Today, 25% of the US workforce is made up of millennials, and thus has become the largest generation in the workforce as a whole. So if you’re a typical company, you most likely have several, or many, millennials working for you- or with you, rather.
It’s pretty common for young people to hop around jobs for a while in their 20’s, eager to find something they really love. Find out 5 common thoughts your own millennial employees are probably thinking each day at work.
1. Is this really my passion?
This is a biggie. Most millennials are in that weird, limbo stage of life, not sure if they’re really doing what they want to be doing, or if they just took the first good offer to come their way. Many of us still aren’t even sure what our passion is, so we are constantly feeling the pressure to discover it…and QUICK! We don’t want to fall too far behind on that dream-passion-career path, while some of our peers are already on it.
2. I feel like I could be doing this at home right now.
As so many millennials are now being given the chance to work from home and work more flexibly, the notion that we can do our work from anywhere tends to rule at the office. Especially if we are at our desks on our computers all day….we’re probably thinking that this job could totally be done from the comfort of our PJ’s, on our couch, with the fridge nearby, on our personal laptops (or company-provided laptops, even better).
3. Am I doing a good job?
Feedback is huge for millennials. And it’s because of our constant access to social media and the immediate gratification it provides. We want to know if we are doing a good job, and often. We’d also love constructive feedback, but be sure to accompany it with some positive vibes, or we might write you off. In fact, 72% of millennials who receive consistent accurate feedback from managers at work find satisfaction in the workplace. Something to keep in mind.
4. What are my friends doing right now?
Social media does this to us. We’re constantly checking to find out what we’re missing out on, or what our friends are doing with their lives to maybe inspire us to do something different with ours. Regardless, our minds will occasionally drift, and be quickly satisfied with a mini-Instagram sesh, then back to work we go! So don’t get too mad if you happen to catch your millennial on his/her phone for a few mins…it’s all to satisfy our social media fix, and we may even be more focused than before once we’re done.
5. Can I make a bigger impact here?
Millennials want to feel important and recognized for doing something amazing, and this includes at work. Most millennials want to find a way to do something great to make an impact within their company or in the bigger world, and if that opportunity isn’t there, or we can’t think of one, we most likely will look for new job options.
Now that you know the inner workings of a millennial mind, you should have a clear idea of how to work with our generation a little differently, and the things that might be consuming our minds throughout the day. Each of these thoughts is tied to a unique way that millennials are different than other generations at work, and why we all need to work together to constantly adjust to new generations coming in. It is more important than ever to be flexible and open to change, as the world is moving quicker than most of us can keep up with—so we might as well try!
Today, 25% of the US workforce is made up of millennials, and thus has become the largest generation in the workforce as a whole. So if you’re a typical company, you most likely have several, or many, millennials working for you- or with you, rather.
It’s pretty common for young people to hop around jobs for a while in their 20’s, eager to find something they really love. Find out 5 common thoughts your own millennial employees are probably thinking each day at work.
1. Is this really my passion?
This is a biggie. Most millennials are in that weird, limbo stage of life, not sure if they’re really doing what they want to be doing, or if they just took the first good offer to come their way. Many of us still aren’t even sure what our passion is, so we are constantly feeling the pressure to discover it…and QUICK! We don’t want to fall too far behind on that dream-passion-career path, while some of our peers are already on it.
2. I feel like I could be doing this at home right now.
As so many millennials are now being given the chance to work from home and work more flexibly, the notion that we can do our work from anywhere tends to rule at the office. Especially if we are at our desks on our computers all day….we’re probably thinking that this job could totally be done from the comfort of our PJ’s, on our couch, with the fridge nearby, on our personal laptops (or company-provided laptops, even better).
3. Am I doing a good job?
Feedback is huge for millennials. And it’s because of our constant access to social media and the immediate gratification it provides. We want to know if we are doing a good job, and often. We’d also love constructive feedback, but be sure to accompany it with some positive vibes, or we might write you off. In fact, 72% of millennials who receive consistent accurate feedback from managers at work find satisfaction in the workplace. Something to keep in mind.
4. What are my friends doing right now?
Social media does this to us. We’re constantly checking to find out what we’re missing out on, or what our friends are doing with their lives to maybe inspire us to do something different with ours. Regardless, our minds will occasionally drift, and be quickly satisfied with a mini-Instagram sesh, then back to work we go! So don’t get too mad if you happen to catch your millennial on his/her phone for a few mins…it’s all to satisfy our social media fix, and we may even be more focused than before once we’re done.
5. Can I make a bigger impact here?
Millennials want to feel important and recognized for doing something amazing, and this includes at work. Most millennials want to find a way to do something great to make an impact within their company or in the bigger world, and if that opportunity isn’t there, or we can’t think of one, we most likely will look for new job options.
Now that you know the inner workings of a millennial mind, you should have a clear idea of how to work with our generation a little differently, and the things that might be consuming our minds throughout the day. Each of these thoughts is tied to a unique way that millennials are different than other generations at work, and why we all need to work together to constantly adjust to new generations coming in. It is more important than ever to be flexible and open to change, as the world is moving quicker than most of us can keep up with—so we might as well try!
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