How to create a Millennial-friendly workplace?

The Millennial generation tends to get a bad reputation among individuals from older generations. They are perceived as a self-entitled, egoistic, and lazy generation. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth because many studies have shown that Millennials are, in fact, very smart and career-focused individuals.

The Millennials are the future in the workplace and they are the ones that companies need to select from the brightest minds and best skills. Yet, attracting Millennials to work for your company requires a little bit of effort from your side if you want them to choose to work for you instead of your competitors. That being said, here’s how to create a Millennial-friendly work environment to attract the brightest and motivated young minds: 

Be a leader rather than a boss

Compared with previous generations, Millennials place huge importance on feeling valued at their job. The bossy attitude will rarely encourage them to feel comfortable working in a place where they only have to respect assigned tasks without them being able to add a touch of innovation with their bright ideas. They are incredibly focused on self-development and hungry to learn new ideas and skills. Yet, they don’t want to be forced to do so by a nagging boss, they want to have a leader whom they can look up to. Thus, if you want to help them improve themselves and become better at the tasks they complete for your business, encourage them to perceive you as a leader rather than a boss. Being a leader for Millennials can certainly benefit your business because they will feel encouraged to ask for help from your side when they encounter a challenge with their responsibilities.  

Encourage teamwork over competition

Despite the stereotype saying that the Millennials are egoistic individuals, they are, in fact, focused on social good. They want their work and investments to benefit everyone around them. Moreover, their hunger to learn new things encourages them to reach out to their peers that have better knowledge than them. Thus, the teamwork concept has never been more popular in the workplace than now. Millennials feel motivated in the workplace when they feel a friendly atmosphere and relationship with their coworkers. Thus, the ideal workplace environment for them is the one where teamwork is part of the company culture rather than the one where they constantly have to compete with their coworkers.

Create a clean and eco-friendly work environment

Millennials have changed the trends in almost everything, including the business landscape, workplace practices, and the way they choose to work for a company over another. For example, a study has concluded that most Millennials would even go that far to refusing to work for a business that leaves a huge carbon footprint on our environment. A clean and eco-friendly office space is one of the top aspects that Millennials want when choosing to work for a company. The Millennial generation is incredibly focused on sustainability and the way the company they work for takes care of our planet.

Moreover, there are numerous studies that show that Millennials associate a clean and green environment with improved employee satisfaction. They feel more motivated and focused to work for a business that promotes green practices. A clean work environment is a highly influential aspect of the productivity, efficiency, and the satisfaction of your employees.  Millennial employees perceive their workspace as their second home so they want to be provided with a safe and healthy environment.

Choose the right location

It might come as a surprise the fact that Millennials feel more attracted to work in smaller offices in small or medium-sized cities despite the wrong belief that they prefer urban centers. It is true that Millennials are career-focused and prefer working in a company that offers them a continuous professional development. However, they value company culture even more so they prefer working in smaller offices where they can develop good relationships with all their coworkers.   

Provide feedback

One of the most important expectation Millennials have from their work environment is to be provided with ample feedback. Their hunger for feedback is strongly linked with their commitment to personal and professional development. They want to know what are their strengths and weaknesses in order to know how to improve themselves to stay on the top of their responsibilities. Providing periodical ample feedback will show that you invest in them and support them in their process of becoming the best versions of themselves. They will feel more motivated to work for a company that invests resources in terms of money and time in their education and development. Thus, apart from getting periodical feedback, Millennials also expect businesses to provide them with training opportunities.

Technology in the workplace

Millennials are the generation that was born at the dawn of the internet and have interacted with technology from very young ages. They use technology on a daily basis to complete both their personal and professional tasks. Thus, they expect a modern office that fosters tech-driven efficiency.