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Raymond A.R. Jarosz is a member of the University of Notre Dame's Class of 2007 and an entrepreneur. After listening to his roommates and former schoolmates discuss their struggles within the corporate world, and after months of reading Employee Evolution, he felt compelled to try his hand at writing about these issues.
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New here? Employee Evolution is a blog written by Ryan Healy. Ryan is a Co-Founder of Brazen Careerist, the webs #1 social network for young professionals. Ryan speaks with organizations on best practices for recruiting and retaining Generation Y and how to effectively use social media to reach your target market. To contact Ryan, please visit our contact page.
Many times when the topic of Millennials in the workforce comes up, I hear sentiments about Millennials not being loyal. People are quick to point to our so-called demanding nature, general lack of engagement and inclination to job hop as prime examples that illustrate the point. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always scoffed at this notion that we aren’t loyal.
In my mind, it is not a question of loyalty, but one of priority.
Let’s make no bones about it: a corporation’s top priority is essentially to make money and please their shareholders – for them, the “bottom line” is priority one. Corporations are trying to make as much money as they can, and within the bounds of ethics. That is completely understandable.
However, for decades I feel corporations have sort of been lucking out, because an entry-level employee’s top priority was almost always to find an organization where they could find stability, cover their loans, and provide for, or begin to build, their young families. It’s a sweeping generalization, but for a long time the element of choice was very limited. It resulted in employees securing an employment opportunity, and steadfastly holding onto it.
Generations of Americans knew that if they switched jobs, they’d likely have to start climbing the corporate ladder all over again, and in the grand scheme of things, that would only set them back. Corporate America saw these generations as loyal, but it was loyalty by default – there simply weren’t better alternatives.
As we know, the age of digital interconnectivity has broken down all sorts of walls, and the above example is no exception. Priorities have changed. Corporations still want to maximize the bottom line, but entry-level employees are no longer seeking stability. Our parents provided for us and made great sacrifices to do so. We know, because we’ve seen it first hand. Those sacrifices have given us the luxury to look beyond the bottom line.
We can move home, we’ve been able to avoid steep debt, and we know our time here is finite. We can access a thousand job listings online that we qualify for, so if we hate our job, we’ll eventually find a better one. What we’re really seeking is quality of life. This was not always a plausible top priority, but in today’s day and age, it is. This is the new loyalty.
Is my old housemate from junior year disloyal? He left a Big 4 accounting firm after only a year on the job to become a firefighter. He was disillusioned. I’d argue he is far more loyal than those that work jobs they dislike, only to be promoted to a new job they dislike, in an endless pursuit of the almighty dollar.
Loyalty to yourself and your loved ones – making the best of the time we have here – is the new top priority. If that means latching onto an entry-level job and staying with that organization until the day you retire in order to make ends meet and provide for your loved ones, then that is what it means. But more often than not, this is simply not the case for Millennials, and corporate America is slowly adjusting.
It may sound idealistic to those supporting families, but if you place yourself in the shoes of a 23 year old, with modest student loans and no dependents, maybe it isn’t so crazy to value your time over your money. It is very likely that past generations share the exact same priorities that Millennials have, but had much less ability to act on them when they entered the workforce.
If corporate America wants to view Generation Y as disloyal, then they will, but if you ask me, we’re as loyal as any generation to come before us. It’s just that quality of life is what we value the most. We all define that differently, but that is the new loyalty, and more than any generation to come before us, we have the opportunity to make it our top priority.
Raymond, I felt compelled to read this post, especially because it’s one of those issues that comes up time and time again when I speak about personal branding.
As gen-y’ers move from job to job, it will force HR to reconsider their own branding (employment branding). They will have to work harder to keep us loyal and apart of their organizations for a longer duration. From compensation to benefits to making us feel special, unique and privileged, they will have to recognize us as a different entity and adjust their techniques.
I’ve already switched jobs 10 times and I’m only 24. I’ve read research reports that show people changing jobs between 10-20 times on average in their careers. Companies will have to redefine their HR functions and promote talent, not policies.
I tend to not have much time to comment anymore, but you really did an excellent job here.
I’m starting to hear from friends who have been offered full rides to graduate school if they promise to stay with the company for 3-5 years out. This provides a tough decision, because anyone serious about going to graduate school sees this as a must seize upon opportunity. These corporations still have no idea what we are looking for, and are clearly trying to get us pigeonholed. You would think commitments like this aren’t in their best interests because we may become lackadaisical and unmotivated with whatever position we are now stuck in.
Who will be the first companies to really figure out what it is we are looking for?
I think the distinction I make is that I am far more loyal to people than I am to a corporation. I knew my manager took a risk hiring me for my first corporate job, and so I felt compelled to stick with the general time frames that we had been talking when I was hired. A year to be xxx, another 6-9 months for yyy, living happily ever after.
But when her boss, someone I had respected greatly left, and then the manager who hired me left, I felt much less obligation to the company to stay for any definitive amount of time because my primary tie was to the people, not the company. I think that is the distinguishing factor. Like you said, I don’t think anyone is any less loyal today, it’s just to different people instead of the almighty corporation.
Who will be the first companies to really figure out what it is we are looking for?
I have found many that offer a great deal of what I am looking for, I think the biggest point is that no longer is there one formula that works for an entire generation. It isn’t one size fits all. Like you mentioned, companies that pay entirely (or forgive) grad school debt contingent on xx amount of years are exactly what some people are looking for, others couldn’t care less. Some want to work remotely, some don’t care. If anything, the goal will continue to be to find a company that offers options as opposed to deciding between roles that are cookie cutters, in all different shapes and sizes…we apparently all want to make our own.
@Dan- I completely agree, I feel that organizations that realize there is a fundamental difference between most of their employees and their GenY employees, and dramatically adjust their strategies accordingly, will be the ones to succeed… Corporations that realize (and clearly demonstrate to their young employees) that their human capital is their most important resource will be the ones to thrive… Also, the talent vs. policies notion is right on and ties in directly with Matt’s comment..
@Matt- That’s a great example of the disconnect companies and millennials experience- Locking us into a commitment to ensure we don’t leave for X years is a band aid over a bullet wound in terms of increasing retention. At the heart of the issue, the organization is still no closer to actually relating to, or engaging, their new hires… getting grad school paid for by an employer can be a great perk, but that organization should probably invest a portion of the graduate school money into trying to figure out how to create a more genuinely engaging work environment… Pinning down a young person into a long term commitment is risky, and I agree with you- the policy could easily result in a bunch of disengaged employees counting the days until their 3-5 years are up.
As far as ‘Who will be the first companies to really figure out what it is we are looking for?’
I think it will be the Googles of the world leading the way (as they are), and young, newly formed, or yet to be formed companies that will take it to a new level, and innovate traditional corporate hierarchy in ways we are yet to hear of.
I agree with you, Nathan, I think this is kind of like cable TV- we’re getting infinitely more choice, and while there is still no perfect channel… TV is gradually getting better. People want the element of choice, and even if you can’t find ’something you love to do’, we still want to feel like more than another set of hands on the assembly line… the more options and freedom that an organization provides its people, the better their chances of retaining employees from any generation.
I completely disagree with this posting. It is the requirement of the candidate or employee NOT employer to comply with requirements of the business. Not the other way around.
Every generation wants to do it their way… They all believe the older generations screwed up the environment or some other institution and they will be required to “clean it up”. They never want to “pay their dues” for a job.
Gen WHY candidates today will find themselves working in the highly demanding service industry or domestic care professions with this attitude.
Grow up… Step up… Shut up… and do the damn job.
Raymond, thanks for the insightful article. I see a lot of corporations starting to meet their employees halfway, by offering telecommuting options and other kinds of work-life balance flexibility. It’s a welcome trend for every working generation.
@ Dan Schawbel:
As gen-y’ers move from job to job, it will force HR to reconsider their own branding (employment branding). They will have to work harder to keep us loyal and apart of their organizations for a longer duration. From compensation to benefits to making us feel special, unique and privileged, they will have to recognize us as a different entity and adjust their techniques.
“The War for Talent” notwithstanding (especially since people aren’t retiring at the rate once expected, partly because they can no longer afford to), I see another, easier option here for modern corporations: just wait it out. Within 10 years, much of GenY is going to have spouses, mortgages and children, and the same low tolerance for financial risk that comes with those things.
I’ve already switched jobs 10 times and I’m only 24.
Congratulations; you must be either very talented or in a very specialized field. But I’m sure I don’t need to point out that, for the rest of us, this kind of job-hopping is going to raise eyebrows in HR. It makes us look like a “flight risk”. Talent acquisition is a long, expensive, and exhausting process that nobody wants to do more than once for the same position if it can be avoided. I don’t know that most of us have a value proposition to offer that can outweigh the risk that HR is going to imagine.
I’m a boomer and it seems to me that Gen Y has the right idea about loyalty. Given their closeness with their parents, I’d say that they are as a generation very loyal to the right relationships.
Loyalty should be to people and ideas not to organizations. Organizations deserve our professionalism but when you’re talking about loyalty, you’re really talking about relationships. Trying to carry on a relationship with an organization is doing a disservice both to the organization and the individual. When people say things like “I’ve given 30 years of my life to this company and look at the way it is treating me.” I have to scratch my head.
We boomers could learn a lot about what loyalty is from Gen Y.
Again, I’m struck with the idea that this isn’t so much a difference betwen Gen-Y and other generations, as a difference between old and young.
Perhaps the REAL difference with Gen-Y is that they stay ‘young’ for so long. 50 years ago, that 23-year old with modest college loan would have already been married with a kid on the way. 30 years ago, he might still be foot loose and fancy-free, but would probably have a few more years before he thought about getting married (probably because all his friends had).
So maybe it’s just that people are staying ‘young’ and unattached for a longer period of time, which makes them more likely to job-hop and follow their dreams.
Bill, I’m sensing some hateration and bitterness in your game. Not all jobs are for all people. Leaving an unhappy position is better than remaining loyal to a company that you no longer feel pride in.
I’m also a Boomer and have seen how too much work can dent the family dynamic for the sake of adhering to a warped corporate culture. It’s that type of culture that can cause a hard-working parent to sacrifice quality family time merely to get work done. No doubt that has left indelible impressions on Gen Y, especially those who have seen “work or family” battles end in divorces or who have seen parents beset with work-induced health problems.
I agree with my fellow Boomer J.J. that Gen Y has the right idea about loyalty and how relationships are more deserving of loyalty than organizations. For the most part, I would argue that it’s the relationships and the pursuit of personal goals that sustain today’s workers, rather than organizations that try to build loyalty with empty “rah rah” rallies. Build a workplace that thrives on ideas, create meaningful roles that give workers a sense of accomplishment and upward career mobility - and they will come. If you don’t, they won’t stay too long.
Thanks for the coments!
@BILL- I know you’re not alone with that sentiment, but I disagree, and feel corporations should be extremely careful about employing that strategy. I’d say that employers that hang their hats on that school of thought will end up getting phased out by attracting increasingly lower caliber entry talent, as the most successful organizations continue devoting resources to finding (and catering to) the top talent available.
@JJ and Rick- I agree with all, but especially about personal relationships.. they are core motivators for us.
@Scott- I enjoyed your point about young vs old, and I believe you are 100% accurate about the delayed adulthood phenomenon…. staying young and unattached longer than past generations is at the core of the issue and I know that it rings true for me- in many cases it allows us to stay loyal to our dreams, and seeing as being an entry level employee rarely ever resembles our dreams, it leads directly to job hopping, entrepreneurship, etc… i.e. a “lack of loyalty”.
- to Bill
My guess is you just got promoted to manager after 10 years of stapling papers and creating TPS reports.
Now your just bitter because you realize you have been a coward for not quitting a job you hate for the last 10 years. Look on the bright side… atleast you get to play Napolean for the next five years and boss people around for the hell of it just to feel some self worth.
Cheers,
Jut
There is another aspect to loyalty to a cooperation then GenY has learned. I know this is a common statement, and my father observed it about being in the Army during WWII: Loyalty only goes up the echelons, it never comes back down.
I so agree with JJ. Can I add something?
Having just had a conversation with a client( also a “Boomer” - I love the words you Americans use in this area!) who has been struggling to find a way to disengage with their employer we agreed that when what you want to do and what your employer wants you to do don’t fit any more - move on. eg From accountant trainee to firefighter ! And say that’s why it is.
In this case, I believe, it’s not about the engagement with manager and colleagues but with the “task”.
Thanks for all the comments everyone.
@Carl- At the risk of asking a dumb question, could you (or another reader familiar with the saying) explain what you mean by ‘Loyalty only goes up the echelons, it never comes back down.’ Thanks in advance, I even tried googling that one.
I think as senior leaders, we have to be careful about labeling Gen Y as disloyal. Many of the companies who are doing a great job with young talent retention understand that Gen Y does not necessarily leave a company, but they leave a boss who makes life difficult, or they leave a stagnant environment. The Gen Y’s who are sticking with a company are doing so because they continue to be offered multiple opportunities to learn, grow and “build out their career”. They stay, because the companies offer flexibility, the opportunity to rotate around the company (Intuit has a great 3-year rotational program for Gen Y), the chance to take time off to do volunteer work and the opportunity to network with top leaders in the company.
I think also that it will be important for more experienced leaders to really look closely at their assumptions about their brand and the way work is being done. If you are branding your company based on employee recruitment and retention strategies from the 70’s and 80’s, even the 90’s, then it’s time to start looking at how you are branding your company to attract and then keep Gen Y. Are you cool, clean and hip? Are you offering Gen Y the opportunity to do service work in your community? Does your brand to your external customers match up with what is going on inside your company? Gen Y is big on transparency, and they want to know that your message to the public is matching up with what is going on inside your organization and they want to know without any fluff or hype what they can expect once they actually walk into the doors of your company.
So, if you are someone who has the word “Chief”, “President” or “Vice President” in your title, and you are losing Gen Y talent, my question to you is “What are you doing or not doing to keep Gen Y talent around?” Sit down and take the time to answer this question, and test your assumptions about what really attracts and keeps Gen Y around. You may just be surprised at what comes up for you.