What do millennials want at work?

Career AdviceWorking Life

As a key element of today's workforce, millennials often enjoy a less positive reputation as employees. They have been characterized as job-hoppers and are in many ways removed from the older parts of the workforce. To motivate millennials, it is important to know what these new workers are looking for in an employer - growth opportunities, good management and work that interests them.

Growth chances

According to a study, the ability to learn and grow is the attribute that millennials expect most from an employer and something they value highly. However, the opportunity to contribute is also given high priority.

85 percent of millennials said that development opportunities are the most important factor in a job - but less than one in two agreed that their job provided learning and growth opportunities last year. A study also found that better training opportunities are the main reason people leave their jobs.

Management

The quality of management is also a key factor in the job satisfaction of millennials. In a survey, the quality of managers and the quality of management ranked second among the factors they considered to be "extremely important." The criteria by which millennials judge the ideal manager include integrity, effective decision-making, effective communication, and acceptance of diversity. The results of this survey give an insight into how this generation of employees evaluates the qualities of their leaders.

Interesting work

The third most important quality that millennials look for in an ideal job is an interesting work. For them, it is by no means enough to be paid for spending hours at a workplace. Millennials are looking for work that is important to them and positions where they feel they can make a difference. They want a job that "gives them the feeling of being important."

Millennials have different priorities when it comes to where they want to work, from growth opportunities to good management to interesting work. Understanding and offering these determinants will enable employers to attract and retain the best employees of this generation.