Millennials in the Workplace

Ever wonder why today's young workers are so different?

Everyone notices their new take on pop culture and technology: flip-flops and iPods, 'JK' and 'LOL' texting, Target t-shirts and ankle tattoos, and chatter about Paris and Idol. But what most employers do not understand are the deeper shifts in attitudes and behaviors that Millennials are bringing with them to their jobs.

Shifts such as:

 -- their expectation to be treated as special, as VIPs who are worth listening to, protecting, and counseling.

-- their closeness to their parents, with whom they are in constant contact-parents who shock managers by demanding workplace tours and participation in job interviews.

-- their need for structure and constant feedback, giving them a (positive) reputation for teachability but also a (negative) reputation for dependence.

-- their knack for teamwork and natural instinct for peer collaboration in situations where older workers would be more inclined to compete against each other.

-- their desire for long-term, no-risk career paths, complete with generous benefits, which makes them more likely to seek the perfect employer and then stick with that organization.

Unlike young Gen Xers back in the '90s, Millennials are not high-risk, low-sweat free agents. They would rather not fly solo, and would rather plan ahead than "just do it." Unlike young Boomers back in the '70s, Millennials are not alienated from the system or trying to "teach the world to sing."  They are close to their families, and would be happy to learn the company song.

Author Neil Howe explains who the Millennials are, where they come from, and how they are transforming the workforce, and he offers hands-on solutions and best practices to help employers recruit, engage, and energize this rising generation.

(243 pages, paperback, ISBN 978-0-9712606-4-1; June 2010)