Generations at Work, Millennials in the Workplace
It’s not just avocado on toast.
Our survey of millennial employees uncovered that just 44 percent of millennials in all U.S. businesses are having a positive experience at work—the lowest figure of any generation.
We collected over 267,000 unique comments about what makes workplaces great and what could make them better. One new theme emerged this year among millennials: they are talking about caregiving responsibilities, especially paternity leave, more than other generations.
Millennials care about paternity leave and eldercare support.
More Gen Xers report that they have caregiving responsibility for both children and elders overall. But millennials mention these issues three times more than any other generation in their comments.
Millennials in managerial positions in particular voice a strong desire to take paternity leave. Dads now want to be sure they have time to participate and support their children, partners, and families.
Some companies are listening to their people and making life easier for millennial parents. One millennial Father in our data set was able to support his family because of a supportive workplace culture.
“During the birth of our second child, my wife experienced a medical emergency and had to undergo two surgeries along with several weeks of recovery. During this time, I was able to leverage paid paternity leave to be there for my family. My team took care of all my responsibilities while I was out, to enable me to focus fully on supporting my family.”
Millennials with extensive caregiving duties can feel excluded from coming up with new and better ways of doing things at work. Those with eldercare responsibilities are nearly 25 percent less likely to feel they can contribute fully to innovation activities. So if you want to grow as a business, it's vital that you do what you can to support their caregiving needs.
Why? Because when millennials have a great experience at work, they will stay. In fact, they are 50 times more likely to plan a long-term future with your company if you provide them with a high-trust culture. By the way, this makes them more loyal than their parents’ generation.
Don’t let this generation go misunderstood. When it comes to managing people, it’s not a one-size-fits all approach. Listen to the needs of millennials and start realizing the full power of this unique generation at work. Read the full report on managing millenials here.
