Employing millennials should not be a problem

Employing millennials should not be seen as a problem but according to some reports in the business press many employers would prefer not to.
The reasons given range from this generation having a poorer grasp of language to being less loyal than older workers, and allegedly having higher absence rates.
Quite apart from the fact that age discrimination is outlawed under equal opportunities legislation, millennials (the generation born between 1980 and 2000) now make up the bulk of the workforce.
While it would be fair to say that employing millennials means bosses need to understand that this age group may view their careers rather differently from previous generations, it is also true that each generation comes with skills and attitudes that are a benefit to their employers. It is also true for many employers that they are customers who need to be understood.
Approximately 10 years ago PwC produced a report that focused on the millennial generation, examining their career aspirations, attitudes about work and level of comfort with new technologies. It predicted that they would make up 50% of the global workforce by 2020.
It also examined the key features that employers would need to understand about this generation: “Millennials’ use of technology clearly sets them apart. This generation has grown up with broadband, smartphones, laptops and social media being the norm, and expect instant access to information”.
This is clearly a benefit for 21^st Century businesses.
However, the report continues that employers need to understand that it is a generation whose “behaviour is coloured by their experience of the global economic crisis and this generation places much more emphasis on their personal needs than on those of the organisation for which they work”.
This should be no surprise given that it has been a long time since employees of any age have been able to rely on the “one job for life” career model.
Couple this with having had to make compromises due to the 2008 global financial crisis, such as having to do work that is beneath their skill and education level. Indeed, they are often better educated than previous generations who tend to be more senior people in organisations and they are living with high levels of rent and living costs while at the same time they have been burdened with university debts that were not imposed on those who complain about them. It is hardly surprising therefore that many of them consider their income as derisory when compared to the income of others. Loyalty works both ways.
In addition, they are aware of other factors such as quality of life, environmental concerns, diversity, ethical business and equal opportunities which are becoming more important factors when deciding who to work for.
As older employees reach retirement and the likely restrictions on immigration, employing millennials is not going to be a choice and indeed employers should be looking for the best available skills for their businesses – or the potential to develop them.
It may mean that employers will need to re-think their rigid, hierarchical structures and use a more cohesive, mentoring approach to their management style.
They will need to pay more attention to employees’ training needs and careers aspirations, and to accommodate their increasing focus on environmental and social concerns.
Good workers know when they are being treated well and young people tend to be well able to adapt to a fast-changing world, accordingly employers should focus on helping young people to become good workers as a demonstration that they valued. Employees should no longer be regarded as a burden or treated as being lucky to have a job. It is now the other way round.
Survival in the 21^st Century will involve businesses having to adapt rather than expecting their people to adapt.
While most businesses claim that their people are their greatest asset, the reality is only true when their people claim their business is the greatest employer.