Generation Y Size and Influence
Generation Y or Millennials make up 35% of the current workforce. Millennials want to make meaningful changes in the real-world, and they won’t stop until they’re heard. They are alpha-influencers who shape behavior and purchasing decisions.
Seventy percent of millennials describe themselves as social activists. Fifty percent regularly donate time and money to causes they care about. Seventy percent spent at least an hour volunteering in 2014.
Helicopter parents
Millennials were latchkey kids. Both of parents worked outside the home and kids were left to their own devices much of the time. Overcompensating, the next generation tends to be hyper-connected, society bred helicopter parents.
Technical Experts
Millennials have grown up with technology and most are staying on the curve, if not ahead. Leverage their connectivity at work to find ways to be more efficient.
Integrate Life and Work
Millennials don’t see the same separation between work life and personal life that previous generations did. In Meagan and Larry Johnson’s book, Generations, Inc. they define differing attitudes toward work thusly, “Baby Boomers live to work. Generation Xers work to live. Generation Yers don’t see work and life as any different; they blend into one.”
Previous generations went to work 9 to 5 and worked at 100% from 9 to 5. Millennials and Generation Z sleep with their phones on. The first thing they do in the morning is check their Snapchat and Instagram. Then tweet on the company Twitter account and check their work email. They have been working since they woke up. Conversely, they have no qualms about occasionally making a personal phone call on “work time” or checking social media when work is slow. They figure it all evens out.
Optimistic
Despite life laws that include terrorist attacks and school shootings as a part of life, Millennials are surprisingly optimistic.
Socially Responsible
Want to start a green or sustainable initiative? Millennials are the perfect ones to head it up. They are naturally socially responsible and want to have a positive impact on the world they leave for the next generation.
Make the Most of Work
Millennials don’t want you to talk about the “good ole days.” We can grumble or we can move forward. Millennials will question the status quo. Get rid of stupid rules. Better yet, enlist Millennials to get rid of unnecessary rules and paperwork. Be open to virtual work places and schedules as Gen Y integrates work and personal life. (We’ll see the same trend continue with Gen Z.)
Interact often with Millennials. Don’t be afraid to correct, don’t assume they know better. Inexperience in life means they haven’t learned all the unwritten rules yet. Tell them why. For example, our younger generations expect a high level of transparency. Today we live in a world where everyone from The President to their Grandma is tweeting multiple times per day. Millennials may not realize which items are trade secrets or simply not to be discussed publicly.
Reverse Mentor
“Reverse mentoring refers to an initiative in which older executives are paired with and mentored by younger employees on topics such as technology, social media and current trends.
In the tech industry or other businesses that rely heavily on technology, reverse-mentoring is seen as a way to bring older employees up to speed in areas that are often second nature to 20-something employees, whose lives have been more deeply integrated with computers and the Web.”
– Techopedia
Reverse mentoring closes the knowledge gap between generations and technology. Older employees learn social media and the younger person learns business terminology and industry practices as well as the unwritten rules of the workplace.
Reverse mentoring empowers emerging and established leaders, it brings generations closer together, stopping ‘us versus them’ thinking.
To begin a reverse mentoring program, identify the need, skills gap, or lack of clarity. The more senior member should approach the younger team member. The more specific the request, the better. Determine when, where, and for how long they will meet. This should be consistent.
Regular meetings with calendar requests and agenda items will make it more likely that mentor and mentee show up—and come prepared. The senior member must remember to thank the younger mentor.
Team Building
Embrace innovative team-building. Create places for creativity to happen. Allow “roving” work stations. Promote transparency. Remember that 140 characters is enough to bring down an entire company, younger workers have come to expect that their employers will be up-front with them at all times.
Get Rid of Hierarchy
Research has shown that the top-down management style is ineffective for the majority of Millennials. Most have been raised working in teams through sports, or group projects. Work life integration makes it imperative that they enjoy the culture and camaraderie of work.
Moving forward with Millennials means understanding how and why they work the way they do. And be sure to brace for Gen Z, already entering the workforce and secondary education. Watch for future blogs about what they bring to work.
