How to Deal with Today's Youth

In the United States labor force, millennials (those born between 1980 and 1996) now outnumber Baby Boomers. Managers and business owners the world over have certainly noticed that millennials' attitudes toward work sometimes diverge from those of older generations.

Many businesses make the incorrect assumption that millennials are unmotivated because of this. They have the potential to be valuable team members, but you may need to modify your strategy to get the most out of their efforts. A little additional work will get you to the best practices for managing millennial workers.

Facilitating a Generation Y-Friendly Workplace

Allow for part-time, flexible, or telecommuting work. Most millennials, if given the choice, would rather have the opportunity to work remotely at least some of the time for their professions. Consider incorporating this into your management style, as it is a real possibility in many companies. Giving employees the option to work from home can increase both the number of people interested in working with you and the productivity of those currently employed there.

In light of the growing body of research demonstrating that employees can be more productive when working remotely, it may be advantageous for your business to provide employees with more opportunities to do their work from home.

If you're unable to provide telecommuting, flexible scheduling is the next best thing. As an alternative to the traditional 9-to-5 workday, employers could provide flexible start times to accommodate employees with special needs.

Naturally, this can't be done in every profession. Professionals like security guards, engineers, and others in the field often need to be physically present at work.

promote the usage of electronic devices and social media in the workplace. Younger members of the Millennial generation are the first to have the internet and other forms of modern technology always present in their daily lives. It's possible that they're occasionally using their phones for work-related activities like checking messages or tweeting. It's great to encourage the use of technology in the workplace, so long as employees are also getting their work done.

Don't assume that someone isn't listening to you because they're fiddling with their phone; they might just be checking it. Millennials are accustomed to multitasking with technology; therefore, you should only confront the issue if the millennial in question is being impolite or obviously not paying attention.

Millennials' familiarity with various digital platforms can be put to good use by having them instruct more seasoned workers. As a result, they feel more invested in their work since they are able to use their talents in new ways and take on leadership roles.

Create an atmosphere of teamwork and collaboration. If you believe no one likes working on group projects, think again: millennials are more likely to flourish in a collaborative setting. It's a good idea to let workers collaborate on projects by designing them as group activities. You'll be pleased with the outcomes, and your staff will appreciate the increased sense of community.

Hold regular, once-a-day or once-a-week brainstorming sessions to involve everyone in the process of doing the work.

When it comes to their personal lives, millennials value a company's great culture just as much as their colleagues. You may take advantage of this by funding office social events and encouraging staff to mingle outside of business hours.

attempt to offer benefits to employees. Many companies have recognized that millennial employees value workplace perks just as much as competitive compensation and a pleasant atmosphere. Millennial morale can be boosted, and they will feel more at home at work if the company occasionally orders lunch, builds a leisure room, or updates the office's technology.

Simply put, if your organization doesn't have much money to spend on extracurricular activities, even sponsoring a small, monthly event can have a significant impact on morale and productivity.

A holiday bonus is a safe bet if you're at a loss for other incentives to give your employees. Additional financial support is always welcome.

An Approach to Boosting Morale Among Millennial Workers

Compensation for millennial workers should be competitive and fair. While many pieces of advice for managing millennials emphasize open communication and teamwork, it's important not to overlook the importance of competitive pay. They, like other workers, ought to be paid what they're worth. Provide a wage and benefit package that is competitive with others in the industry. In this way, you can avoid giving your staff the impression that they are being taken advantage of.

It is critical to be open and honest about salary and be willing to justify raises or decreases.If you can't defend the salary they're offering, you'll look awful.

The income and benefits you receive may be out of your hands if you're only a manager. Tell your supervisors that your workers need better pay or they may search elsewhere for employment.

Encourage the millennial generation to maintain a healthy work-life balance.In order to strike a better work-life balance, many millennials would rather work from home or set their own schedules.

If people don't see a clear benefit to working overtime, they may be less motivated to do so. Remind them to take time off and focus on their personal lives so they can come to work refreshed and ready to do their best.

Focus on the results you want to achieve rather than the hours you spend at the office. If an employee, for instance, has completed all of their duties for the day, you shouldn't become mad if they start to relax. If they complete their tasks for the day, allowing them to go early may even encourage them to work harder.

Always be willing to pay a competitive rate for overtime hours worked. It's a certain way to turn people against you and make them look for work elsewhere if you demand unpaid overtime.

You should trust millennials more to take the reins at work. People dislike being micromanaged and would rather have greater autonomy and leadership in the workplace. Make use of this by providing staff with more leadership roles. You can give them the opportunity to lead office-wide projects, work groups, or speeches. Your millennial workforce will perform better and more diligently than if they were just told what to do, provided they feel they have a stake in the outcome of their efforts.

Even if it's not a lot of responsibility, soliciting employee input in the form of feedback or suggestions is a wonderful way to get them involved.

Keep in mind that developing leaders does not include giving them responsibilities for which they are unprepared. Every time, find the best individual for the job.

Focus on their skillsets while assigning responsibilities. Generation Y is diverse and unique, with each member offering their own set of talents and experiences. A fantastic method to motivate your staff to work harder is to play to their talents and provide them with opportunities to do work that plays to their interests.

A competent designer, for instance, would benefit from working on logos or flyers.

Keep in mind that not all millennials are equipped with the same set of talents. For instance, just because millennials as a whole tend to be tech-savvy doesn't mean that every single one of them has a background in programming.

Motivate them with ideas for growth that will help them flourish and feel like an integral part of the business. To improve employee retention, assist them in identifying their best qualities and developing ways to put them to use at work.

Provide opportunities for raises and promotions to reward hard work. When compared to generations past, who planned to remain with the same company for decades, millennials are less patient and more eager to grow in their careers. Contrarily, if a millennial feels they are in a dead-end job, they are more likely to look for another one. Retain the dedication of your workforce by providing rapid promotion to hard-working members. Promoting deserving staff on a regular basis will keep them inspired and engaged.

Try to provide millennials with opportunities to get experience and promotion, even if this isn't always feasible. Even if a promotion isn't in the cards just now, you may help them feel challenged by involving them in new initiatives or teams.