How Millennial Are You?

As Millennials continue to become a hot topic of discussion, you may ask yourself if you fall into the category of being a Millennial. Pew Research Center created an online survey to help you identify your generation. The 15 part questionnaire prompts questions ranging from how frequently you text to if you have a tattoo or not.  Take it here. 

If this survey doesn’t cut it for you, here are some more statistics that will help you accurately categorize yourself.

How often do you drive?  Millennials drive about a quarter less than their counterparts did eight years ago.

How many phones do you have?  41% of Millennials aren’t connected to a landline.

Use an alarm clock?  83% of Millennials sleep next to their mobile devices.

How badly do you want to own a house?  18% of Millennials say owning a house is a very important life step.

Married?  A fifth of Millenials in their 20’s are married, compared to roughly half of the boomer population at the same age.

Do you commonly bring a lunch into work?  Millennials are the driving force behind the growing fast food sub industry.

Dine out often?  Millennials dine out 20% less than their peers did five years ago.

Five Myths of Employee Engagement Infographic

This infograph created by Michael C Fina accurately depicts many misconceptions in the workplace today. While debunking the myths, it also simultaneously highlights the importance of employee engagement and its key role for maintaining a powerful staff. Having intangible rewards that give employees incentives makes for a higher return on investment and creates an environment of happy campers. Treating each individual equally and applauding their accomplishments are just a few suggestions to becoming an effective and amiable boss. 

This is especially true with millennials, who are often depicted as unmotivated and uncommitted. As the fifth graph shows, a millennial’s dream boss is a mentor who is open minded and treats others equally. If that is done, millennials will look up to their boss in admiration and respect and want to impress them. An effort put in on the boss’s side will result in having a mutually beneficial and effective work relationship with his/her employees. Finding the perfect balance of when to be socially equal and when to be a leader will create an ambiance that everyone looks forward to entering daily. An employee who continually shows respect will naturally reciprocate that, both on and off the clock.

We would like to hear from you. What do you think are some good ways to engage the millennial workforce? 

Engaging Millennials with Gamification

           It’s no secret that the Millennial generation is fond of texting, tweeting, posting, linking, and anything else that involves being connected. This generation has been raised on technology, and the majority of this group probably doesn’t even remember a time when Facebook and smartphones didn’t exist. While studies have shown that some aspects of constantly being connected and “on” result in negative side effects, we would like to point out a very positive effect that could greatly benefit your organization.

            Because Millennials are such a technically inclined generation, gamification, the application of characteristics from games into non-gaming contexts in order to motivate and engage employees, comes naturally. Be it an app on their phones or a computer program, gamification is practically tailored for the Millennial generation. Studies also show that Millennials thrive on instant gratification, something that gamification can easily provide. Real-time feedback engages employees, but is usually close to impossible to give. With gamification it is now easily achievable.

            Today’s managers can enhance Millennial employee motivation, productivity and loyalty by aligning their company’s recognition strategies with the needs, preferences and values of Millennial professionals. But remember this… gamification is not just for Millennials, it can be effective for all demographics. If you are interested in learning more about Millennials and gamification, visit our website.

5 Tips to Help Your Employees Beat Office Stress

Increasing stress levels amongst workers, especially Millennials who are in the earlier stages of their careers, should be a cause for concern amongst employers. According to the American Psychological Association, a total of 76 percent of American Millennials report work as a significant stressor. This is compared to 62 percent for Baby Boomers. We've put together five tips for helping your employees minimize stress levels while maximizing productivity.

1. Focus on your organizational culture. Clearly, and repeatedly articulate your culture and values.   Facebook, for example, has posters hanging throughout their offices with messages such as “Done is Better Than Perfect.”

2.  Set clear expectations on when you expect your employees to be reachable.  Senior leaders can alienate their staff by sending emails at 5 a.m.  Set expectations and adhere to them yourself.

3. Encourage fun, this downtime is often when the magic happens.  When employees are able to connect with each other on different levels, through a friendly game of Candy Crush or a beer after work, team productivity and congeniality also increases.

4. Offer flex time.  Younger generations, such as the Millennials, are more apt to work less during the day (arriving later and leaving earlier), and are more receptive to working after leaving the office. Offering a flexible work schedule, which appeals to workers of all ages, will increase morale while also increasing productivity.

5.  Offer health and wellness initiatives.  Focusing on employee wellness, by offering perks such as yoga classes held at the office after work, gives employees an outlet for built up stress.  Google is a great example, they provide employees with three wellness centers, basketball courts and even horseshoe pits.

While technology offers many benefits, such as giving us the ability to complete tasks more quickly and professionally, it has also produced expectations from employers that are becoming more and more difficult to keep up with.  It is clear that stress in the work place has increased, and is an issue that employers need to address.  If you are interested in learning more about increasing productivity in the work place, visit our website at www.inwardconsulting.com.