The New Loyalty

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.

The Millennial Mindset: Products of Our Environment

I am 23 years old, and for myself and the rest of Generation Y, the 'flat' world and the age of complete digital interconnectivity was a trial by fire. And we didn't even know it. We simply evolved with it.

I was born and raised in Orange County in upstate New York, and in my house I was the one (not my parents) who would try to fix the PC, wait on hold for 25 minutes and then speak to an Indian providing Dell tech support. I'd write an essay and 'chat' with 7 friends at once on Instant Messenger while my parents would tie up the house line for hours to speak to seven of theirs. When my family bought a cell phone I was 15, and it quickly became all mine because I was the one using it all the time. Ask any Gen-Yer and chances are they will relate through similar experiences.

This is the key disconnect behind employers' inability to engage (and retain) Gen-Y. We grew up in a world completely unlike that of our bosses or older co-workers.

Sure, there are boomers out there that are 100 times more technically savvy than I will ever be – Bill Gates is not a bad example – but that isn't the point. The point is that our ENTIRE generation grew up when technology was ubiquitous, not just some of us.

Exceptional boomers and Gen-Xers led the technology revolution, but Gen-Y has come to define it – Generation Y evolved with the flat world, every other generation just reacted to it. Until Generation Y began entering the workforce, the same thing was true of Corporate America – there was plenty of reaction and very little evolution.

The truth is that our generation has the greatest appreciation for the nature of today's working world; ironically, my support for this lies in the assertion that we are the least aware of how dramatically the world has changed over the last twenty years. We didn't notice and react to these changes – we grew up and evolved with them.

While older generations have continually adjusted, the application of technology in a millennial's everyday life is intrinsic; it is second nature for us to look for ways to 'work smarter.' Ours is the first generation that has had the opportunity to grow up with technology, and we are making the most of it. This is why we are currently smack dab in the middle of an 'Employee Evolution.'

Furthermore, we were never a part of the way things were before technology took over and a global workforce emerged, so don't expect us to behave the way past generations have. If a company can outsource our job or get a computer to do it, they eventually will, and we know it. Therefore, as boomers retire and tens of millions of millennials pour into the workforce, the status quo will continue to rapidly change and we will continue to job hop, network, emphasize 'work/life balance', move home for a time after college, work smarter (not harder), be entrepreneurial and all-in-all further decentralize Corporate America.

The fact is that this instability simply doesn't bother us as much as it does the older generations, and it isn't going to change – Corporate America is.

With that said, let's once and for all dispel this "I was the same way when I was your age" mentality. If the sentiments found on Employee Evolution sound similar to sentiments of past generations of young adults that is because they inevitably are, but there is certainly far more to the story than youthful rebellion.

Without a doubt, it is true that we 'have it easier' than any of the previous generations to enter the workforce. Such is the baggage of progress – rarely do the main beneficiaries fully appreciate how it 'used to be.'

What is important to note this time around, however, is the extent of the recent progress. Generation Y has grown up in a flat world, where technology has revolutionized the fundamental ways in which we interact and communicate with the people around us. It is the only world we have ever known.

As we enter the workforce, of course concessions will be made – we'll do work we don't like, adjust to management that doesn't relate well with us and 'tolerate' the working world in general. But at the end of the day, nobody will be able to change the fundamental ways in which we learned to interact with the world around us. Nothing will change the way we were socialized.

Therefore, as past generations have done, we will continue to innovate and progress, continue trying to improve Corporate America and the world in which we live, but the only difference this time is that we have far more power to affect change than any generation before us (thanks, technology).

We lucked out, and were born at a time when high-tech innovation leveled the playing field. As a result, there should be no resentment towards older/younger individuals, no matter what generation you are a part of. This is an age of opportunity for all of us.

Ten years ago there was no 'blogosphere', and people such as Ryan Paugh and Ryan Healy didn't have a place to make their voices heard to the world. Today they do, and they are taking full advantage. They are perfect examples of what is going on with our generation as a whole, and eventually we will all, from the associate to the CEO, benefit from the changes happening in today's working world.

We, Generation Y, are products of our environment. Technology has empowered us, but it has also empowered us all. We can, and are, changing the working world for the better. Let's embrace this power and together, continue to push the Employee Evolution forward.