Generation Y, also known as Millennials, is the demographic group that follows Generation X. There is not a certain date for the beginning and the end of this generation, but it is estimated that the dates of birth are from 1980 to 1999.
The 2020 Vision survey was conducted in 25 countries with 19,000 Millennials. They were asked what kind of jobs and opportunities they were looking for and what reasons could make them remain with an employer, in order to understand how different they are from the rest of the workforce and the generations before them.
For researchers,
they are surprisingly confident about their careers.”
Millennials who were surveyed feel optimistic about their immediate job prospects and they also believe that if they lose their jobs, they will be able to find another as good or better within 3 month.
The most optimistic groups are from Mexico, China, Switzerland and Germany, while Japan, Greece and Italy are the least optimistic.
They are aware that their generation will work longer than the past ones. In Mexico, 36% anticipate to do so after age 65, 19% believe that they will be working after age 70, and 8% say they will work until death.
Because they anticipate that they will work harder and longer, many consider taking their foot off the accelerator more often and in multiples times. When asked about the possibility of making room in their lives to take care of other people, 50% of Millennials women and 38% of men say it would be to have and raise children.
But when asked about just taking time off, 46% of Millennials men and 33% of women said that they would use it for trips and vacations.
For this generation, job security is critical, but they define it differently.
They are not unstable as some have been led to believe. When given the opportunity, they go forward or scale positions at work, but more often millennials will wait and evolved with the same employer,”
concludes the survey.
Because of this, the study offers 6 tips for employers:
Offer security: Show them that remaining in the company can strengthen their career. Share examples of people in your organization who have progressed through training programs.
Focus on career’s diversity and mobility: Create opportunities for them to work in different projects and with different teams in order to gain experience and build networks through their work in the organization. Highlight the value of progress.
Keep regular career orientation talks: Rather than annual reviews, instead focus on short – term goals and implement specific plans to achieve them.
Appreciate your Millennials: Keep a high level of contact and provide frequent feedback, consider public acknowledge and support. Find new ways to offer recognition and affirmation. It is free and it works.
Get ready for the changing tides, be flexible: lengthy careers mean the need of recharging from time to time. Make breaks part of the corporate culture along with the opportunity to re-enter the workforce when they are ready to return.
Be open to alternative work models: To better engage and retain this working generation, take some of the attractive aspects of these models, such as flexibility in where, when and how people work.