Millennials in the workplace

Whether it’s a tendency to adapt to new challenges, an aptitude for handling technical issues or spearheading social media campaigns, Millennials bring plenty to the table.

While definitions of generations vary, a Millennial is generally someone born between 1980 and 2000. According to a report by Haworth, Millennials will make up the largest percentage of the global workforce by 2025 — in Australia, they are expected to make up around 75%.

As Millennials slowly become the main demographic of the workforce, it is important for managers and employers to recognise the cultural changes that they will bring to the workplace.

They’re agile and multi-skilled

The polite term for jobhunting, ‘pivoting’ is essentially the practice of changing jobs regularly to expedite career growth. In many cases, this approach to working has come as a result of a lack of job security in many industries. The aim of pivoting is not to rack up titles to fill your CV, but to acquire new skills. Having entered the workforce where this is the norm, Millennials have been bred with a mindset geared towards flexibility and adaptability. As a result, this generation is known to embrace change, but they are more likely to expect training and support in ever-growing and changing roles.

These abilities are especially useful for start-ups, or the expansion of established companies that require fresh, innovative ideas to grow further.

They’re tech-savvy

Millennials are considered to be digital natives; that is, they were exposed to technology and the internet from an early age. Consequently, they’re more inclined to be up to date with the latest digital trends and social platforms.

Technology is a crucial part of growing businesses, putting Millennials in a rare position of authority compared with their more experienced peers. Having grown up in the advent of rapid digital advancement, Millennials are perfectly poised to utilise ever-changing technology in the workplace.

They ‘get’ social media

Organisations are coming to grips with the fact that a neglected Facebook page doesn’t cut it anymore — many companies are employing teams of social media and digital marketing gurus to get the edge on competitors and build a greater client or customer base. Who better to manage this than the generation whose interest enabled the rapid growth of platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter?

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