The Millennial generation is now one of the driving forces behind company growth, making up a majority of junior and mid-level staff in businesses across the country. Their “coming-of-age” has brought with it systemic shifts in how the working week is viewed and understood and increased pressure on businesses to recognise and adapt new processes to accommodate a world that’s changing for the better. The following three attributes represent the core tenets of this new world, as values that are well-received by so-called “lost generation”.
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Flexible Working
First and foremost, flexible working agreements have become a point of particular interest for Millennial and Generation-Z workers alike, with both demographics seeking to re-discover a positive and healthful work-life balance on their terms. Flexible working was already a popular notion before the coronavirus pandemic, but quickly gained more traction with the exponential increase in employees working remotely. Despite government advice on office working being lifted, many businesses are opting to maintain hybrid working agreements. This is in part due to pressure from Millennial employees to retain control over their hours, more of which were freed up by the lack of commute to and from the workspace.
Impact Awareness
The Millennial generation also exhibits a higher degree of social consciousness, which commonly bleeds into decision-making over applying for positions or joining a given company. Millennials tend to seek positions in businesses where they feel profit is not the business’ sole function – or, at the very least, where obligations to community and society are not forsaken in the name of profit.
Millennials want to see businesses that take initiative regarding their impact, and take an active role in using their privileged position to make a difference elsewhere: worrying less about the company’s payroll systems, and spending more man-hours addressing social issues within their reach. One key way in which companies can telegraph their commitment to ethical practice, if not philanthropic practice, is in the form of ESG, which stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. ESG provides a framework by which companies can audit, examine and address their impact on local communities and global issues like climate change. With investment in ESG, companies can promote a positive image to consumers and prospective employees alike, while making a positive difference.
Health and Wellbeing
The social consciousness of the Millennial generation extends also to their fellow man, with internal treatment of employees and provision of meaningful benefits of key importance to them. Mental health awareness is higher than ever; companies which put their employees’ health first are seen in a far better light than those that distance themselves from the effect they may have on their staff. There are several ways in which a company can properly forefront employee health, including generous holiday packages, lightening workloads, and offering mental health support in the form of private healthcare or access to stress management programmes.
