Knowing Your Workforce: Understanding Generation Y (Part 1)

Have you ever wondered what lies in store for your workforce in the years to come? The next generation of workers is here—the millennials. As a prospective employer, it’s time you got to know the potential future of your business and what these individuals can offer in terms of skills and attitude.

As a Reston office space provider, Metro Offices has made this two-part blog post on how you can better understand millennials. The first part is going to be your introduction to this group of people.

Who are the Millennials?

According to researchers, Generation Y, or millennials, are the group of people born from the early 1980s up to the early 2000s. As of 2012, approximately 80 million people comprised this group in the United States alone. As an employer, understanding this demographic gives you a better chance of hiring people with the potential to improve the future of your company.

Understanding Generation Y

There are certain opinions (both good and bad) when it comes to millennials. To help you get a better understanding of this generation, here are some perceptions and realities surrounding them:

1. They’re lazy—Not so. Generation Y uses technology to multi-task and take shortcuts in order to reach their goals. Web surfing, social networking, instant messaging, texting, and all other technological advancements have helped make this generation more competent, more productive, and more efficient in the workplace.
2. They have a poor work ethic—The reality is that this generation expects their employers to realize that there’s more to life than work. Millennials actually have a strong work ethic, but they see work as way to enjoy their lives and not the point of being alive. They’ve blurred the lines between work and home and, because of this, they tend to work smarter, not harder.
3. They aren’t committed to work—Because of the level of education this group of people has attained, millennials are some of the most educated in the workforce. They’re looking for greater fulfillment from their work, and will only work hard if they feel that their employers are giving them the fulfillment they’re looking for.
4. They don’t have loyalty to their employer—Again, because of their level of education, millennials are mobile career-wise; this makes it easier for them to move from one job to the next IF they’re unhappy with their job.

Now that you have an idea of who Generation Y is, it’s time you take a look at the next installment of this two-part blog post, which discusses what they’re looking for in an office space in Reston, VA, and how you can best manage this group of people to achieve your business goals: https://www.metroffice.com/2015/04/knowing-yourworkforce-understanding-generation-y-part-2/