The Millennial Myth

Millennials. Lazy, entitled, demanding. The list goes on, with each descriptor becoming more cringe-worthy than the last. And, as an employer, your business’ future hinges entirely on these less than appealing employees. Ugh, right?

Well no, actually. Not right. In fact, the more previous generations gripe about their youthful counterparts, the more studies emerge to dispute their emphatic claims. “That’s just a small sample,” the most stubborn of the naysayers claim, “a fluke,” but as additional studies are released about this overwhelmingly individualistic generation, the facts remain: Millennials are not only not a death blow to your business, they may be the hard-working, computer-savvy, creative-thinking shake-up that it has been lacking.

So, let’s take a moment to explore a few of the more established Millennial myths:

1.     Millennials are job-hoppers

Well, only technically, and no more so than you/your peers were at the same age. “Millennial workers, those ages 18 to 35, are just as likely to stick with their employers as their older counterparts in Generation X were when they were  young adults, according to recently released government data. And among the college-educated, Millennials have longer track records with their employers than Generation X workers did in 2000 when they were the same age as today’s Millennials.”  (Facts and figures have been gathered from Pew Research – www.pewresearch.org.) Additionally, Millennials are no more likely than non-millennials to leave their jobs in the next six months (Oxford Economics).

   2.     Millennials only care about themselves.

Back, back, back it up. Now stop. Let’s look closer at that. 25% of Millennials say their top career goal is to “Make a positive impact on my organization” (compared to 21% of Gen X and 23% of Baby Boomers) (IBM). We’ve checked Webster’s and that isn’t under the traditional definition of a self-centric mindset. According to research, Millennials are also among the most civic minded group in four generations (www.millennialmarketing.com). Their urge to give back is not only a positive presence on your internal team, but would serve you well as a community representative. Consider placing your Millennial as head of community involvement or charitable giving while also involving them in events where they are able to feel like they’re making a difference and connecting with your clients. Your clients will most likely appreciate the earnest enthusiasm.

3.         Millennials are simply not equipped with the same tools as the more mature generations.

A 2014 survey on the most educated generation in American history, conducted by freelance platform Elance-oDesk and a Gen Y consulting firm, reflected that almost 70 percent of company leadership agree that their young employees possess skills that prior generations do not and 82 percent of the same leadership is greatly impressed with their navigation of technical/IT platforms. Furthermore, 60 percent of these leaders feel that Millennials are quick learners, picking up unfamiliar tasks with ease.

The truth of the matter is that it’s an inevitability — more and more Boomers are exiting the workforce and being replaced by younger generations. Proactively tap into this new talent and diversify with a multi-generational team, ready to tackle anything that comes their way.