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A recent article in Reuters explains what some young professionals think the future workplace will look like. These ideas and changes can already be seen in many places today as younger workers look for flexibility rather than long-term career goals. According to one young professional “Kathrine Harper thinks she and her millennial colleagues will run things better when they are in charge”.
Kathrine goes onto to state “If I were a manager in the future, I would focus on increasing motivation and community in the workplace,” she says. “I would try to emphasize the importance of employee get-togethers outside of [work] to promote a stronger sense of community and friendship. I think when you feel strongly about the workplace and the people involved, there is a sense of motivation that comes with that.”
However all of these high hopes come with a down side to many companies as Gen Y moves around from job to job more often. They want more and have no worries about searching until they find it wherever that may be. The article says “A hallmark of this generation is its desire to change positions regularly to gain experience in a range of roles throughout the organization,” he says. “You can address this desire by working with Gen Y employees to identify their deep-rooted skills, interests and knowledge, find their best fit in the organization, and craft the job design and conditions that help them perform.”
At the end of the day Gen Y simply wants and sees more options. They want to learn and grow faster than previous generations. It has nothing to do with a poor work attitude but more to do with the desire to be challenged and exposed to new ideas and projects at their jobs.
It will be interesting to see how the corporte work space changes as today’s young professionals become the managers and executives at these companies.
