The Huffington Post Millennials Are Defining the Workplace Posted: 08/26/2014 6:03 pm EDT Updated: 08/26/2014 6:59 pm EDT Millennials lead the pack when it comes to digital influence. And understandably so. After all, now in their 20s and 30s, these adults have grown up in the digital era. It comes naturally to them. It is part of their every day. It defines them and they, in turn, have significant influence on those around them, whether from home, the workplace or the treadmill. Social media, of course, are the favored form of communications. With smartphones, tablets and other digital devices, each tap matters greatly as they share thoughts and concerns or read what friends and others have to say. Pew Research calls Millennials "digital natives." In its 2014 report, "Millennials in Adulthood," Pew points out that they are: "the only generation for which these new technologies are not something they've had to adapt to. Not surprisingly, they are the most avid users. "They have taken the lead in seizing on the new platforms of the digital era - the internet, mobile technology, social media - to construct personalized networks of friends, colleagues and affinity groups." In what may seem as no more than the blink of an eye, these Millennials are fast becoming the largest group of employees at companies large and small. Neither idle nor quiet, many of them are making their mark. Fast moving through the ranks and exerting greater influence in the workplace, they are now forcing changes in how to motivate and engage with employees. And you can count on that continuing for a long, long time. Ron Alsop, journalist, author and former Wall Street Journal editor, set the tone for how the Millennials would eventually dominate the workforce in his ground-breaking 2008 book: "The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaking Up The Workplace." Mr. Alsop saw early on that the Millennials would bring a set of values and priorities that differed significantly from the generations that came before them: Gen X and Baby Boomers. With the Millennials, he wrote, "employers are facing some of the biggest management challenges they've ever encountered." http://www.thetrophykids.com While the earliest assessments of Millennials tended to be very skeptical of this group - quick to call them coddled and focused on themselves - we now have better insights and see this generation as having very different expectations of employers than did their predecessors. Among Millennials, loyalty is hard won, independent thinking is prized, questioning is the norm and proof is what they are looking for. Pew adds another very important distinction: Millennials, the research says, are "unmoored from institutions," or unattached from organizations that have been so important to earlier generations. This applies to religion, social groups, corporations and politics. Adding to their sense of not belonging, t ...

1. The Huffington Post
Millennials Are Defining the Workplace
Posted: 08/26/2014 6:03 pm EDT Updated: 08/26/2014 6:59 pm
EDT
Millennials lead the pack when it comes to digital influence.
And understandably so. After all, now in their 20s and 30s,
these adults have grown up in the
digital era. It comes naturally to them. It is part of their every
day. It defines them and they, in
turn, have significant influence on those around them, whether
from home, the workplace or the
treadmill.
Social media, of course, are the favored form of
communications. With smartphones, tablets and
other digital devices, each tap matters greatly as they share
thoughts and concerns or read what
friends and others have to say.
Pew Research calls Millennials "digital natives." In its 2014
report, "Millennials in Adulthood,"
Pew points out that they are:
"the only generation for which these new technologies are not
something they've had to adapt to.
Not surprisingly, they are the most avid users.
"They have taken the lead in seizing on the new platforms of the

2. digital era - the internet, mobile
technology, social media - to construct personalized networks of
friends, colleagues and affinity
groups."
In what may seem as no more than the blink of an eye, these
Millennials are fast becoming the
largest group of employees at companies large and small.
Neither idle nor quiet, many of them
are making their mark.
Fast moving through the ranks and exerting greater influence in
the workplace, they are now
forcing changes in how to motivate and engage with employees.
And you can count on that
continuing for a long, long time.
Ron Alsop, journalist, author and former Wall Street Journal
editor, set the tone for how the
Millennials would eventually dominate the workforce in his
ground-breaking 2008 book: "The
Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation Is
Shaking Up The Workplace."
Mr. Alsop saw early on that the Millennials would bring a set of
values and priorities that
differed significantly from the generations that came before
them: Gen X and Baby Boomers.
With the Millennials, he wrote, "employers are facing some of
the biggest management
challenges they've ever encountered."
http://www.thetrophykids.com
While the earliest assessments of Millennials tended to be very
skeptical of this group - quick to
call them coddled and focused on themselves - we now have

3. better insights and see this
generation as having very different expectations of employers
than did their predecessors.
Among Millennials, loyalty is hard won, independent thinking is
prized, questioning is the norm
and proof is what they are looking for.
Pew adds another very important distinction: Millennials, the
research says, are "unmoored from
institutions," or unattached from organizations that have been
so important to earlier generations.
This applies to religion, social groups, corporations and
politics. Adding to their sense of not
belonging, they see themselves as "low on social trust."
When it comes to the workplace, Millennials don't seem to have
the same sense of loyalty to
their employers as do earlier generations, particularly Baby
Boomers. They keep their distance,
slower to make an emotional connection. They tend to be
quicker to change jobs, vote with their
feet and seek a more open corporate environment.
As a retired CEO -- with six millennial children of my own --
I've seen firsthand the underlying
impact of this generation. Others may be apprehensive of the
changes being brought about by
Millennials but I, for one, am not.
I see this as an opportunity to change the traditional paradigm
of employer-employee relations
and engage more closely in order to foster a stronger bond. It is
an opportunity to encourage

4. more of a partnership where views are exchanged, opinions are
sought, and the dialog is candid
... of course, within the limits of regulations and disclosure.
To motivate and engage, the patterns of the past must change.
Millennials eschew tradition,
including hierarchical behavior. And senior management at
today's companies - a mix of Gen X
and Baby Boomers - must be willing to step back, give up some
authority, use digital techniques
and invest time to better explore how Millennials can help the
company as they gain something
for themselves.
After all, the digital voices of Millennials are among the
loudest, the most pervasive and the most
credible. They are heard far and wide and influence others
through what they say and how they
feel.
Remember, smartphones in the office transcend firewalls.
Sharing views with others takes only
one click. The bottom line is that this group has an enormous
ability to shape perception and
reputation.
So, it's time to rethink the power of our youngest generation in
the workplace and focus on both
what works for companies and what works for them.
In our digital age, these Millennials have power and influence
well beyond their age.
Author: Chris Komisarjevsky
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-

5. komisarjevsky/millennials-are-defining-_b_5714683.html
For this assignment, read the article Millennials Are Defining
the Workplace in the attachment and
Answer the following questions as they relate to you and the
article’s information that you just read. Remember, this is an
assessment about you.
· Would you agree that Millennials you have grown up in the
digital era? The article discusses the fact that, “It comes
naturally to them. It is part of their every day. It defines them
and they, in turn, have significant influence on those around
them, whether from home, the workplace or the treadmill.
“Social media, of course, are the favored form of
communications. With smartphones, tablets (Links to an
external site.) and other digital devices (Links to an external
site.) , each tap matters greatly as they share thoughts and
concerns or read what friends and others have to say.”
· Give some examples of your use social media and the impact
to your day to day interactions with others? Does this impact or
tend to minimize your person to person interaction? In what way
is this detrimental to the business environment?
· The article suggests that Millennials will eventually dominate
and influence the workforce. What sorts of values and priorities
do you feel you bring to the workplace that other prior
generations did not? In pondering this question, consider this
quote by Mr. Alsop, who wrote the book, The Trophy Kids.
“The first wave of the Millennial Generation—born between
1980 and 2001—is entering the work force, and employers are
facing some of the biggest management challenges they’ve ever
encountered. They are trying to integrate the most demanding

6. and most coddled generation in history into a workplace shaped
by the driven baby-boom generation. Like them or not, the
millennials are America's future work force. They are actually a
larger group than the boomers—92 million vs. 78 million.
The millennials are truly trophy kids, the pride and joy of their
parents who remain closely connected even as their children
head off to college and enter the work force. Millennials are a
complex generation, with some conflicting characteristics.
Although they’re hard working and achievement oriented, most
millennials don’t excel at leadership and independent problem
solving
(Links to an external site.)
. They want the freedom and flexibility of a virtual office
(Links to an external site.)
, but they also want rules and responsibilities to be spelled out
explicitly. “It’s all about me,” might seem to be the mantra of
this demanding bunch of young people, yet they also tend to be
very civic-minded and philanthropic.”
· Do you feel that Millennials, (or yourself if you fit within the
age bracket of this group), tend to be more independent thinking
is prized, questioning is the norm and proof is what they are
looking for? Do you find that organizations such as religion,
social groups, corporations and politics can not be trusted?
· Do you feel that Millennials don't seem to have the same sense
of loyalty to their employers as do earlier generations,
particularly Baby Boomers? Do you agree that they keep their
distance, slower to make an emotional connection? Do they tend
to be quicker to change jobs (Links to an external site.) , vote
with their feet and seek a more open corporate environment?
Give some examples.
What positive changes can the Millennials bring to the employer
or management team as opposed to earlier generations? Please
give specific examples.