In recent years, the notion of workplace and work has changed because of the new generation of employees – millennials. The population of millennials has increased in workplaces, and they have brought some remarkable changes with them. A remote workplace phenomenon, technological adaptations, and workplace flexibility are some of the many changes they introduced. From a millennial perspective; here is what the new generation demands to have at a workplace.
More employers are getting to realize the benefits of hiring this new generation of employees. However, it’s also essential for you to understand that this new generation of employees doesn’t operate in the old system. They have some demands at the workplace, and it’s essential that every employer meets such requirements if they want to enjoy the millennials productivity fully.
The things the new generation demands to have at the workplace.
-
A beautiful and modern workplace.
Gone are the days when employees were willing to work in small and undecorated offices. Nowadays, situations have changed, and employees show more concern for the looks of their working environment. As an employer, you need to provide a modern and well-furnished workplace if you want to attract these environmentally-responsive folks.
There are various ways to create a perfect workplace for your employees since millennial employees cannot cope with the old office environment where isolation is encouraged in the form of cubicles and corner offices. To design the perfect millennial-friendly workplace, you need to:
-
Design offices with open spaces for different teams where collaboration encourages innovation, and employees can feel like they are part of something.
-
Allow employees to interact with company leaders as this will allow millennial employees to have access to frequent feedback and exchange of ideas (all the employees at edubirdie have an opportunity to walk straight to the boss and dwell on which things should better be changed for a company’s prospering).
-
Encourage the vanishing office trend whereby millennial employees can do their work in familiar and comfortable environments like communal workspaces or home offices. Companies can support the new and innovative vanishing office trend by making arrangements to outfit homes or satellite offices for remote workers.
-
Design offices to encourage natural lighting so that millennial employees would not have to feel cut off from the outside world.
-
Modern technology
Millennials know the importance of technology, and they utilize it to the maximum in every aspect of their life. The workplace is, in fact, one of the areas where they often need more of modern technology. They require a new generation of computers together with smart software. Millennials want more automation devices and wireless devices around the workplace. One of the ways through which you can attract and retain them is by ensuring that you provide them with the kind of technology they want.
If you want to engage and retain your millennial employees, you need to embrace new technology. Incorporating social and digital technologies in the company is a must for a millennial employee, especially since millennials are all about communal workspaces, telecommuting to work, and remote working.
Employers who can recognize the advantages of technology and embrace emerging social and networking technologies will surely thrive. Beyond using social technologies and sites like Facebook or intranet for internal communication, employers should also be open to incorporating future technology like robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality into the workplace.
However, while embracing modern technologies, employers should also take note of the distractions of advanced technology. These distractions are part of what is making companies that employ millennials to consider implementing and creating employee apps that are specific to the workplace or the company.
-
Attractive salary and benefits.
Millennials want attractive salaries, but don’t get it twisted by thinking they work solely for the money. It’s actually about having something nice as a reward for the excellent job they do. Millennials don’t just want to enjoy pay raises and attractive salaries; they also want to feel like they are growing, not only professionally but also personally.
Millennials also need assurance that they are productive, which is why employers should set up a sound reward system to reward and acknowledge their growth. Also, you should give your millennial employees fringe benefits and other types of employee benefits to appreciate them. All these will attract them and make you enjoy the best of their loyalty.
To retain millennial employees, employers also need to think of ways to promote their career and professional growth. Many millennials are attracted to companies that have a framework in place to help employees grow. Employers can develop leadership, management, and skills training programs via on-site or virtual training programs.
Millennials also care about family benefits or medical benefits. Therefore, companies hoping to employ and retain millennials should put in place, comprehensive benefit plans for pregnancy, maternity, parenting, healthcare, etc. A company can also stand out from other companies by providing non-traditional benefits that millennials appreciate such as in-house gyms, quiet rooms for napping, tech labs with cutting-edge software and hardware technology, barbing and hair care salons, libraries and cafeterias with organic and vegetarian food options.
Employers should also provide investment opportunities and pension plans, which is part of what millennials look for. Millennials usually have personal plans for marriage and raising a family, and they need financial security to implement these plans.
While millennials are interested in a wide range of benefits, they also care about company culture. Therefore, employers should also set up a healthy and millennial-friendly corporate culture to retain their millennial employees.
-
A social workplace.
This new generation of workers craves for a more significant social workplace. Nowadays, work goes beyond just sitting at your desk all through the working hours. It goes beyond having a cup of coffee at your desk during breaks. Employees value interaction with co-workers.
Millennials always want a social environment where they can interact with everyone around, including their employer. As an employer, you should apply some tips to create a social workplace for you to get and retain more millennials.
-
Flexible work pattern.
The millennial workforce wants some level of flexibility in work pattern. The introduction of modern technology has automatically made some modes of working obsolete, and it won’t be proper to lay down rules that still mandate this new generation to work using old methods.
Give them the chance to do certain things using their own methods. Virtually all the old modes of working now have better ways. Employers should realize this and avoid being too rigid on how employees should work. More millennials will readily work for you if you make your work pattern flexible.
The traditional workplace practice of working from nine to five may not really work for millennials. Millennials consider this traditional practice an expired and regimented approach that constricts and reduces their productivity. And since millennials are the next workforce generation, employers need to start incorporating flexible work patterns and options to their workplace to attract and retain millennials.
To engage your millennials with flexible work options, there are six flexibility options available:
-
Telecommuting.
-
Part-time work: Millennials are allowed to work a number of hours rather than the full hours that other traditional employees have to work.
-
Flexible schedules: Millennials can work full or part-time as long as they meet a number of hours weekly or monthly, and they meet their deadlines.
-
Alternative work schedules for millennials with other responsibilities or even a side hustle. This kind of work schedules allows millennials to work outside the traditional nine-to-five working hours as long as they reach a certain level of productivity.
-
Freelance work: Here, millennials are allowed to take on contracted projects in the company, even though they are not permanent employees at the office (ex. Freelance writer position at essay writing service like College-Paper.org).
-
Remote work: Millennials are allowed to work from different places other than the office. This way, millennials like digital nomads can travel around the world and complete their tasks and work based on deadlines.
-
Regular feedback
Regular feedback is also one of the things millennials demand. They wish to know how they are performing. They want to to know your level of satisfaction with how they work. They crave for your feedback, although they may not tell you directly.
Your comment is what they use for adjusting how they operate. When you fail to comment for a long time, the millennials think you don’t like how they work. Let them know how they are doing by giving them sincere comments from time to time.
- Support.
Millennials want you to have their back and give them genuine support. This a key determinant of whether they will stay working for you or go elsewhere. We can attribute this peculiarity to their upbringing. Right from their childhood, all through the stage of writing custom essays in college, they have always enjoyed support from people around them. Now that they are working, they still crave for that support. As an employer, give them your support as it will help in retaining them and attracting other millennials out there.
Millennials have been known to leave a company because they want to try a different career path, learn advanced skills, or exercise their unused talents in a new field. A great way to retain millennials is to provide opportunities for them to switch departments. Millennials can also be allowed to temporarily work with other departments on a rotational basis to allow employees to explore new fields. The rotation approach helps to reduce the turnover rates in some professions like technical professions.
-
Appreciation.
Recognize their accomplishments. Praise them when they deserve it. Their high productivity should never go unappreciated. There are some ways of showing appreciation to your employees. You appreciate them when you say thank you. Also, you can buy them gifts occasionally.
Acknowledge them in meetings and let other employees realize their contributions. Recognizing their achievements publicly can also encourage a little friendly competition in the company. It will also allow millennials to realize that you sincerely appreciate them. Your appreciation will not only help to retain millennials but also make them put in more efforts in their work.
Apart from praising your millennial employees, a great way to show appreciation for good productivity is to develop a reward system for your employees. Your rewards can be in the form of cash, gifts, or experiences. You can reward millennials with office perks, better parking spots, free lunch, holidays on the company, festival or event tickets, cruise, a spa day, conference opportunities, paid Uber or Lyft rides, technology accessories like a smartwatch or headphone, etc.
Another way to show appreciation to millennials is by remembering their birthdays and other special occasions in their lives. Employers who can remember special events in the life of their employees endear themselves to their employees. A little gift of little cost as a birthday gift can go a long way to help you create employee loyalty and increase your employee retention rate.
-
Transparency.
A lot of people know millennials to be very transparent. Being transparent kind of people, they often want people to be equally transparent with them. Being an employer who wants their services, you must be totally transparent with them. Never attempt to play upon their intelligence or lie to them. Remember that even if you lie to them to employ them, you won’t be able to keep retaining them with lies. Be as plain as possible, and give a chance for them to trust you.
-
Refreshment facilities.
Here we don’t just mean light meals and drinks alone; we also require recreational activities that refresh the body. Create a particular area in your workplace for recreation to make your workers have a feeling of a place not just for work alone. For instance, if your job involves a lot of writing that makes it appear much like essay service work, you can create a refreshment zone to take off that feeling of writing only.
Stress is one of the obstacles restricting millennials from performing better. To prevent burn-out or low productivity rates, employers should arrange for refreshment facilities like a quiet room for napping, gyms, game rooms, etc. Companies should also set aside specific days in the months for recreational activities like parties, camping trips, movie nights, etc.
Conclusion
It’s no longer a new trend that many employers now desire to have some millennial workers. The best way to attract and keep them is by creating a workplace that suits their lifestyle. Having this as your aim, the tips above will help you in achieving your goal.
