Why Millennials Need Career Coaching
People known as millennials, those born in the late 1980s up to the 2000s, seem to be looking for a greater work-life balance than previous generations. They are motivated by different factors than the generation before, and much different factors than the Boomer generation, who will be entering retirement over the next few years.
Businesses need to keep up with changing career coaching trends. What worked for Baby Boomers will probably not work for millennials. Learning exactly what motivates a millenial and how businesses can cater to those needs will help make the most of their employees’ abilities.
The Work-Life Balance
An even balance between work and life is the top priority of most millenials, studies show. Nearly one third of surveyed millenials say that balancing their personal lives and their work duties has become a challenge over the past five years, and they want that to change. Almost half of all millenials are working more hours than previous generations, leaving very little time for personal responsibilities and family.
Millennials are actively seeking flexibility in where and how they work. In fact, most employees would be willing to take a pay cut if they were allowed to telecommute. This is important for a couple of reasons.
For one, millenials currently outnumber the amount of other generations of employees in the workforce. Additionally, turnover rates with millenials are high: if they’re not happy, they have no qualms about seeking employment elsewhere. Businesses can’t afford to lose money on high turnover rates.
What’s The Issue?
Baby Boomers and Generation X employees still set the standard for the way that companies are run. Many employees in these generations adhere to traditional values: less than half of Baby Boomers have a spouse who works full-time.
The remaining Boomers have spouses that either don’t work at all, or work part-time jobs. This means that someone is always there to take care of personal responsibilities and family duties. It seems that there is a gap in understanding the problems that plague today’s workforce.
How Do We Fix It?
Technology and coaching. More and more employees are able to work from home and are more than willing to do so. One of the top reasons millenials quit jobs is because of a lack of flexibility. Millenials want a flexible work option, but they also desperately want to make a real difference in the workplace.
Career coaching is designed to find what motivates employees and build upon it. Many millenials are not familiar with their soft skill set and don’t know how to identify their strengths. When they’re not given the motivation they need to succeed or can’t identify the skills needed to get there, they look for something else.
At the end of the day, most millenials want a little bit of guidance, a lot of flexibility, and the opportunity to express their strengths. If you can give them that, they will reward you with talent and resourcefulness.
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