Lately there have been a lot of articles coming out about what millennials are looking for in a corporate culture. One common denominator that I have found with the majority of these articles is, that most of them aren’t written by millennials. The objective here is to finally write an article from the perspective of a millennial entering the work force; explain some things and clear some misnomers that have come up about this misunderstood generation.
The first thing that I want to address is the statement that millennials have the tendency to be self-entitled. This is both a true and false statement, we are what I like to call the “I want it now” generation. Being the first generation to grow up with consumer technology readily at our fingertips, we have always had the satisfaction of getting what we want when we want it.
It is not just millennials that have been affected by this drastic change in technology over the past few years. Other generations like baby boomers and generation x have shifted to the same “I want it now” mentality. The rise of companies like Amazon, FedEx and Google give credence to the I want it now mentality. All these companies all have one thing in common, they give you what you want in the quickest manor possible. Ultimately millennials want the same things when it comes to a work environment and corporate culture.
As a generation millennials want things like coffee, snack foods, comfy seating and even friends in the work place. In turn for having these things we will spend more time in the office and be more productive while they are there. Unlike any other generation millennials are more likely to spend time outside of the office with coworkers and cultivate friendships with our peers at work. We usually prefer working in small groups while getting work done, most of the time not even working on the same task. This is the reason that we have seen companies start moving to a more open space floor plan with larger work spaces built for multiple people.
Another thing that millennials want is access to technology at all times. As mentioned previously millennials are the first generation to grow up with mobile technology at their disposal. So when thinking about renovating a work space or environment, number of outlets should be considered as well. The average millennial carries two or three electronic devices with them on a regular basis throughout the day also making them the most connected generation. Regular use of technology has given us a positive upside that a lot of companies are in demand of. We are proficient in most forms of technology and have a shortened learning curve in regards to learning new systems.
Millennials are a misunderstood generation with a large upside when it comes to the talent that we bring to the table. This tech savvy generation is one of the hardest working, when put in the right kind of environment. The work force is rapidly changing for better or worse and we better be prepared to accommodate it.