As of April 2016, millennials surpassed baby boomers as the United States’ most populous generation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. With these numbers, why do so many people hold on to useless millennial stereotypes.
Usually these stereotypes are somewhat derisive, e.g. sense of entitlement. To combat these stereotypes, CDA asks what millennials bring to the workplace.
In other words, what are the benefits of this generation’s presence in the workforce?
Four Advantages Millennials Bring to the Workplace
Millennials Bring Focus to the Bigger Picture
Millennials have a reputation for caring about the work they do. Their concern with the value of their work supersedes money or title.
Employers can tap into this millennial virtue by articulating why their company provides value to society. Recruiting this generation helps managers examine if their company truly impacts other human beings.
Millennials Bring Technological Proficiency
Millennials get technology. They are able to pick up skills in a fraction of the time it takes baby boomers. Give a millennial new software and a annual. Give them two days. They can know teach it to the rest of the company.
Millennials Bring Intrinsic Motivation
Millennials aren’t just working out of necessity. In fact, sixty-five percent say personal development is the most important factor in their career.
They want to learn, and they want to grow. They’re intrinsically motivated to succeed. The paycheck isn’t the important thing here–they will succeed because they want to, and because it’s important to them.
Millennials Bring Juggling Abilities
If you have ever witnessed a millennial in the workplace (or any walk of life for that matter), you may have noticed their mental juggling dexterity. In the workplace, their wired upbringing means incessant emails, calls from clients, and untimely meetings may not require any reboot time before they are back to what they were originally working on. A baby boomer might need some decompression time, whereas a millennial doesn’t think twice about it.
Millennials Bring New Networking Tactics
Millennials are not about to hand out a business card and call it networking. They are much more creative because they have grown up with technology/social media and understand it better than anyone. And they understand its potential to spread awareness.
Harness the Advantages
Don’t allow stereotypes to discount the advantages millennials can bring to your company. Their fresh perspective may be the very thing that allows your company to reach new heights. And when it does, there will be a smiling millennial simultaneously checking 12 different technologies.