To many traditional managers, millennials are viewed negatively – as a laid-back, narcissistic and sometimes irksome bunch. On the positive side, millennials in the workplace are confident, have a can-do attitude about new responsibilities and seek out feedback frequently. In about 10 years’ time, today’s millennials will make up about 75% of the workforce. To learn how to best work with millennials, you should focus on being a coach and mentor, providing growth opportunities and social workplace connecting teams.
Technology: a crucial tool for millennial productivity
There is one trait that unifies the millennial generation – they are far more in tune with communication technology than any other generation. Being tech savvy, they carry their laptops with them, use tablets to check the news and their biggest nightmare is to leave the house without their smartphone. Over 80% of millennials own a smartphone and they rely heavily on them – an average millennial checks their smartphone 43 times per day. Unsurprisingly, another survey found that 53% of 13-33 year olds claim that they “wouldn’t be able to live” without a smartphone. This dependability on technology can be a leverage to motivate the ‘plugged-in’ generation. Instead of forcing millennials in the workplace to turn off their smartphones, you can use them as a great tool to supervise, motivate and interact with millennial employees.
5 ways to use a smartphone to motivate millennials
Bringing it all together
Today, millennials are revolutionizing organizations and how teams should be managed. These young people are highly motivated and their high usage of mobile phone devices can be used as a tool to unlock their potential in the workplace. Millennials love to use their smartphones. As a result, managers have to adapt their leadership style and learn the new way on how to motivate and lead millennials in the workplace. The rise of portable devices has made interpersonal communication easier than ever before. To most people (and especially millennials) this means more flexibility, giving opportunities to work from any location. What’s important is that simply using the smartphone alone doesn’t make motivated and efficient team member. It’s the way how you want the Millennials to use it – that counts. As a leader, you set the policy and set the tone – keep them connected and energetic. On the other hand, making the work more fun, giving them autonomy and expanding their horizons is something that needs to be done to motivate millennials in the workplace. Millennials in the workplace have great potential, but we need to be more flexible to unlock it. Managers who can find the right balance in utilizing the smartphones as a motivational tool will make their young and ambitious team to work smarter, not harder.
