Discovering the Millennial Mindset of 2017
There are many things that have been said about Millennials these days and not all of them are good things. As a group, they are being viewed as lazy, entitled, impatient and disloyal due to their lack of continuous activity at one particular job. Every company wants to understand them better, because they stand as a group that is also looking for a good balance between work and personal life, feedback and they do not shy away from a smaller salary as long as they have a proper work environment.
But having a good work environment isn’t everything for millennials. They are looking for wellbeing programs whilst also developing a purposeful life and being active throughout. Given the fact that they practically grew up alongside the technological boom, engagement at work is something they are struggling with.
Today’s business environment isn’t prepared for this generation and vice versa. Millennials lack in social skills due to the fact that they are always “online” and this makes it difficult for companies to fully grasp their needs and desires. Although there are apps and tools that help people connect with one another, that allow them to easily share information of any kind, too much connectivity is actually killing connectivity.
People have stopped interacting face-to-face and it’s absolutely vital that real human contact is brought back into our society. Unfortunately, for large organisations, big events are not at all effective; when you are gathering over 100 people in the same place, obviously people will interact with their usual acquaintances.
Millennials are also not rushing into marriage and do not show the same level of commitment in their respective communities, whilst they also distance themselves from political and religious affiliations. A study done by Gallup has uncovered the fact that close to 44% of millennials interviewed, declared to be politically independent in comparison to people from generation X, baby boomers and traditionalists with 37%, 32% and 26% respectively.
Simply embracing ideas, principles and values is not the “millennial way”. This happens because they are connected with everything that happens in the world around them. and they are exposed to a huge array of different opinions and ideas. As mentioned earlier in the article, millennials are connected 24/7 to the internet and have instant access to anything ranging from news and political debates to entertainment and comedy shows. The same study done by Gallup revealed that a whopping 91% of millennials possess a smartphone and 71% of them use the internet for information and news. That is how millennials build their unique viewpoint on a global scale, thus making them intriguing to observe, specifically the way in which they buy, communicate, work and interact.
The “usual” workplace mindset is not something they relate to. Millennials are looking for a more personal approach from their managers in terms of their relationship. The aforementioned study, noticed that 62% of millennials that manage to speak with their managers about non-related work issues see themselves working for that company a year from now.
Given the fact that millennials are keen on company values, they wish to see a change in behaviour reflected in community and/or society programs. In a study conducted by Deloitte for 2017, it was revealed that 62% of millennials want to see business leaders devoted to improving society, this representing a 9% increase from 2015. Furthermore, 65% think that companies are acting in a more ethical manner, corroborated with a 16% decrease in criticism, in regards to 2015, in relation to business activities.
Millennials wish to see businesses involved in projects that focus on economic, environmental and social issues that concern our days. To be more precise, they wish to see organisations address problems regarding: cyber-security, economic stability, health care, unemployment, climate change and education.
In conclusion, although millennials appear to be fussy and disinterested, they value a strong work and business ethic and given their moral compass, they want a continuous development of society in order to ensure a meaningful and enjoyable existence/life for everyone around the world.
Sources:
http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/191435/millennials-work-life.aspx
The 2017 Deloitte Millennial Survey:
Apprehensive millennials:
seeking stability and opportunities
in an uncertain world
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