Millennials, Gen Y, are young adults born (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics) between 1981 and 2001.
Millennials will make up one-half of the workforce in the next five years, and a whopping 75 percent in the next decade! By comparison, the generation before them, Generation X (or Gen Xers), represent only 16 percent of today’s workforce.
What Makes Them Tick
Millennials are continuous learners, collaborators, achievement-oriented, socially conscious and highly educated. As a result, they are looking for more than a pay check from their jobs.) According to Fortune Magazine and Business Insiders, Google is rated as a No 1 Choice as a great place to work with approximately 1 in 5 Millennials stating Google is their ideal employer. Other leading companies include Facebook and Apple. And all three of these companies share one shining point in common, and it’s the strength of their respective company cultures.
Recent Millennial findings from the Intelligence Group:
- 64% say it’s a priority for them to make the world a better place
- 72% would like to be their own boss. But if they do have to work for a boss,
- 79% of them would want that boss to serve more as a coach or mentor
- 88% prefer a collaborative work culture rather than a competitive one
- 74% want flexible work schedules
- 88% want “work-life integration,” which isn’t the same as work-life balance, since work and life now blend inextricably
What Do They Want?
While good pay, flexible scheduling, a collaborative work environment and performing mindful and purposeful work are what tops their list. Millennials are not the high-maintenance enigmas some pockets of society have deemed them. What they’re looking for is actually pretty basic and straight-forward.
How to Attract (And Keep) ‘Em
Provide the Opportunity to Do Meaningful Work.
Millennials want to align their values and interests to the work they do and, more importantly, who they are working for.
According to Achieve’s 2014 Millennial Impact Report, other than compensation, the factors that most influence Millennials’ decision to stay with their current employer are: having their passions and talents used to the fullest (53%) and believing in the company’s mission and purpose (20%).
In fact, over half of Millennials are willing to take a 15% pay cut to work at a company that matches their ideals. When acting with a sense of purpose, Millennials will go above and beyond for you and your business.
There’s no doubt Millennials are changing the corporate landscape. And, it would seem for the better.
In Malaysia – we see a new trend especially in the Cabinet from GE14. Malaysia had the oldest Prime Minister at 93 years of age and youngest member of Parliament at 23 years of age, in the world.
Adapting and refining corporate culture to appeal to these game changing is key to a company’s and even country’s continued success.
But it is not just younger generations making their mark and driving the quest for mobility in the modern workplace, older workers, obliged or willing to remain in employment beyond retirement are also demanding more flexibility.
The Age Map has moved.
The OECD report states that in the 55-64 years’ age bracket 56% of people are now employed compared to 48% in 2014.
In Germany employment rates for older workers are 67% for 55-59 year olds but most importantly in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, the increase of older workers in employment beyond retirement between 2004-2014 has been above OECD average signalling an important shift in workforce composition.
So getting the right culture that meets the common ground for both end is critical.
This post is written by our Senior Advisor, Alan Teo from his book, “Creating Winning Culture and Building Supertalent”.
