Millennial /miˈlenēəl/: A person reaching young adulthood around the year 2000; born after 1980. This group of people were raised in an electronics-filled world. Social media is their second language, and therefore, receive the most targeted marketing of any previous generation. They are intelligent, tech savvy, collectively diverse but also simultaneously tolerant of those who are different from them.  They are energetic, charismatic, and optimistic about their futures.

So what are the downsides? Well, it’s how you look at the situation. You’re dealing with an assorted group of people who are multifaceted, incredibly curious, intelligent (both socially and book smart), fast paced, opinionated, and slightly self involved. So when you’re running a business, you want to hire the best and the brightest (which Millennials are), but they do take some serious accommodation.

1) A Millennial prefers flexibility at their place of work. This is why many businesses have already adopted, or are planning to adopt a BYOD (bring your own device) system. Flexibility is a big deal to this generation. They want to be allowed to customize their work space, their computers, and generally what kind of work they produce. As a business owner, when you enact such flexibility as well as a BYOD system at your business, you instill a greater sense of trust and respect with your employees. Not to mention employees will be more satisfied and productive when they have such freedom.

2) Millennials are also the type to value happiness over monetary gains. Millennials are notorious for leaving their place of employment solely because they were unhappy with the atmosphere and quality of work they were producing, regardless of how much they were making. So when a company truly cares about the happiness of their employees, the overall level of productivity increases while turnover rate decreases.

• 84% of Millennials say making a difference is more important than professional recognition. (Bentley’s University’s Center for Women and Business)
• 72% of Millennials would trade off a higher paying job to one that is more fulfilling and something they strongly believe in. (Deloitte)

3) Millennials and technology are a match made in heaven. Adapting to technology is second nature to them. This sense of instant familiarity with computers, programs, operating systems, etc. allows this generation to be quick to pick up any new technically driven skill with ease, especially in relation to previous generations. Because of their tech savviness, even when they don’t already have a specific skill, they can utilize the internet and teach themselves. In a world that is so technologically driven and ever changing, hiring Millennials would be an absolute asset to any business because of their quickness and adaptability.

 4) Sometimes, Millennials get criticized for being pessimistic and for having no drive. Quite the contrary. Millennials want to make their mark on the world. They want to do work that matters and changes the world for the better, and they have all the dedication and smarts to do so. The problem is that the job opportunities out there aren’t always inspiring or challenging enough. When Millennials are looking for a job, innovative companies are the ones they are drawn to most. 

• 78% of Millennials were strongly influenced by how innovative a company was when deciding if they wanted to work there. (Deloitte)

So what does this tell us? Millennials are hard working when challenged, they are quick to learn, they can multitask, and they want to know that what they do at their job will matter beyond bringing home a nice paycheck for themselves and profit for their company. Hiring Millennials will require a shift in a company’s status quo, but that change might just be what was missing in the first place. And let’s also not forget that it’s estimated that by 2025, 70% of the workforce will be made up of Millennials, so businesses need to get on board with Generation Y. (Deloitte)