eNot a great deal of analysis needed on this one, but given that many of the people we are hiring in tech tend to skew towards a younger demographic, it seemed appropriate to share this article about the incentives driving the desire of Millennials.  Millennials will be the largest generation in the U.S. workforce as of 2015. Yet businesses have a difficult time hiring members of this youngest professional generation. Disjoints abound as the nation’s workforce shifts – millions of jobs remain unfilled while many millennials struggle to build careers.  While we reach the point that is considered “full employment” by most economists, what isn’t taken into account is the level of underemployment throughout our workforce and further how millennials choices further impact those trends.

Millennials are notable for their commitment to friends, family and hobbies, even at the expense of face time at work. Companies on Great Place to Work’s Millennials list are more likely to offer flexible scheduling (76% vs. 63% for other companies), telecommuting options (82% vs. 74%), paid sabbaticals (15% vs. 11%) and paid volunteer days (46% vs. 39%.) More winning Millennial-friendly companies offer perks like massages (65% vs. 26%) and fitness classes (70% vs. 24%) to their workforce (Fortune).  “They will be the most high maintenance workforce in the history of the world, but they may also be the most high performing,” says Bruce Tulgan, consultant and author of “It’s Okay to Manage Your Boss.”  Some of the negative stereotypes about this generation – that they’re narcissistic, disloyal or can’t interact face to face – can be turned into positive attributes when properly understood and leveraged, Tulgan says.

There’s a lot of great research out there about how people of this demographic are more likely to rent than own, how they are putting off having children until later so that they can have the flexibility to move around and live in a variety of cities and countries as well as build financial security.  Recent data shows, however, that they are changing jobs less frequently than gen Xers did at a similar age.  The article discusses the concern Millennials have about financial security and the desire to stay with one organization for longer to achieve work-life integration.  To me, it stresses the need for us to really understand what is motivating our teams and make sure that we are providing the right incentives to manage them long-term.

Finally, this TED Radio Hour speaks to the work place and what people value more broadly.