You may have noticed a new type of employee entering the work force. Optimistic and respectful, these workers go directly to the vice president of human resources to share a great idea on company policy, and then can’t understand why they are reprimanded for not following the chain of command. Full of energy and ideas, they want to collaborate on projects, rather than receive a memo outlining what they need to do. Always willing to communicate, they crave feedback but are stunned when their supervisors deliver harsh criticism.
They are called the millennials. They are the children of the baby boomers and your next generation of employees. Born between 1982 and 2000, they are 76 million strong. Those who have jobs already compose the fastest-growing segment of the work force, going from 14 percent to 21 percent over the past four years. That’s nearly 32 million workers in the United States. And there are more to come.
Like generation X before them, millennials bring an inimitable skill set and ideology to the workplace. From the time they entered junior high school, most of them have had access to cell phones, personal computers, e-mail, and the Internet. As a result, they communicate quickly and have even developed their own language expressed through emoticons and abbreviations such as LOL (“laugh out loud”), BTW (“by the way”), and
The millennials' arrival at your company signals the start of a new era in the workplace.
As teenagers, many millennials experienced firsthand the labor shortage in Minnesota; they could easily replace any part-time job they didn’t like with another that paid better. From a social standpoint, their boomer parents have placed a premium on self-esteem and fairness. These parents have been nicknamed the “helicopter generation,” hovering over their millennial children to protect and monitor them at every turn. They provide structured activities for their children throughout high school, stay with them their first week of college, and even negotiate internships for them after graduation.
Traditionalists, and even some boomers and gen Xers, are scratching their heads when they encounter millennials at the office. From their perspective, millennials seem coddled and overprotected. They recognize that this generation is smart and talented, but also outspoken and sensitive to criticism. Millennials feel the disconnect, too. Why shouldn’t they be able to talk to their boss as a peer? After all, they are doing it with their parents. And why do older colleagues seem to bristle when a millennial speaks her mind at a meeting—something that’s encouraged at home?
The millennials’ arrival at your company signals the start of a new era in the workplace. Following are five traits and trends that show you where older managers and the millennials might clash, but also where they can click.
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