Millennials have so many role models to choose from. Icons who are redefining the world we live in. Most of them grew up with one of the most influential millennials of all time, Mark Zuckerberg! During their lifetimes, social media came into being and rewrote history forever. Can you remember a world without Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or SnapChat?
If you search the word “millennial” you will come up with a zillion different answers. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, Gen Y, or the Millennials, as they are officially known, have the unique distinction of of being born between 1980 and 2000. So while a chunk of them are in the workforce, the youngest from that group is still at school or college. That translates to almost 40% of them have still not graduated. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates by 2025, millennials will make up 75% of the workforce.
Company culture and value systems will have to make changes to accommodate a new generation of thinkers. As more and more millennials leave their college days behind them for the corporate world, it will be interesting to observe who makes the easier transition- the organizations or the generation.
It requires some work on both parties to make this dichotomy work! Never underestimate the ability of the power of the video! Yes, video, is a favorite medium for many millennials. They include their work, as part of business communication, in video formats, sometimes even in their resumes. According to Forrester Research, video services skyrocket in millennial demographics. It reports that 70% of Millennials visit YouTube at least monthly, compared to 58% of Generation X and 49% of Baby Boomers. From classroom to the corporate world, the millennials share and communicate most effectively through this medium and rings in true the old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Recent studies have revealed millennials prefer to work for companies that are technology enabled and use modern modes of business applications that encourage remote working and bring the global marketplace closer.
How can they be so casual you may ask? But for them, work and leisure all mesh harmoniously to a point where they can transition from one thing to the other like a maestro chess-player, leaving no loose ends behind. As a generation, they are more educated and well-heeled than the baby-boomers and Gen X, and they wear their knowledge on their sleeves. They are casually knowledgeable about everything but don’t have an urge to show it off like their previous generations, meaning they are self-contained, confident, and have perfected their life hack at a much younger age. When you think of a millennial, the first thing that may come to mind is a visual of a cluttered lifestyle where everything is in disarray except their screens, which are their life savers! You may have this image of an smug faced know all instagrammer. Well, take a reality check then! This is a generation that is making their own rules.
Fitting in: Spiffy understands this thought process and has hired mostly millennials to their workforce. CEO Scot Wingo believes in their capabilities and inspires them to bring their passion and hard work to the core of the business. The office is a happy and cheerful space where people work in a kindred spirit. There is a seriousness in the air punctuated with lighter moments. It’s intense but fulfilling.
One trend that we notice is the general goodness of the Gen Y. They want to do meaningful work, even at the expense of taking a lower paycheck. They choose corporate culture, technology empowerment, and creative work over anything else. One of the reasons most prefer to work for a startup rather than a big organization is the “out of the box” creativity a startup offers them. They would rather disrupt than work on the same old same old. Millennials are not afraid to follow their passion which is why so many from that generation prefer to be entrepreneurs. In general, they do not stick to an organization for long if they are given grunge work over originality. So quality over quantity is the prefered way for most of them.
Nice and not narcissistic: One common belief of this generation is they are raised by helicopter moms to make them high achievers in every aspect so while they are smart and savvy, they are also believed to be self absorbed. Their life is a whirlwind of messaging, uploading their selfies on social media, streaming television shows, and in short, they are never spotted without the dreaded earphones, which make them oblivious to the world. This belief is substantiated by the portrayal of the “so called millennial” in movies, music, television shows, and advertisements as disengaged from reality but invested in their virtual life completely. But research leads us to a completely different viewpoint. This Gen Y believes in creative jobs rather than humdrum, ranging from hair stylists, to tattoo artists, to building their own apps. They are risk takers and prefer to branch out on their own over a corporate job. Their shopping habits are more frugal than the previous generations. Since they are savvy online shoppers, they know how to cut a good deal, be it apparel, travel or shopping. Most of them prefer to stay in AirBnB, take an Uber rather than a cab. They abhor gas-guzzling vehicles and prefer cars run on electricity. The more conscientious of the lot prefer to bike or walk to work, eat locally sourced food from the farms, and buy organic clothes made out of natural fabrics and dyes; their swag is unique! It is not uncommon to see them reject designer clothing over boho chic. So big brands have little appeal to Gen Y who prefer to shop at mom and pop online outlets. A lot of them have omitted meat out of their diets and have embraced vegetarian diets. If you look at these traits collectively, it signals an age where this generation is trying to connect on a global platform with other cultures; learning from each other and not being afraid to try new things. Largely it is a virtual community but nonetheless they have an empathic, tolerant, open-minded, peace-loving world view. They are reaching out to others and forging a connection that was rare in the generations preceding them.
“There is no envy, jealousy, or hatred between the different colors of the rainbow. And no fear either. Because each one exists to make the others’ love more beautiful.”- Aberjhani, a quote on the millennials from a Life Made Out of Poetry
All images are sourced from Creative Commons.
Posted in Lifestyle
