When I began researching topics for this article, I was struck by the amount of articles about the employment — or rather unemployment — of millennials.
The millennial label itself is often used to criticize the perceived narcissism of our generation, exaggerate the differences between generations and bemoan the woes of the current job market, especially for recent college graduates. Apparently, 30 percent of millennial men, ages 18 to 33, don’t have a job. There is an 8-percent unemployment rate for those seeking a job, with 22 percent not participating in ?the workforce.
These numbers have some historic precedence as this is approximately 10 percent higher than Generation X and has set alarm bells ringing across a nation demanding students earn STEM degrees and hope for the best.
Fortunately for us, these headlines do not reflect the entirety of job prospects for our entire generation. We have surpassed all other groups in terms of employment. We now constitute more than one-third of the US labor market.
In light of this, I wanted to know more about how we are reshaping the business world in our image. In short, we are really shifting some ?paradigms.
But who really understands what a paradigm is? Frankly, my column would be a little short if I couldn’t provide a bit more detail.
Essentially, the difference is in how we work; millennial businessmen and ?businesswomen prefer to work in teams, rather than ?individually.
As it has been said many times, we are also the most educated generation to date as well. Since information is so readily available, complex solutions to complex issues seem more attainable and give more value to our work.
The most obvious conclusion from these observations is that we, as a generation, are coming into our own. We are working all types of jobs and hopefully are doing them as well as previous generations — if not better.
While the world changes around us daily, we change with it and change it. The business world is changing to meet our preferences, a positive indicator that we are not unemployable. Instead, we are desirable candidates for positions. These preferences may yield extra benefits other than a placated demographic because teams filled with qualified people can often achieve more than the individual.
Creating a more social environment in the workplace can increase productivity by creating a more comfortable atmosphere, in some cases, one where social interaction helps to fuel innovation. These changes lead to this important conclusion. The millennials are entering a different world than that of our parents, one where we finally have influence and social value.
mccikos@indiana.edu
