Traditionally, money has been a huge motivator in the business world.
Now enter the Millennial also known as Gen-Y, and money is just not enough to keep them engaged in their job for more than 18 months, productive and motivated, even after years of education.
The question then becomes, what can a firm do to keep their Gen-Y Employees motivated?
Members of this generation are generally born between
1980-2000. They are well educated, accustomed to communicating electronically, motivated by a sense of purpose and are known to not separate work/life and social/ life.
They live their lives holistically. They are also the largest generation to ever enter the workforce at 80 million strong vs. the “Baby Boomers” who were a solid 76 million and “Generation X” a mere 50 million.
Wikipedia identified Millennial’s as the “Trophy Generation”, or “Trophy Kids.” The term reflects the trend in competitive sports, as well as many other aspects of life, where mere participation is frequently enough for a reward. Recognition of reward for participation is one of the biggest clues to effectively engage this generation of employees.
Studies predict that Generation Y will switch jobs as frequently as every year if they are not satisfied or feel like they are not progressing in their jobs.
There is no stigma perceived by Gen Y about job switching. They are very mobile. After watching their own parents slug it out working extremely long hours and on week-ends, they have a clear opinion that they do not wish to follow in their footsteps.