Millennials often get a bad rep, with many sweeping statements made by the media and the generations that came before them – not hard working enough, too entitled, too unreliable. From one perspective, that could possibly be true – millennials are, after all, more likely than older generations to be loyal to their employers.
But what if millennials are shaping the workplace to their own needs – and what if those needs are a good thing?
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The Modern Workplace Report 2018 found some significant feedback on millennial employees from business leaders – namely, that they know what they want, and they demand it. As a German FMCG executive told Condeco:
“We have worked on making our workspaces more comfortable and more sexy, as employees are increasingly concerned with how it looks. This is driven by millennials. They come to work to have an experience – to meet people, to experience an enjoyable environment and to network.”
We know that millennials are more interested and invested in workspace design than previous generations – perhaps because the boom of creativity within workspace design has been big news just as the eldest millennials have entered the workplace, with stylish spaces at large digital-based organisations like Facebook, Google and Netflix being reported in the press.
We also know that millennials are the first generation to expect less rigid working styles – the popularity of flexible working is on the rise, and millennials can see the benefits.
The Modern Workplace Report 2018 also found that millennials are more likely to seize upon the competitive job market, and are less likely to remain loyal to one workplace. In fact, according to the report, millennials do not expect to spend their entire working lives at one organisation. This kind of attitude makes sense – older millennials entered the job market just as the global financial crash was taking hold, and therefore may possibly be cautious of their own options.
Millennials make up 25% of the population of the UK – CBRE
Of course, at a glance this may seem like a negative trait; however, business leaders should see that they need to meet demands and stay competitive to attract the best possible talent, and everyone, no matter their age, can benefit from that.