Are You a Working Millennial Looking For Motivation?

If you are 20 to 29 years old today and have a job, chances are, you are dealing with colleagues and leaders of different generations. As a reminder, here is the list of generations and their approximate years of birth as per Google.

• The Lost Generation (1883-1900) also called 1914 Generation, may be because it fought the World War I.
• The Greatest Generation (1901-1924), also known as GI Generation. Those are veterans of World War II. These people were born during the Great Depression.
• The Silent Generation (1925-1942). Those may have fought the Korean Vietnam Wars.
• The Baby Boomers (1946-1964). This generation is born just at the end of World War II.
• Generation X or Gen X (1965-1980)
• Millennial Generation (1980-2000) or Generation Y
• Generation Z ( 2000- present)

In the future, we will discuss the employment relationships of each Generation from Baby Boomers to Generation Z .

Today, we are giving you an overview of what motivates the Millennial Generation at work.

You may be working at this time and your company may have set up different ways to motivate you and your colleagues. It is one of the many ways to maintain good relationships with the employees. Some companies distribute gift certificates, applause points, movie tickets etc. They may even organize a team dinner at the expense of the company.  The question is, did the company conduct any internal survey to find out what motivates you? What  questions were asked? Who prepared the questions and how were they prepared? Did you speak your mind or you just tried to be a good guy or a good girl?

Many companies understand the importance of employee motivation and satisfaction. If you feel that the company’s interests are aligned with your own interests, then you will be more productive. Companies are indeed primarily  focused on “Customer Experience” but you can not satisfy the customer if you are not happy yourself. You can only give what you have. Your company may write the best script for you but if you don’t have this inner peace, you will read like a robot and miss that emotional connection with the client. If you are contacting the client by phone, you may be aware of the fact that you tone of voice is 80% or more, more important than the message you are delivering. You may also know that  the customer shops with logic but will buy with emotions.

I understand that the inner peace is created from within you but can also be lifted to the higher level if you are treated the way you expect to be treated at work. Furthermore, the way you wanted to be treated at age25 is not the way you will want to be treated at age 50. Did your company think about this?

As a Millennial,

• you have a strong sense of achievement. You want to create a positive impact, not just in your community, but in the entire World. You want a company that will help you achieve that goal.
• In order to achieve your goal, you want to learn more and more. Many companies pay for external courses based on your career development plan. They may have internal online free courses as well, that you can access on your own time. I suppose that you have discussed with your manager and she/he has allowed you to enroll in online course or attend a classroom to “sharpen your axe”. Only then, you will be able to do better in your current and future positions.
• you want to show your family that you are not a kid anymore, that you can do great things and change the World. You want them to feel proud of you. What a wonderful You!

In general, as a Millennial, you are not interested in creating a brand or being part of one.  You are not interested in a “sounding title”. You don’t even need to create your own company at this time but you need some guidance in your career. I understand the fact that you are not working for charity. Your company needs to pay you money for your hard work. That money may satisfy you but it won’t motivate you at your age.

Did your company think about this? Do you agree with this description of a Millennial? Please share your thoughts.