In recent years, the term millennial has become ever more prevalent in the world of business. Like it or not, the amount of young millennials who are currently seeking a new and exciting career path is ever increasing. There have been a lot of businesses that are rewarding these new employees with perks in the workplace. These can be physical prizes for hard work or just general perks that are provided by the employers.
A survey that has been conducted by Direct365 suggested that only 40% of 18-24 year olds claim to be interested in job perks, they show more interest in being recognised by their peers to bring them general job satisfaction.
70% of 35-44 year olds would rather have incentives over peer recognition when they are seeking a new career. So, if you are looking to impress the younger generation in the workplace, offer them some more peer related rewards to boost their gratification.
Phil Turner who is the Head of Digital at Direct365 has said that the attractive incentives may only actually be a short term solution for employers, he stated that: “The problem with a lot of job perks are that the companies offering them don’t take into consideration what the employee could really use.
“Fun incentives may look great on paper, but the reality is very different and companies should be working to give staff what they genuinely want. Perks that make your working day a little easier will always be attractive – not to mention peer recognition, appraisals and real career progression. These are priceless.”
Millennials have been brought up with a heightened personality compared to many people their senior. Previous generations have often been linked into the age of theory that ‘no news is good news’ so will carry on as they are until they hear something relating to their work. The survey spanned across numerous sectors too, including those working in digital marketing jobs or even fashion retail.
With millennials, feedback is always a positive thing. They prefer to be told how they are doing in their workplace. Ongoing feedback and praise for positive work breed positivity and job satisfaction. In the eyes of the younger generation, this constant feedback is not negative, it’s a positive, think of it as life coaching.
They are learning and acquiring the new skills that they can use throughout their careers. They want it quickly and often though. It’s a fast moving environment which they choose to work in so the constant need for feedback and relaying how they are performing will greatly aid them and only increase their overall satisfaction.
Employees are becoming ever more tiresome or the tried and tested method of the performance review. This has been a stable part of many businesses for quite some time, but they often only occur after either six or twelve months of work. For most, this is simply too long to wait to receive any form of feedback. In an era where positivity plays such an important role in a working environment, employees of all age are crying out to hear more.
PwC explored the things that the younger generation look for in the workplace and discovered that a big part of many companies strategy is to find more innovative approaches to providing their employees recognition. More emphasis has to be placed in allowing people to enjoy their work and find a purpose to turn up each day.
People are rewarded and given feedback for positive work and how the actions of the individual can benefit the company as a whole. This sort of recognition is available at any company across the world and is so easy to achieve. It humanises the work place and makes it a lot more of a positive environment to work in.