A new decade approaches. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020 the workforce will be 46% millennials. It’s plausible that millennials will soon comprise the majority of the workforce. As a small business owner, you should be aware that, like it or not, the millennials are coming to you. More than any other generation, millennials need more support from their employers, but I think we both know millennials shouldn’t be indulged in every way. After all, If they were it might look something like this:
1. Stock Your Breakroom With Avocado Toast
Yup, step one is that simple. Whole-grain bread, avocados, and salt. These are the ingredients that nourish the lifeblood of the millennial. I mean, millennial’s think they invented the avocado. By fabricating a lazy guacamole and scarfing it down on artisan bread, they believe they endow their bodies with some sort of holy power. That probably sounds a little harsh and stereotypical, but snacks are definitely a very good idea for the workplace. Keeping your young employees nutritiously fed will increase motivation and productivity, lead to reduced illnesses, and promote workplace camaraderie. It’s human nature to bond over food. If anything, snacks will keep them at their desks. What you really should be seeking is to make your workplace have perks. If your workplace does have a cavalcade of perks, it will be emphasized on sites like glassdoor.com and make your business seem much more like an employer of choice.
2. Renew Your “People” Magazine Subscription
“How is Ariana Grande doing? I mean, she’s been through the ringer lately, but winning a Grammy last weekend surely cheered her up, right? I mean, I only want her to be ok.” The last few sentences are in quotation marks because I did not say them. Millennials I work with did, and it was the beginning of a lengthy conversation. I’m pretty sure that I’ve ordered an Ariana Grande at Starbucks before. All that said, millennials need engagement. They don’t just view their coworkers as “coworkers.” If I’ve seen one thing as the amount of millennial’s around my office grows, it is that they are after a certain vibe. That vibe entails that the workforce get along and mesh well in a productive environment. You don’t need to know things about their generation’s pop culture, but it’s still important to push for common ground. Find out what’s going on in their lives, discover what they care about, and learn what makes them tick. I hope Ariana Grande is okay as well.
3. Have A Television Playing HGTV 24/7
The young’uns love HGTV (Fixer-Upper, House Hunters, My Lottery Dream Home). All are staples of the millennial entertainment experience. One especially snarky coworker of mine explained this phenomenon to me very enthusiastically. Apparently, my generation screwed up the economy so bad that the closest most millennials will ever come to property ownership is drooling over HGTV’s programming. I’m not sure if he’s right or not, but I do think that millennials need more stimulation than the older generations. They’ve lived their entire lives in a barrage of screens, notifications, and alerts. The silver lining in this is that they are better multi-taskers and, Lord knows, more tech-savvy. The truth is, if you don’t supply some sort of stimulation to your millennial workforce, they will find it themselves. You don’t want them to find it at their desks by checking Twitter or Facebook. When you can, give them a particularly fun or engaging task. Maybe put a Nintendo in the break room, right next to the avocado toast. Just know that the 24/7 HGTV was hyperbole. If you do that, no one, in any age group will get any work done. Millennials are right on this one, it’s programming is that good.
I hope that you see through some of the stereotypes and see what I’m trying to say here. Millennials are soon going to make up the majority of the workforce, and they appreciate a few things that seem silly to other generations. In order to get the most productivity out of them, they need to be comfortable in their workplace, engaged, and stimulated. I know it sounds crazy to cater to a generation that a lot of people think have it easier than any other, but at the end of the day, millennials can be very productive under millennial circumstances and surroundings, and productivity means money.