How millennials are changing the modern workplace

On today’s episode: how millennials are shaping the modern workplace

They are the generation born between 1982 and the early 2000s, so they are between about age 15 and, call it 35 to 37 years old today. And as they become a greater and greater share of the workforce, they are changing the entire culture of work. Today I’m going to use the word “they” to describe the millennials because I technically am not one. I was born in 1981, so I just barely miss the technical definition of a millennial. The idea for today’s episode came from a listener, Julio, in Monterrey, Mexico. And I was telling Julio that I sometimes feel in between at work—on the one hand, I do identify with and agree with a lot of the things you’ll hear about today. But on the other hand, I do share some of the values and perspectives of the generation that came before. Today’s episode is going to be a good one—I know from corresponding with so many of you over e-mail and WhatsApp that we have a lot of millennials in the workforce in the audience. So make sure to let me know what you think of today’s episode and I’ll share some perspectives of fellow listeners in the future.

I guess I should open the show—you guys know all this by now, but just for those people who are new—this is Plain English, a podcast for learning and practicing English. As you can tell, we go a little bit slower than normal speed, and that is so that you can understand all the words. Today is Episode 142 and you can find a full transcript at PlainEnglish.com/142.

By the way—on the transcripts. I know you guys read them closely. In fact, Leandro from Brazil sent me a note telling me I missed a word in the transcript. That’s how I know you guys read them closely. What happens is, I write the episodes out in advance. And I try to write them so that they’ll sound natural when I read them. But sometimes—sometimes—when I’m reading, I want to skip a word, or change one, or add a word or something. So it’s not 100 percent precise, but I think part of the fun for you guys might be to see when I make little changes. PlainEnglish.com/142.

Couple quick details and we’ll get started. The number to connect with us on WhatsApp is +1 312 967 8757 and if you’d like to get in touch by e-mail, just go to PlainEnglish.com/mail . If you go there and enter your details, you’ll get a series of welcome messages from me, plus a summary of every new episode in the future. PlainEnglish.com/mail .

Millennials are reshaping the workplace

They are the most-studied generation in history. The millennials came of age during an era of rapid technological change, growing up with smartphones and often learning technology faster than their parents. They were kids when the terrorist attacks of September 11 happened, and they grew up during the subsequent conflicts, so they’ve grown up in a world that’s been much more preoccupied with security. At the same time, they have traveled more, experienced different cultures, and in many ways have grown up faster than previous generations. They are more likely than ever to have non-traditional family compositions.

And now they are at work. Millennials now comprise about a third of the workplace, and by 2025 they and the generation behind them—sometimes called Generation Z—will make up a full 75 percent of the labor force. Go to any modern workplace these days and you’ll see the same thing: managers trying to make the company more amenable to millennials.

Millennials want many of the same things that people have always wanted at work: fair pay, good benefits, good working conditions, and time off. But the values of this generation differ in many important ways from those of previous generations, and companies these days spend a lot of time trying to change their workplace cultures to accommodate this new generation.

What are those new values? Let’s start with the big one: purpose. Millennials want to have purpose in their work lives. They want to know that what they do at work makes a valuable contribution to the world. It doesn’t mean everyone has to save the oceans or cure cancer. Anyone can have purpose in their job. Your job could be to sweep floors—but your job can have purpose if you know you’re providing a clean and safe workplace for a company you believe in.

So companies, in response, are developing mission statements and trying to connect what they do to the broader good. Companies that make drinks don’t just provide juice and soda: they bring joy into their companies’ lives. Dunkin’ Donuts, a coffee chain in the US, brands itself as powering the whole country with caffeine. And they do that for me! Consulting firms don’t just do jobs for their clients, they make the world work better. A restaurant doesn’t just serve meals; it brings people together and nourishes the soul. A furniture store doesn’t just put chairs and tables in your house, it creates a better everyday life for people. They’re all about connecting what they do at work to making the world a better place. So even the clerk at the furniture store can have purpose by serving that mission.

Another value millennials have is learning. They are the generation that grew up with technology, so they have seen how rapidly the world changes, how rapidly technology changes, and how quickly certain jobs can become obsolete. Nobody wants to be left behind by a changing world. In a single working life, people can have multiple careers, changing their focus and skill sets multiple times. For that reason, millennials want to be constantly learning, whether that’s through formal learning and development programs or just the ability to switch roles, rotate responsibilities, and gain new experiences.

What else do millennials want? Oh, feedback. Feedback is the word we use for when managers or supervisors tell us how we’re doing. You know the way it used to be? This was true when I started work back in 2003. Once a year, you’d go into your manager’s office, sit down, and listen as he or she judged you on your performance from the year before. You wouldn’t hear feedback from your manager again for a whole year after that. No more. Now, companies are introducing rapid feedback cycles—at minimum every quarter, but in many cases once every week or two. Millennials want to know how they’re doing; they want to be able to improve, and then see tangible results in their feedback. And companies are not just looking backward. They are turning the feedback process on its head, and making it as much about the future as about the past. Millennials want to know what they should be doing differently in the future in order to perform better and continue learning.

Here’s another one—and I suspect this is more a North American and possibly a European thing—but today’s workers value flexibility. With all the technological change, many of our jobs are not nine-to-five gigs any longer. We’re expected to be in contact after hours. I hear from so many of you who work with colleagues on different continents, so I know what that means: calls early in the morning and late at night. In exchange for these extra demands on their time, millennials want some more flexibility in the way they work. Being able to work at home, from a coffee shop, or from another city are all perks that millennials value. In fact, studies say that changing up your work environment from time to time helps improve employee engagement.

So what happens if workplaces fall short on some of these measures? Well, that brings us to our last property of millennials: they move around a lot. They’re not afraid to quit their jobs and look for something new. It used to be—in my parents’ generation—that you would stay at the same job for a long time. Twenty, twenty-five, even thirty years or more was very common. Today, it’s very different. Today, it’s common to see people change jobs every couple of years. It helps that the economy has been improving steadily for the last eight or nine years. Before moving, millennials research their new companies to make sure they’re going to be happy. They look at sites like Glassdoor.com, which is like the Yelp or TripAdvisor but for the workplace. As a result, many companies are spending more time burnishing their brands, making sure their company is viewed in a favorable light by the newest generation in the labor market.

I think all of these are related to the first one: purpose, being engaged. Being happy at work. Not everyone achieves that, but this generation is more and more attuned to connecting their work with their values, and they’re willing to move around until they find a good balance for them.

I mentioned at the beginning that I identify with the millenial generation in a lot of ways, even though I technically was born just a year before this generation supposedly started. The one way I definitely agree is that I don’t want a job just for a paycheck. I’m really unhappy if I start feeling that way. At my previous job, I started to feel that way. I wasn’t engaged. I wasn’t feeling like what I was doing made any difference in the world. I was doing work that we got paid for, but I kept wondering: what’s the point of all this? Why am I doing this? Then I moved to my current job. And I’ve been with my current firm for a little over nine years. Even in this job, I’ve had times where I’ve felt less engaged. But I was able to change things up without leaving. I’ve moved—twice, actually—moved cities. And recently I changed the kind of work I do without having to leave my company.

I’m really curious about what you all think about this. Admittedly, I think I wrote this with a North American bias, since that’s what I know best. But I have a feeling some of these themes are consistent with all of you around the world. But please let me know—like I said before, I’d love to share some of your feedback—some of your thoughts—with the rest of the audience. So send me a message to [email protected] or send me a WhatsApp message at +1 312 967 8757 .