EG WORKPLACE OF TOMORROW SUMMIT: Millennials want social purpose, flexible hours and not to be spoken for, but top of the list still comes salary.
Speaking at the EG Workplace of Tomorrow conference, five millennials working in the UK property sector offer their views on what millennials really want.
■ Social purpose
“What millennials are really interested in at the moment is purpose: their purpose or the purpose of the business,” said Jack Sallabank, founder of Future Plus Studio.
It was a point echoed by all the panel. “Definitely they understand they are following a certain path, they want to do something different, they want more from life,” said Arya Taware, founder and managing director of Future Bricks.
■ Not to be spoken for
Nor do they want assumptions to be made on their behalf.
“I have never been asked as millennial what I want. Maybe the leadership team has assumed what it is,” said Becki Selby, development manager at U+I.
■ Flexibility: Not 9-5
Technological change means emails and calls can come at any time of the day. As a result, employees want more flexible working hours.
Selby said: “Your working hours are not nine to five anymore, so you should be entitled to go to the gym at midday. Technology has changed the work, so we should be entitled to demand as much from the leadership team as they demand from us.”
■ To reshape the way business works
Making employees part of the story allows smaller companies to compete when attracting talent.
“On a day-to-day basis we get a lot more because millennials want to be part of the story,” said James Townsend, co-founder, Kontor Space,
“Letting millennials reshape the way business operates is a really important thing to do. Why is it that work has to be a 9-5 discipline?” says Sallabank.
■ To be demanding (in a good way)
As a result, younger employees want to be able to be demanding, though in a productive manner.
Kimberly Hepburn, junior quantity surveyor associate at TfL, said: “There is so much choice out there for us. I don’t think we have a clear idea of what we do really want. The fact is that there is choice: working from home, co-working, or on a campus.”
■ Not following the trend
But that does not mean they want businesses to just follow trends blindly.
“If one starts following a trend, they all seem to follow, instead of questioning it. It is easy to just follow suit. We should be more open-minded about what we are trying to do,” said Selby.
■ To be told it’s ok to fail
Attempts to change and embrace new ideas also need to happen within a culture that at least accepts failure.
“I think failure is not taken in a very good way [in the UK] compared to the US,” said Taware.
“I think we need to be able to say it’s ok to fail, that failure is a part of the journey. That, as a society, as an ecosystem, is something you should promote.”
■ To be treated the same – and salary
But behind all of that, millennials want a good salary and want to be treated the same as all other employees.
“Top of the list is salary,” says Sallabank.
“I don’t think there is a big difference between what a millennial or non-millennial works,” says Selby.
“Flexibility works for everyone. I just think millennials have been a bit more demanding about getting it and have been able to ask because of the improvements in technology.”
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