The data shows just 29 percent of millennials report emotional or behavioral connections to their job or company, making them the least engaged generation of workers, and less than 40 percent of millennials are considered “thriving” by Gallup’s definition. But why does it matter? Because millennials are now America’s largest generation and they represent the strength of future companies, industries and economy. If more than half of millennials are not thriving, it doesn’t bode well for the future.
“Millennials are changing the very will of the world. So we, too, must change,” Gallup Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton wrote in the report.
In an effort to better understand the millennial workforce, Gallup gathered data across a variety of sources to compile the “How Millennials Want to Work and Live” report. Here are some of the most relevant findings.
- More than half of millennials (55 percent) are not engaged in work and 16 percent are actively disengaged, which means “they are more or less out to do damage to their company.”
- Half strongly agree they plan to work at their company a year from now, but 60 percent are open to a different job opportunity.
- Millennial turnover costs the U.S. economy $30.5 billion annually.
- Like generations before them, millennials were twice as likely to report feeling engaged at work if their manager holds regular meetings with them.
- Millennials are unsurprisingly the most wired generation. They are by far and above the most likely to access news online, but they also rely on the Internet for bills, retail, entertainment, health research and to book travel plans.
Based on these findings, Gallup recommended organizations make the following six functional changes to better align with the up and coming millennial workforce.
1. Put purpose before paycheck. While millennials see fair compensation as important, their No. 1 driver is finding a purpose and a meaning in their work.
2. Prioritize development over satisfaction. Despite what startup culture makes us think, millennials don’t care about ping pong tables or other tangible items that try to foster job satisfaction. Instead, they are looking for development opportunities.
3. Be a coach, not a boss. Millennials want to feel valued as both people and employees and they want to work with their managers to improve.
4. Do away with the annual review. Ongoing conversations are much more effective, and mimic the continuous communication and instant feedback millennials are accustomed to in other areas of their lives.
5. Provide a strengths-based culture. Weaknesses do not develop into strengths, according to Gallup. As such, organizations should help employees minimize weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths.
6. Give employees a platform to contribute. Now more than ever before, employees see their job as their life, and they want their job to give them a chance to make a positive contribution.
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