Millennial Engagement in the Workplace

millennial engagement in the workplace

Millennials have a reputation for job-hopping and a recent Gallup report supports that conclusion

Twenty-one percent of millennials say they’ve changed jobs within the last year, which is more than three times the number of non-millennials reporting the same statistic. The cost for millennial turnover is estimated by Gallup to cost the U.S. economy $30.5 billion annually.
But the more intriguing question is why? Why do millennials show less willingness to stay in their current jobs? One potential reason is that millennials appear to be the least engaged generation in the workplace. Compared to recent polls pegging U. S. worker engagement nationally in the 33% to 34% range, millennial engagement in the workplace tops out at 29% leaving 71% reported as not engaged and some actively disengaged. (Actively disengaged denotes an employee who is unhappy and unproductive at work, liable to spread negativity to co-workers and to do harm to the employer.) Lack of engagement combined with a heightened awareness of other jobs through social media and other Internet connectivity provides millennials with both the motive and opportunity to job-hop more than other generations of workers.
The key to building engagement with millennials and really all employees is to provide opportunities for success and to address problems before they escalate. Matching an employee’s natural wiring to their job assignment is more likely to produce a more successful and satisfied employee. Wouldn’t you like the opportunity to do more of what you do well – everyday? Although people can be surprisingly malleable – adaptation can be stressful if change is forced and motivators are not received. Look to the individual’s Motivators Application Report to identify the drives which provide their greatest motivational opportunities and couple that with reading any Adjusted Self changes in a de-energized profile to learn about problems that are frustrating to that employee while in that work environment. Then provide changes or feedback as suited to the profile.
It is likely that many millennials really don’t want to switch jobs as frequently as they do, but haven’t found the company yet that is giving them a compelling reason to stay. Properly applying AcuMax principles can be the motivational difference maker.

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