Millennials in the workforce

Recently I’ve been having many conversations with co-workers about the newest members of our workforce. We know them as Gen Y, Generation Next or Millennials. Born between 1980 and 1994, they dress unconventionally, behave unconventionally and have very unconventional expectations from the workplace.

They do not hesitate to express their opinion on any issue; they’re critical thinkers, and inclined to question everything. Their knack for independent thinking stems from the fact that their parents valued their opinions throughout their childhood and gave them choices, rather than making decisions for them. They do not place much emphasis on how and when the work gets done, just that it gets done, and are therefore likely to demand flexibility of work hours (some say they work best between 9 PM and 3 AM) and work locations. They work to live, not live to work, seek out careers that allow them to live the life they want, and are prone to switch back and forth between career, travel and education. They are amazingly at ease with a wide array of technology tools, and while they work well with collaborative leaders, they seem to suffer under more traditional, authoritarian leadership styles.

Millennials work best with short timelines, expect instant gratification, and often have a hard time accepting criticism in the workplace. Products of self-esteem-parenting, they are used to possessing unwavering confidence in their intellect and talent.

Many mature workers are confused, even irritated by these iPod-carrying, pants-sagging, gum-chewing new entrants to the corporate workforce. However, given that many of our new hires will come out of the Millennial pool, it is key to ask, how can we utilize their uniqueness to an advantage?