5 ways millennials are changing the traditional workspace

Millennials are pooling up the workplaces. According to Forbes, by 2025 millennials will account for 75 percent of the global workforce. This has caused some amount of panic among the earlier generation, whose idea of work ethic is distinctively different from the former, who demand flexible hours, instant feedback, and quicker promotions.

Due to the plethora of attractive job opportunities that has been abound in the past five years, millennials believe that they will always have ‘options’. Although this seemingly ‘flaky’ characteristic of theirs to jump jobs is what aggravates the older generation, the truth is that a millennial will always seek employment where they believe they can work to their maximum potential.

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Millennials represent an untouched pool of new talent and perspective, which professional head-hunters are anxious to employ. To this end, organizations have also been adapting their workplaces to make them more ‘millennial friendly’. However, a change in outward structure doesn’t quite cut it for this new generation. They want to change the system all together.

On that note, here is how the millennial generation is attempting to change the traditional workspace.

Remote working

Millennials seem to work better with flexible hours. Hence, the new practice of working from home has become quite an attractive option for them. According to PWC’s NextGen study, 64 percent of millennials would occasionally like to work from home, while 66 percent would also like to occasionally like to change their work hours. The era of the standard nine-to-five is slowly fading away with the arrival of the millennial generation in the workplace. Working from home gives them the luxury of time and comfort, allowing them to meet their deadlines much quicker. A Gallup report states that these remote workers log in more hours and are more engaged in their work.

Instant feedback

While most corporate offices employ the system of year-end appraisals, millennials do not wish to wait that long. Ruled by a need for instant gratification, millennials wish to receive immediate feedback for their work. According to Jeff Lawson, CEO of cloud communication company Twilio, millennials wish to “keep score” of their performance and not be taken by surprise. “That's just part of the changing ethos, especially with younger workers. You get into the habit of regular feedback, it's not confrontational; it's just the ebb and flow of conversation and a constant tweaking of how you work with somebody,” he says in an interview with The New York Times.

Taking on meaningful work

Millennials have an idealistic belief that they are meant to change the world. Consequently, they tend to take on jobs that they believe will have more value in the longer run and which will help ‘make a difference’. According to Forbes, 72 percent of millennials wish to have a job where they can “make an impact”, and 71 percent want their co-workers to be their second family. This can be seen from the rapid rise in social entrepreneurship in the past 10 years.

Open and honest workspace

Millennials don’t believe in leaving work at home and home at work. They try to make their work environment as comfortable as the one they have at home, considering the amount of time they are expected to spend in the office. This is why most millennial-founded startups employ an informal work atmosphere, because in most cases it helps in team-bonding and consequent productivity. A flat structure also encourages millennial employees to be more open and honest with their colleagues and bosses, and promotes better collective effort and greater team-work.

Technology ad short-cuts

No one can deny that millennials are the ‘digitised generation’. Many of them grew up with access to cell-phones, computers, and the internet from an early age and are now well-versed in the field of technology. Subsequently, they tend to discover and employ short-cuts, thus improving the efficiency and efficacy of their work. They are developing new software, applications, and user-friendly devices to make technology easier and more accessible to the public at large. Old-schoolers might find this a great advantage, thus increasing the value of the millennial employee.

The millennials are thus set to revolutionise the core of the workplace in the hopes of making their time in office more fun, productive, efficient, and easier. Do you think this works for the better? Let us know in the comments below!