MILLENNIALS:
How are They Impacting
the Workplace?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• Millennials are now the largest, most diverse, and highly educated living generation. They currently comprise 30% of the labor force – a percentage that will increase each year for at least the next decade.
• Millennials have been influenced since childhood by unique forces including parenting style, economic instability, education, and the pervasiveness of technology. These have shaped their attitudes toward identity, work, family, relationships, authority, information, and communication.
• As a rule, Millennials prefer open, warm, supportive work cultures and supervisory relationships. They expect connection, frequent feedback, transparent communication and enjoy working in teams. Their casual and familiar approach to relationships, even authority, can at times feel like disrespect to older generations.
• Millennials place a high value on family, recreation, creativity, and contribution. Their identity is not as dependent on work as it was in generations past. As a result, they desire to have a work/life balance that is sometimes at odds with the expectations of the Boomer generation.
• Millennials are less individualistic and more communally minded than previous generations.
This white paper has been researched and produced by Linda Wagener, PhD, Richard Beaton, PhD and Mark
Jacobsen who are senior principals at Calibrate Work Culture Optimization. For more information they can be
contacted at: [email protected].
www.calibrateorgs.com
• Millennials place a high value on being authentic. They want to be themselves wherever they are and they desire to bring their beliefs and values to work with them, rather than leaving them at home like Boomers were taught to do.
• Challenges for working with Millennials include socialization into the work culture,
providing effective supervision, their preference for teamwork, and managing their
expectations for leadership and achievement.
• Millennials bring several advantages into the workplace that include: their comfort and ease with communication and information technologies, diversity, education, teamwork, and desire to make a positive contribution.
• Managers and leaders can optimize the potential of Millennials by cultivating an
attitude of understanding and empathy rather than critique of the difference.
Welcoming them into the workplace with optimism for the positive contribution
they can bring will help them to be engaged and productive employees.
• We recommend considering the following specific management strategies: clear
open communication including frequent feedback that is primarily positive but
includes constructive criticism, holding to high standards for performance that
are clearly communicated and maintained, allowing for flexible work policies
that make use of telecommunications, reducing stress through reasonable
expectations for work hours and work load.
HOW MILLENNIAL
ARE YOU?
Try this fun short
survey from Pew
Research:
http://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/
how-millennial-are-you/
• Creating workplaces that naturally enhance team work, creativity, socialization,
supervision, privacy, and quiet through a living office will support generational harmony.
• As we contemplate “transferring the baton” of responsibility to this generation
we must consider our own responsibility for ensuring that Millennials are as well
prepared as possible to contribute to a stable and healthy global economic climate.
Generations, like people, have personalities or, more accurately,
a collective identity. This often reveals itself when the leading edge of a generation
enters adulthood and begins to act on their values, attitudes and worldviews.
We hear a lot of discussion these days about America’s newest generation of adults, the
Millennials, born between 1981 and 2000. They are the first generation to come of age in
the new century. The oldest members are in their early 30s and the youngest have become
adolescents. As they enter adulthood and the labor force, their unique characteristics are
already influencing the workplace.
Just how different are Millennials from the Xers (1965-1980) or Boomers (1946-1964) who
precede them? Wired into technology from childhood, raised by “helicopter” parents, and
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empowered by a culture that believed in the benefit of positive self-esteem, this generation
of young adults potentially brings a set of new challenges and opportunities into the
workplace. The Millennials have been marked by unique circumstances at nearly every
important milestone; including how they were parented, their choices about education,
the pervasiveness of technology, and the instability of the economy. These have influenced
their beliefs about what leads to a good life and their attitudes toward work, family, home,
status, and communication.
Popular stereotypes about Millennials depict them as self-centered, unmotivated, and
disloyal. They are also characterized more positively as good team players, comfortable
with diversity, wanting to make a contribution to their organizations and communities,
favoring open communication with supervisors and at ease with advanced communication
and information technologies, especially social media. There is widespread concern about
how their generational predispositions will impact organizational performance and their
ability to create functional work relationships with older employees.
One thing is true: Millennials are challenging the status quo in
the workplace. Many senior leaders do not know quite how to
handle them. Questions have been raised about how management can best
accommodate and motivate Millennials. Some believe that for organizations to thrive and
fully utilize Millennials’ unique abilities they may need to change organizational policies &
rules. What can we learn about Millennials that can be useful in the workplace? And how
much of what we have heard is just popular mythology? In this paper we will point out the
information from articles and books that are more opinion than evidence based and have
contributed to stereotypes, many without factual support and information. Whenever
possible we will present data driven research.
Some factors that make this generation unique:
• They are the most racially and ethnically diverse group in American history. Only 59.8%, a record low, are white; 42% identify with a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white; 15% are foreign born, the highest percentage since 1910, the peak of immigration in the U.S.
• They have started out as the most politically progressive age group in modern history, voting 66% for Barak Obama over 32% for John McCain in their first election.
(Adults 30 and over voted 50-49%) This trend has continued as we consistently see
the largest generational gap in voter preference in history.
• They are the least religiously observant youths since research started charting religious behavior. They tend not to trust political and religious institutions.
• They are the first generation to take tweeting, posting, emailing, & texting for granted as an everyday aspect of their social life and as a source for information & understanding.
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• Millennials are the largest living generation, surpassing Boomers this year (2016).
• Millennials are more burdened by financial hardships (higher levels of student loan debt, poverty, unemployment and lower levels of personal wealth and income) than the other living generations, but are still optimistic about their financial future.
• Millennials are staying single longer than past generations. Only 26% are married
compared to 36% of Xers, 48% of Boomers, and 65% of the Silent Generation when they were a similar age. Most unmarried Millennials (69%) say that they would like to marry but lack a solid economic foundation to do so responsibly.
• More than one-in-three American workers today is a Millennial. This makes them the largest generation in the U.S. labor market. And with Boomers retiring at a rate of 18,000 per day, they will quickly become a more significant force than they already are.
Millennials will be an important engine of the economy for years
to come.
HOW CAN WE BEST POSITION OURSELVES TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR POTENTIAL?
Millennials are on track to be the most educated generation
to date. About 61% of Millennials have attended college compared to 46% of the inequality
and a market that rewards educated workers. Moreover during the recession, young people
enrolled in school and stayed in school longer in order to make their skills competitive in the
job market. There also has been an unprecedented surge in higher education for lower-income
and underrepresented minority students. Young women have more labor market equality
than past generations, in large part because they are attending college and attaining degrees
in greater numbers than in the past. Millennials are more likely to attend graduate school
than previous generations, with a 35% increase from 1995-2010. A downside of this trend is
that more students have relied on student loans to pay for their education.
Millennials entered the labor market in tough times.
It has been hard going for Millennials who entered into the workforce during the nation’s deepest
recession in decades. The labor market recovery has been much less robust than in previous
recessions such as the 1981 – 82 recession that impacted the Boomers. The Millennials have
made decisions about their education and careers during a time of great economic uncertainty.
Even with the recession in recovery, the economic forces still affect the lives of many Millennials
and will likely do so for years to come. As a result, they are likely to be grateful for employment
and less likely to jump ship. Millennials are sometimes characterized as lacking loyalty to their
employers but contrary to the popular myth, Millennials tend to stay longer with their employers
than the Xers did at a similar age. Young workers spending more years with their employers
has advantages in terms of job security, on the job training, and lower turn-over.
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Millennials have been shaped by technology.
Because much of the astounding advance in technology occurred during the childhoods
of Millennials, it has shaped the ways that they interact with technology. It also may have
affected their expectations for creativity and innovation in their own work lives. The sheer
amount of computational power and access to information that Millennials have had at
their finger tips since grade school is unparalleled. Widespread access to cell phones and
internet have impacted the communication style of Millennials. Three quarters of Millennials
have social networking accounts. They use social media more often and are even likely to
sleep near their cell phones.
In organizations, Millennials may become lead users in CITs (communication and
information technologies), driving or supporting their implementation. Older workers may
rely on them for modeling use of new technologies, training and problem solving. This
“reverse mentoring” may also help Millennials better understand the obstacles faced by
users who are less adept.
The cost of creating and distributing all kinds of digital content has fallen dramatically,
creating opportunities for production as well as consumption of technology. One study
found that more than half of Millennials expressed interest in starting a business. This
generation is just beginning to enter the peak age for entrepreneurship, which is in the
early 40s and 50s. Within organizations, Millennials may see opportunities for the creation
of in house technologies that may increase efficiencies.
As an aside and surprisingly, the number of students choosing computer and information
science majors has fallen over time. This decline is most pronounced among women. In
1987 women comprised 36% of all computer science majors. By contrast in 2011, only 18%
of all computer science graduates were women. This is unlike trends in other highly
compensated fields such as medicine, dentistry and law where women’s participation has
increased over this same period.
When it comes to work, Millennials are similar to previous
generations in important ways.
They want to be successful and want to be able to provide a good life for their children.
But they are more likely to rate creativity and contribution as important to their career
choice than previous generations - High school seniors today are more likely than previous
generations to say that they want to make a contribution to society. And they are less likely
to report that having an interesting job, one where they can see results or one that has
advancement opportunities as very important. Many Millennials report that earnings are an
important aspect of job choice, but breaking this down by gender reveals that this is driven
particularly by young women. While this feature has remained stable for men, each cohort
of women has seen an increase in naming earnings as a key job feature.
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Millennials are more community oriented.
There has been an increasing individualistic focus in Western society that impacted how
the Silent generation and Boomers have lived, worked and thought about the good life. As
much as they say they want community, the manner in which they work and live is more
atomistic, individualized. Millennials seem to be shifting the focus to living and working in
neighborhoods, with more intimate involvement with friends and traveling in packs. Their
work styles are changing, preferring collaboration, teams and closer relationships with their
co-workers.
Authenticity, bringing your whole self wherever you go.
Millennials distinguish themselves by seeking greater authenticity than prior generations.
They want to be themselves in whatever context they are in and as a result they are more
tolerant of alternative lifestyles. They bring their beliefs and values into the workplace and
are more at ease with being open about their expectations. This can include beliefs about
work/life balance, flexibility of schedules, commitment to building a career, spirituality, and
any number of other matters that they care about deeply. The result is that it is putting
pressure on business to become more socially active, more open and tolerant of difference,
and more authentic as well.
Quality of life is a focus for this generation.
Millennials value closeness to family and friends, time for recreation, and creative jobs
where they can make an impact on community and society. Job satisfaction is likely to
be linked to work/ life balance, flexible work hours, and a friendly, supportive culture.
Millennials are more likely to want to live in a location that offers a healthy life style and
recreational opportunities, ideally near their family and friends.
Millennials are increasingly comfortable with raising families with two full time working
parents. Young men and young women recognize the importance of the woman’s financial
contribution to the family. Almost all think that a woman with school age children should
work and almost half think that a woman with pre-school age children should work. There
is an interesting gender gap, with 82% of young women compared to 50% of young
men believing that women with young children should work. Yet both men and women
recognize the challenges of balancing work and family obligations. Family formation is
coming later for Millennials, perhaps in part because with career advancement they are
likely to have access to workplace policies that help them balance work and family.
MANAGING MILLENNIALS
Four areas are especially relevant for performance in contemporary organizations:
(1) socialization into the organization (2) expectations of supervisors (3) teamwork
(4) achievement and aspirations for leadership.
1. Socialization. Newcomers to organizations need to learn about their work tasks and
social norms, how to adapt to and negotiate their roles, and how to gain acceptance from
colleagues. Socialization is an interactive process involving both the newcomers and the
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old-timers evaluations of each other and commitment to the organization. Old-timers
determine who will likely fit in and benefit the organization. Newcomers likewise evaluate
how much they will like their work, colleagues and supervisors. When co-workers values
and role expectations fit, the recruit becomes more central to the organization. When they
do not mesh, conflict, mistrust and lower productivity can result.
Some trade journals and blogs claim that differences in values between Millennials and
older workers are negatively affecting the socialization process. More senior workers
believe that the newcomers should have to “pay their dues” as they did when they were
young workers. Boomer workers are depicted as routinely sacrificing on behalf of the
organization, working 55-60 hour weeks and frequently advise their young co-workers to
work hard, demonstrate their value, and patiently wait their turn for promotions. However,
Millennials, like Xers, may not share Boomers beliefs and values. Empirical research has
shown that building a career is not a primary motivator for most Millennials. Instead, work
is less a part of their primary identities. Boomers, the original workaholics, have embraced
competitiveness and focused on climbing the ranks. In contrast, Millennials’ priority is work/life
balance. They freely admit that they prioritize close personal relationships over career.
This difference in values may create resistance in the socialization process. Boomers, who
are often in supervisory and leadership positions, may question Millennials’ commitment, or
worse, dismiss them as lazy or selfish. Of course, self-aware Millennials may recognize how
they are viewed by others and may make an effort to accommodate to the demands of
their supervisors.
On the other hand, Millennials may also be a source of change within the organization.
Boomers may find themselves wondering if their sacrifices have been worth it. Facing
burn-out and recognizing the negative impact their dedication to work has had on their
families, they may take cues from the Millennials about how to create more balance, wellbeing, and relational health. Some organizations are finding human resource advantages
in creating more flexible work patterns and benefits such as family leave time that
accommodate two career families.
2. Supervisory Relationships. Research has found that Millennials (not unlike other
generations) view strong relationships with their supervisors as key to their workplace
success and job satisfaction. In general, supervisors, who are open in their communication,
create a supportive climate, give regular feedback, and ask for input, have higher performing
and more engaged teams. What is different about Millennials is that they have higher
expectations for more frequent, more positive, and more affirming communication from
their supervisors than have employees of the past. This can feel burdensome to senior and
seasoned organizational members that may have been raised by the “silent generation.”
In contrast, Millennials have received a constant flow of supportive messages from parents,
teachers, and coaches and so have high expectations for their supervisors.
Millennials also expect transparent communication from all levels in the organization.
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They tend not to be intimidated by seniority. In fact, they may have been encouraged to
challenge authority, assert themselves, and ask for what they want. This lack of formality
can cause senior workers to feel disrespected and resentful. Millennials may not fully
understand that increased communication and knowledge is balanced by increased
responsibility.
3. Teamwork. Millennials value teamwork and are comfortable with collaboration. They
are likely to be engaged, committed and fully productive when their work is done in a
collaborative group or team. Luckily for organizations, teams have been found to enhance
innovation, productivity, and often lower personnel costs.
The downside of over reliance on teamwork is that it can reduce confidence in individual
decision-making and hide individual creativity and ability. The employee can develop a fear
of the risk associated with independent thinking and decisions, and lack of experience can
diminish an employee’s capacity to stand apart from the group.
4. Aspirations for Leadership. Research supports the observation that Millennials are
unusually confident in their abilities, have a greater sense of well-being and lower levels of
depression. The idea of “paying their dues” by working hard to demonstrate their worth
before being given significant work is likely to be resisted by a generation who already feel
valuable. This confidence often leads them to seek key roles early in their entry, which may
be viewed negatively by co-workers.
SOME CAUTIONS
Generational diversity is just one of many sources of difference. Diversity is an ever-present
influence in the workplace. People exist on a continuum from uniform to unique on multiple
dimensions. Gender, ethnicity, personality, age, and giftedness are just the most obvious of
the sources of difference that impact our working relationships.
While diversity is often considered to be an obstacle to be overcome, in fact, it is a
benefit in most work cultures to have diverse workers. Diverse workers help to mitigate
against group think and contribute to innovation and creativity.
We need to be cautious when we lump people together based on any one dimension.
Decades of research in the area of group differences have taught us that there is usually
as much or more difference within one group as there is between two groups. Think for
example of the differences between men and women on height. We all know that some
women are taller than some men, even though as a group, men are taller than women. The
same can be said for Millennials. While it can be tempting to lump them all into a single
“type”, we need to remember that the differences among Millennials is greater than the
differences between Millennials and other generations.
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OFFICE DESIGN/LANDSCAPE
Office design may not create culture, but it certainly can
inhibit or facilitate culture. For those seeking to create a high performing, innovative,
productive, positive work culture, a redesign of your office space is an essential addition to a focus
on culture and leadership. The emergence of a concept/ideas based economy, technological
enhancements, and research on people, their biology and the ecosystem they need to do good
work have all contributed to radical changes in the way work gets done. Added to this is the
arrival of large numbers of millennials, along with their beliefs and values. The result is the need to
rethink why we work the way we do and how we allocate and use space. Work is now more fluid,
collaborative, creative and demands a different way of utilizing space. The world has changed.
Herman Miller’s Living Office is one superb example of a more thoughtful, research based
approach to office and furniture design. Moving beyond simple ergonomics and beautiful
furniture, Living Office incorporates settings and zones that facilitate the key activities central to
work today. Technology and knowledge workers have made it possible for many employees to
work in various settings and zones. When combined with a general trend towards collaboration
and flatter organizations, the office is more democratized. Rather than owned personal space,
employees move throughout the space depending on their tasks and individual needs.
Introverts no longer need be stranded in highly stimulating environments that wear them down
over time. For example, The Hive accommodates both heads down work and engagement.
Rather than larger conference rooms and tables that remain unused throughout the day, smaller
intimate rooms that accommodate teams of various sizes incorporate tables and video designed
to enhance their team interaction and the inclusion of remote attendees. Older offices were more
structured, with walls, private offices, large conference rooms, cubicles, and reception areas. The
use of space was inefficient and worked against the hallmarks of an ideas based economy.
Another zone example is called the Epicenter. The Epicenter is the gathering place for employees,
the hub of the intergenerational workforce. Regardless of rank or status, this gathering place
allows for more personal engagement and the interchange of ideas throughout the organization.
The new Living Office design is a human centered approach that facilitates and enhances the new
organizational culture essential for an ideas economy.
These are but a few of the work activities, settings and zones that Herman Miller researchers
argue are fundamental to the workplace today. http://www.hermanmiller.com/solutions/livingoffice.html. Their designs match this shift in culture, an intergenerational workplace, and serve to
enhance worker engagement and productivity not just for Millennials but also the Xers and
Boomers among us. And while higher space utilization and cost efficiency are obvious benefits,
the collaboration within the teams, productivity, innovation and creativity create real value for
business in this competitive landscape.
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CONCLUSION: THE MILLENNIAL ADVANTAGE
The key for Boomers and Xers will be interacting with their co-worker Milliennials with the
aim of understanding, rather than critiquing the differences. Trust and support will encourage
new workers to become more involved, committed and better performers. Taking time to
get to know each other will help to prevent problems down the road.
Keep in mind that accommodating Millennials may lead to a healthier workplace for all.
Many of the ways that we have been working in past generations are out of sync with
health, well-being, creativity, innovation, and sustainability. Creating a positive, diverse,
transparent, team oriented work culture has been linked to innovation, worker engagement
and increased productivity for all generations. Those are good business outcomes for
any organization!
Balance. Our nation is suffering from work-a-holism. A work style that depends on long
work hours with little to no “unplugged” time has led to record level stress related disorders
of all kinds including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, acid reflux, sleep disorders, anxiety and
depression. Fall out has included high divorce rates and unhappy families. The Millennials
recognize that work is important but is not the only aim of life. Nor is money the primary
agent for happiness. Establishing work environments that allow for flexible hours, benefits
for working parents, and reasonable work-loads will be good for all generations.
Professional Management. For too long, promotion into management has
been done solely on seniority with little to no attention paid to whether the person has
the skills, personality, or training to manage people. The impact has been record levels of
work disengagement across all generations. The sciences of personality and management
assessment are sufficiently advanced to improve our ability to hire and train people for
management who truly have the capacity and competency to appropriately develop and
supervise their fellow workers.
Positive Work Culture. While culture can be an overwhelming concept that
seems to include any and every aspect of the workplace, there are a half dozen key cultural
components that are linked to employee engagement and productivity. Through disciplined
practice of these dimensions, leaders can create a productive, positive culture that impacts
business outcomes that matter. A positive culture includes clarity in communication,
flexibility in work processes that is balanced by responsibility, high standards for
performance, rewards that are tied to performance, trust & commitment, work/life balance,
and a workspace that encourages creativity, innovation, team work as well as privacy and
quiet.
Innovation & Creativity.
Innovation is not just a gift of genius or luck. It is possible
to directly influence innovation in the workplace by hiring the right people, deliberately
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designing innovation teams, encouraging diverse perspectives, and instituting positive
management science. The diverse perspective that Millennials bring can be an important
ingredient in the creativity process. When it comes to creativity, diversity is a critical
component, not just a source of tension.
Sustainability & Contribution. Since childhood, Millennials have been immersed
in a world that is highly networked and interconnected. What happens halfway across the
world shows up in their backyard. They realize intuitively that the way you choose to live
and work has consequences. They also have been inundated with messages that the world
is fragile and damaged. Their future is dependent on making a difference in the present.
As we contemplate “transferring the baton” of responsibility to this generation we must
consider our own responsibility for ensuring that they are as well prepared as possible to
contribute to a stable and healthy global economic climate.
NOTE: We would also like to acknowledge Lynsey Lacher’s contribution in assisting the Calibrate
team with research for this white paper.
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:
This paper has drawn heavily on several sources that we recommend to you for further reading.
Pew Research Center http://www.pewresearch.org/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generationin-u-s-labor-force/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/03/19/how-millennials-compare-with-their-grandparents/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/
“Millennials in the Workplace: A Communication Perspective on Millennials’ Organizational
Relationships and Performance.” Karen K. Myers and Kamyab Sadaghiani. Journal of Business
Psychology (2010): 25:225-238.
“15 Economic Facts About Millennials”. The Council of Economic Advisors, October 2014
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdf
To learn more about how to build a productive workplace for all generations contact us at:
www.calibrateorgs.com
About Calibrate
We are work psychologists, social scientists, organizational and leadership design experts, and brand/
business strategists with more than 60 years of combined experience in helping organizations thrive.
Calibrate’s Mission
To restore and revitalize the world’s underperforming organizations. We do this through Work Culture
Optimization™.
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Work Culture Optimization
Work Culture Optimization empowers business leaders. It aligns their organization around a clear and
compelling vision and also offers them a robust set of tools to manage the ongoing effectiveness
and vitality of their organization. To address the complexity faced by business leaders, we created a
multidisciplinary methodology that is based on scientifically validated research.
Linda Wagener, PhD Co-Founder & Director of Work Psychology
Dr. Linda Wagener has over 25 years of experience in consultation, teaching, administration, and
research in human development. A Minnesota native, she received her doctorate in psychology
at Clark University. Linda is a founding partner of Calibrate. She is a consultant in the areas of
leadership assessment and development, personal and executive coaching, family dynamics and
business solutions. In this capacity she brings a focus on enhanced relational communication and
strength based personality dynamics. Linda is committed to exploring the concept of human
flourishing across the life span in both research and practice. Her understanding of human experience
is informed by her expertise in life span development and organizational systems theory as well as her
experience of raising four children.
Richard Beaton, PhD
Co-Founder & Director of Work Sociology
Dr. Richard Beaton is a co-founder and senior partner of Calibrate. Rick has extensive international
experience working with senior leaders and organizations around the issues of leadership, building
high-performing teams and organizational cultures. Rick holds a PhD from the University of
Cambridge, England. Prior to founding Calibrate, he was a principal at the Max De Pree Center for
Leadership, and has taught and researched at the Universities of Cambridge, England, Tuebingen,
Germany, and Fuller Theological Seminary. Having watched people and organizations suffer from
poor leadership and toxic work cultures in various contexts, Rick’s work, writing and speaking focus
on improving these ecosystems.
Mark Jacobsen Co-Founder &
Director of Brand Strategy
Mark is a visionary, entrepreneur, and brand strategist with extensive real-world business experience.
He has a cross-disciplined skill set and long track record for developing and implementing successful
business and brand solutions that work. For more than 25 years, Mark has partnered with brand
owners, investors and operators to maximize brand value. He has also created inspired brand
experiences that resonate and connect deeply with organizations and their customers. Mark’s unique
background in understanding the pragmatics of business operations, coupled with a long history in
developing brands, results in the delivery of unique and nuanced tactical recommendations to ensure
success both operationally and for the end-user experience.
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