What do Millenials want in the Workplace?

We’ve gone on and on about this creature known as “the millennial,” who haunts your halls and flouts your rules. At least, that’s what the Baby Boomers have written them off as.

But millennials make up a majority of the workforce today, and if your organisation isn’t changing to keep pace with them, they’re bound to go looking for someone that does! And believe us when we say – they have plenty of options.

It’s not that millennials are lazy or whiny or even all that difficult. They want the same things you – and generations before you – did. It’s just that they aren’t willing to settle for less. In fact, they’re excellent at multitasking (switching between numerous social media apps all day long does have its upside) and highly adaptable to change (have you seen how excited they get about software updates?). They know what they bring to the table, and they aren’t afraid to take it elsewhere if you don’t appreciate them enough.

We asked a few millennials why they’d want to leave an organisation. Surprise, surprise – it was never about the money! Check out this infographic to know where you’re going wrong, and scroll down to the handy guide that’ll help you get out of this mess. Trust us – the information was gathered from millennials and put together by millennials. We know what we’re talking about.

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Here’s why millennials don’t want to work with you

The 9-5 Rut

What do we want? Flexible hours!

When do we want it? Now!

One Role to Rule Their Hours

Do you really think a multi-screening, multitasking generation would be happy doing just one thing all day, everyday?

Where’s your Purpose?

They’re not in it for the money; they’re looking for something they care about.

Do Away With Desks

Cubicle mazes and dated desktops are among millennials’ worst nightmares.

So what do millennials really want?

1. Flexible Working Hours

Pooja Pande, Manager, Content – Marketing at BookMyShow, thinks that millennials were never cut out for the 9-to-5 rut. “Let’s face it – your day never ends at 5. You also have that one weekend to take care of your household chores, catch up with friends and family, pursue your hobbies, and enjoy some much-needed R&R… It simply isn’t enough!! Flexible hours and the occasional work-from-home day would help me manage my work and life a lot better.”

How do you fix this? Abolish the whole punch-in, punch-out system. Millennials are responsible enough to finish the tasks you’ve assigned them, even if they stroll into work post noon or work from their beds to do so. Trust them to get things done without involving a biometric attendance in the mix.

2. Seeking Multiple Roles and Responsibilities

You’re employing a generation that watches multiple shows at a time, has parallel conversations via multiple apps, and a vast array of interests to explore. They’re never going to be happy doing one thing for too long. You need to let them try different roles, take on different tasks and thrive in what you consider chaos. And more importantly, you need to allow them time to pursue alternate interests.

Says Steven Sadiq, Creative Head at The Sterling Co, “Organisations need to encourage employees to pursue alternate interests. As a generation, we want to experience and achieve a lot – and doing the same thing at the same place day after day only pushes me further away from my goals.”

How do you fix this? Encourage them to work with different teams, try out various tasks, attend workshops and figure out what they like doing. If they feel like taking on managerial tasks one day and client servicing on another, create that bit of flexibility in their schedule that allows them to pursue multiple things.

Speak with one of our career counsellors to identify the ideal workplace for your employees and receive specialised, step-by-step guidance on your next steps.    

3. Real Purpose

Millennials don’t work for the money. They need a purpose. They want something that fuels their passion, makes them look forward to getting out of bed and achieving a cause they are passionate about. Money just helps them pay the bills.

Says Farzeen Khan, Executive Producer, “If my work has no purpose, if my passions are not making a real difference, what’s the point of it all? I love working on things that fuel my passion, challenge my limits and help me get better at what I do. Without this, I’m just another fading face in the masses.”

How do you fix this? Understand what drives them. Figure out what they’re working for. And help them align their personal goals with your organisation’s goals. Their passions will change from time to time, so it’s important that you’re regularly checking up on them to ensure they’re still loving what they do and getting what they want out of it.

4. Unstructured Spaces

If there’s one thing you need to understand about millennials, it’s that they were born to break out of the mould. Do not confine them to rigid spaces and structures. Says Bishnupriya Sen, Production Editor at Quadrum Solutions, “Organisations need to ditch cubicles for community tables and desktops for laptops. We need to have the freedom to move around, or even sit together and work as a team. If I want to work from home one day, my organisation needs to allow – even encourage – it.”

How do you fix this? If an interior overhaul isn’t possible, look at creating small, open zones or spaces for your millennial workforce.

As you can see, millennials aren’t asking for a complete overhaul – just simply tweaks in your existing structure that allows them to flourish and you to benefit from their accomplishments. Millennials want to work, to succeed, and want that for themselves as well as the organisations. They just don’t want to be monitored or told to follow a pre-existing path – they would rather carve their own paths.

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