‘Millennials are not lazy,’ writes TalentCulture Founder and CEO Meghan Biro in a recent article in Entrepreneur magazine.
Biro goes on to explain that millennials seek fulfilling work, with an employer and in an environment which does not have them compromise their work.
And with millennials now the largest generation in the workplace, it behooves senior management to understand the needs, preferences, and work styles of this group, so as to build an organization that is not only cohesive but also productive.
A global PwC survey of 44,000 millennials found that they are more interested in jobs which provide an entire work-life experience, more than simply a title, paycheck, or benefits package that were the holy grail of a generation ago.
This means opportunities to learn new skills or grow in their chosen profession. Millennials are skilled at adopting new technologies, and thanks to the ‘consumerization of IT,’ fully expect their digital or mobile experiences in their personal lives to carry over into the professional.
Indeed, many millennials have eschewed traditional university degrees in favor of online courses and MOOCs, or have augmented their learning with digital courses and programs. As such, companies can only expect young professionals to continue their learning on their own — and if their employer offers additional learning opportunities, you can expect higher productivity and loyalty.
Though, of course, as the PwC survey points out, millennials are not as loyal as a few generations ago, and may simply leave a job if it does not provide the right work-life balance.
But as for laziness, millennials are far from being slackers. As Biro points out, because of their embrace of technology, millennials are willing to seamlessly blend the personal with the professional, and seek environments which allow them to do so.
Understanding millennial work preferences — and investing in upgraded technologies, devices, and platforms — will allow senior management to engage this segment of the workforce for the benefit of the entire organization.
