growth in the hierarchy, responsibilities that earn respect.
Millennials in the workplace are optimistic about taking up higher roles in the leadership ladder since they are highly educated and knowledgeable. Without a prospective career at their disposal, the millennial generation workplace may not retain in the same company. A millennials workplace is expected to provide mentorship and guidance to generation z to move ahead in roles.
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Retaining millennials using unremot virtual watercooler
unremot virtual watercooler is one of the best software for retaining millennials especially for those who are working remotely. Employees can go for social interactions even though not being present face to face in the office; thus keeping millennials engaged with each other.
You can create a virtual watercooler corner, add your teammates and start chatting. This assists in social connections beyond work hours or normal daily activities. People can discuss hobbies and interests, play games, conduct quizzes or riddles. Millennials in the workplace can discuss both their professional and personal issues for guidance and support.
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Understanding millennials: tips and tricks for working with this generation
To summarize let us focus on understanding millennials: tips and tricks for working with this generation. As a recommendation, you must also check how to deal with millennials in the workplace video online.
- Keeping the millennials engaged in continual learning programs
- Millennials in the workplace must be appreciated for their contributions to the organization
- Mentoring must precede over being bosses; the preferred way on how to help millennials
- Allow usage of digital technologies and social media platforms at millenials workplace
- Provide facilities for collaborating and communicating via audio and video, millennials in the workplace prefer the most