According to recent Pew Research Center studies, millennials are now dominating the workforce, far surpassing Generation X. With this shift comes a variety of drastic changes for the older generations and veterans of the 9-to-5 workday.
“At an age of transition from college to the working world, the millennial generation’s workforce is highly likely to grow even further in the near future,” said Richard Fry of the Pew Research Center.
When millennials leave college and enter the workforce, they flood corporations with their fresh ideas and new methods. They are digital natives who crave information and are accustomed to being completely connected to the social realm, at all times. They are privy to a wealth of information that previous generations were unable to access.
Additionally, millennials have grown up receiving affirmation through the amount of ‘likes’ received on a new profile photo, or the number of Instagram followers attained. Along with the constant expectation for affirmation comes a perceived sense of entitlement.
A post on Triple Pundit defended the younger generation, and argued that millennials’ workplace behavior is not so mysterious after all.
“The only difference between millennials and other generations is that millennials actually expect their employers to provide a fulfilling work life,” wrote contributor Meg Murphy. What sets them apart from older generations is that millennials will leave one job for another that provides what they are looking for, without a second thought on the matter.
Older generations, who are constantly condemning millennials for their so-called entitlement and addiction to social media are quickly realizing they have no choice but to accept that “business as usual” has changed.
Many millennials entering the workforce prefer to ignore the normal attire of a suit and tie, and instead throw on a pair of jeans and a button down in the morning. It’s becoming normal to see millennials running up-and-coming start-ups, implementing their casual culture into the industry. Older generations are learning to adapt to these changes, as millennials begin to command leadership roles within the workplace.
Ten years from now, what will a normal office look like? Will there still be cubicles? Will the suit and tie uniform still exist? Will newsrooms be completely digital and conference calls over Skype be the preferred method of communication? Only time will tell, but whether veteran professionals like it or not, millennials are quickly taking over, and bringing their culture and ideas with them.
