By Marcus Hoo

Who are millennials?

Millennials are people that are born between 1981 and 1996, and they are currently the largest generation in the workforce, and it is expected for them to make up around 75%  of the total workforce by 2025.

With that being said, it is evident that millennials currently hold a major part of the workforce and they will not be going away anytime soon, so it is vital that we understand what their views are and what they want to look for when it comes to getting a job. If you’re an employer, this could help you understand your workforce demographic better and adapt your workplace to attract more potential candidates.

So what do they look for?

• Flexibility – Millennials perceive jobs that should try to adapt around them, not the other way around. They prioritize work-life balance and would prefer to have better flexibility than overall compensation or money. Millennials believe that having hybrid working places and a flexible working schedule would allow them to prioritize and efficiently work out their personal life and their job better. Most millennials prefer a 4 day per week working schedule and are much more satisfied working remotely.
• Opportunities – Millennials would look for jobs that allows them to upgrade, develop and acquire new skills, they would prefer jobs that have a value and opportunities for them instead of a high pay.
• Purpose – For millennials, they would prefer work that has a meaning behind them. What an organization stands for is a huge contributing factor to whether they would work for them. They want to work for companies and organizations that have cultures behind them and are willing to go the extra mile for their missions, depending on the company.
• Mastery – Millennials want to know they bring value to the work they do. They seek continuous skill development and meaningful growth opportunities. This means that they would seek constant feedback of themselves and would want to push better of oneself. Managers should meet regularly with each of their team members and determine the most effective methods to keep them engaged and growing.

Summary

In around a few years time, millennials will make up three-quarters of the global workforce. In order to attract and retain this generation of professionals in today’s tight labour market, organizations must focus on providing what this generation craves from work. If they don’t put in the necessary effort now, the largest segment of the workforce will leave to find it elsewhere.