Millennials want what women want

Attended a reception at the Asia Society in NYC Thursday night to celebrate publication of the Harvard Business Review article, 'How Gen Y & Boomers Will Reshape Your Agenda,' (http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/07/how-gen-y--boomers-will-reshape-your-agenda/ar/1) by my colleagues at CWLP, the Center for Work-Life Policy (http://www.worklifepolicy.org/).

The article, and the research that backs it, (http://www.worklifepolicy.org/index.php/section/research_pubs#278) reveals the millennial generation in a whole new light. Rather than the spoiled, flaky, self-absorbed kids who don't want to buckle down, commit to their employers or their professions, and get serious, the Center's research shows them to be dedicated and enthusiastic about their work and, dare I say it, much SANER than the ambitious members of previous generations.

Millennials want their work to be stimulating and challenging; they don't want to stagnate. They want work to bring out their creativity, use and respect their technological sophistication, and, most notably from my perspective, they want work to play an important but not overwhelming role in their lives. They want room for their hobbies and other interests. They're strongly committed to service and giving back to their communities. They don't want to work those 'extreme jobs' that require 24/7 on-call global commitment--or if they do now, they don't want to make the sacrifices those jobs require (health, diet, sleep, sex, social lives) indefinitely. They want flexible schedules and the freedom to work from home sometimes. They want to interrupt the forward-momentum of their careers once in a while, take breaks to travel, enhance or acquire new skills, focus intensively on their causes, and participate fully in raising their kids. They want balance.

Strikingly, the research shows that many Boomers, on the verge of retirement, want pretty much the same things. After flat-out, full speed ahead, 70-hour-a-week careers, Boomers want to power down--and find a little more balance in their lives too.

Or, as Horacio Rozanski, a partner and chief personnel officer at Booz Allen Hamilton, a long-time member of CWLP's Hidden Brain Drain task force, and panel member that night, said, "Now EVERYONE wants what women want." In the new, saner workplace of tomorrow, desiring a little balance in one's life, wanting flexibility and the freedom to work remotely, will no longer be a women's issue, or restricted to the mothers of small children. Organizations will need to develop good work-life balance benefits not simply to satisfy the diversity police but to woo and retain the best and brightest of the young generation entering the workplace. A stunning change, and one that bodes well for the culture of business and the competitiveness of our global organizations--if they get the message.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/15/work-life-balance-forbes-woman-leadership-flextime.html

http://workexposedblog.com/2009/01/08/can-you-engage-the-millennials-in-work/