The Millennial Workforce – From The Other Side Of The Table

Everyone is talking about the millennials, tomorrow’s business leaders and their opinions about the workplace. But who’s listening to the employers? 

Employers across the world are in turmoil, even if they aren’t admitting it. At least the large ones are. The millennial workforce, perhaps the biggest, most educated, innovative and socially intelligent generation workers since the baby boomers, are at the cusp of managerial and leadership positions in critical job roles. Their aspirations, ambitions, priorities, and expectations from their employers are the talk of the town. On the other hand are the machines, slowly but steadily taking over, whose efficiencies they will sooner or later be required to contend with.  

On the other hand is the question very few are asking, but it is pertinent nonetheless. What is it exactly, that the employers think of the millennial workforce? 

RIDICULOUS 

Just their demands. Millennials applying for jobs are currently under the very wrong impression that they are foregoing their fifteen minutes of fame in the startup economy and a shot at the big leagues by working for an employer. Some want extensive paid vacations, perks and benefits, salaries upwards of what managers used to make a couple of years ago, and all this is for a start. Employers find this very difficult to accommodate because the very idea of complying with a workplace policy where they are applying doesn’t seem to matter to them 

EDUCATED BUT UNSCHOOLED IN THE REAL WORLD 

Academic qualifications and Ph.D. degrees in life sciences almost never prepare one for the people facing, interpersonal communication role that every worker in an organization is required to play at some point early on in their career. You just don’t stride into the boardroom if it’s not your family business. The practical, real world approach to helping customers, colleagues and stakeholders overcome difficulties is a major missing trait in the millennial workforce. 

 THE MISSING PERSISTENCE 

Some millennials are quick to throw their hands up at a sticky problem and move on, either to a different project or to another organization altogether. The persistence, the ability to face a challenge and sweat it out, eventually overcoming it, has quite literally built the foundations of the world’s largest corporations. In today’s disrupted and fragmented economy, the millennial workforce is expected to take charge and lead, and need to be thoroughly trained accordingly, because this is a trait they’re falling very VERY short of. 

CHROs across the world, while admitting to these issues with the new age workforce, are also taking adequate steps well ahead in time to avoid any potential leadership or managerial crisis. How the Millennials embrace corporate leadership in conventional industries remains to be seen. 

So, what do you think of the millennial workforce in your organization? Do their aspirations sync with your organizational vision? Are Millennials justified in their demands and expectations of a transformed work culture? Are you planning to align your organization to meet their modern thought processes? Do let us know in the comments!