People born between 1980 and 2000, best known as millennials, are the workforce of the future. Millennials in the workplace make up 35% of the total US workforce, and they’re just beginning to conquer the work market. Millennials tend to be the most promising team members and young managers, since they’ve grown up in a mobile, technology-centric environment.
Despite their view that the traditional 9–5, cubicle-dwelling work setting is outdated, millennials still appreciate some traditional values. Keep reading to find out what those values are and how millennials are the future.
But first, take a look at some interesting figures:
The Top 10 Essential Statistics on Millennials in the Workplace
- Close to 90% of millennials want to grow their careers in their current companies.
- Almost a quarter of millennials, at 24%, have already had 5 employers.
- On average, millennials work 42 hours per week.
- About 50% of millennials say that an on-site gym would make them more active.
- Since 2013, there has been a 47% increase in diagnoses of major depression among millennials.
- Working remotely is very important for 75% of millennials, according to statistics on millennials in the workplace show.
- Only 48% of millennials think they’re paid an appropriate wage.
- Only 25% of workers have an opportunity to expand on their financial education.
- Close to 50% of millennials have quit a job due to mental health issues.
- Due to treatment costs, 54% of millennials have at some point in their lives avoided or postponed a visit to a doctor.
Stats on the Engagement and Loyalty of Millennials in the Workforce
1. About 38% of young workers quit their job because of a coworker.
(HR Dive)
Research has confirmed that negative people make the worst coworkers. Most often, they decrease morale for the whole team, and their negative attitude reduces other employees’ productivity. This is a leading reason why people aged 18–25 leave their jobs—and note that women are more likely than men to leave a job for this reason.
2. Millennial statistics show that close to 50% of them would leave a job that doesn’t offer them any learning opportunities.
(Docebo)
Today’s employees feel that they’re unqualified, undertrained, and undersupported. More than 59% of all surveyed workers in the US and UK claim that they feel much happier in their workplace when they have the opportunity to learn something new, improve their skills, and grow.
3. Receiving recognition would keep approximately 79% of Gen Z-ers and millennials in the workplace.
(HR Dive)
The two most important workforce generations are greatly dissatisfied with their jobs. However, even the smallest increase in recognition would keep them in the workplace longer. When they get recognition, they too become better at recognizing a job well done—and thus provide better-quality work.
4. Close to 90% of millennials want to grow their careers in their current places of employment.
(Bridge)
The lay-off culture has trained millennials to extend their loyalty across a matter of months, not years. However, as the statistics about millennials in the workplace report, good development opportunities will keep them loyal to a company. Millennials aren’t satisfied with big paychecks only—they want to learn new skills, grow, and become leaders.
5. About 40% of millennials say that they’ve accepted one job offer over another because they appreciated the company’s efforts toward sustainability.
(HR Dive)
Additionally, another 70% say that a company’s sustainability efforts would affect their decision to stay in a job long-term. Millennial employees want to be sure that the company they work for respects, values, and promotes a clear social and environmental agenda. Some millennials are even ready to work for lesser pay if the employer is environmentally friendly and socially responsible.
6. Almost a quarter of millennials, at 24%, have already had 5 employers.
(O.C. Tanner)
Millennials who often change job positions feel stressed out, underutilized, stagnant, and bored at work. This becomes repetitive—they find a new job, feel unhappy and unappreciated, find another one, and repeat.
Millennials in the Workplace: Statistics on Career Goals
7. On average, millennials work 42 hours per week.
(CommercialCafe)
Even though millennials work slightly less than Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers, who work an average of 43 hours per week, they still feel dissatisfied with their work-life balance. One study concluded that shortening the workweek increases workers’ motivation, as well as their productivity.
8. Over 74% of the younger workforce wants to have an opportunity for international experience.
(NSHSS)
A survey about millennials in the workplace from 2018 revealed that besides having a good work-life balance, and shorter work hours, millennials also appreciate opportunities for travel and working with global clients and colleagues. Additionally, 24% of them would like to travel for work within the United States.
9. About 50% of millennials say that an on-site gym at work would help them become more active.
(CommercialCafe)
Workplace amenities are meant to make workers’ lives easier and help them relax. However, a small portion of millennials in the workplace noted in 2019 that this may also make them stay at work longer, blurring the work-life line even further.
10. Only 48% of millennials think they’re paid an appropriate wage.
(Comparably)
People in their 40s and 50s are the most content with their pay, while millennials have the lowest wage satisfaction rate among all age groups. As a note, some positions include bonuses on top of a base salary. Interestingly, a study into millennials in the workplace verified research showing that older millennials, workers aged 31 to 35, receive bonuses double those earned by younger millennials aged 26 to 30.
11. When surveyed, more than 40% of millennials said they didn’t expect to remain in their jobs for more than another 2 years.
(Balance Careers)
Less than 30% of millennials want to be in the same position for more than five years. To help keep these millennials in your workforce, note that one study discovered that millennials value companies offering diverse management teams. In fact, the millennials’ generation has statistics showing that they count more people who identify as multiracial than any other generation.
12. Around 26% of millennials want their companies to offer daycare options on site.
(CommercialCafe)
The struggle with a work-life balance, financial instability, and the lack of paid family leave has persuaded millennials to wait longer to start a family and have fewer children in general. Having a daycare on site would greatly improve their work-life balance, and 53% of them would even accept a pay cut in exchange for more free time.
How to Keep Millennials in the Workplace
13. Potential leadership opportunities are crucial for 55% of the millennials searching for a new job.
(HR Daily Advisor)
When surveyed, millennials with less than two years’ professional experience said that the opportunity to gain new work experience and develop leadership skills was essential when accepting a job offer. Moreover, 63% of millennials want a job with an employer that will provide them with various training programs, workshops, and company-funded postgraduate schooling.
14. About 49% of millennials in the workplace say that new technologies would improve their job.
(PR Newswire)
In addition to this, more than 70% of millennials believe they don’t have enough skills to succeed in their industry. What’s more, 46% of them worry that changing the nature of their job would make it much harder to find a new position or change jobs.
15. The ability to work remotely is very important for 75% of millennials.
(Inc.)
One career essential for millennials is having an employer that trusts them. Put simply, working with millennials means being flexible. Companies need to give their employees more independence and demonstrate their trust by allowing said employees to work from home or remotely.
16. More than 75% of millennials appreciate when managers monitor their work and give feedback.
(HR Daily Advisor)
They believe that their performance is much better when their managers monitor their work, guide them, and intervene when necessary. Millennials have a great desire to learn so they can improve their performance. The percentage of millennials in the workforce who prefer frequent feedback is very high. 41% of them prefer weekly feedback, and 33% of millennials would appreciate feedback whenever they ask for it.
17. An astounding 90% of millennials believe that flexible working hours would boost their morale.
(BestCompaniesAZ)
A great number of millennials believes that a better work-life balance can be achieved easily. They don’t embrace everything a typical 9–5 job offers because millennials in the workforce believe they can work smarter and faster, they deserve to be rewarded with flexibility and the opportunity to work remotely.
18. Teamwork and collaboration among groups are essential for 74% of millennials.
(Inc.)
Social media and various collaborative tools are the norm for millennials, who’ve been raised surrounded by constant innovations in technology. Sharing their ideas with a team of coworkers and working in small groups are standard for almost three-quarters of working millennials.
Problems with Millennials in the Workplace
19. Millennial job hopping costs the US economy $30.5 billion every year.
(Gallup)
On a yearly basis, the US economy suffers great losses due to millennial job turnover, which is often the result of a lack of job engagement. Millennials are always on the lookout for new job opportunities, and changing jobs frequently is one of the main characteristics of this generation. According to several experts, this trend represents one of the main bad habits of millennials.
20. Around 41% of millennial workers prefer communicating electronically compared to face-to-face exchanges.
(Modo Labs)
Furthermore, they prefer this form of communication over talking on the phone. Millennials have very specific expectations about communication and technology in the workplace, which might be a problem for employers who want to communicate in a more direct manner.
21. Searching for documents feels like a waste of time for 38% of millennials.
(Wired)
Another of the possible problems with millennials in the workplace is that more than a third of them don’t see the value in completing mundane tasks like searching for documents, trying to find coworkers’ contact details, or finding out who has specific project details. The right technology can solve all of these tasks, which is why millennials want to spend their time performing more complex and fulfilling tasks.
(ZDNet)
Managing millennials in the workplace isn’t easy since another problem may be their use of unapproved collaboration tools. Moreover, 28% of employed millennials say that they use unapproved apps at work a few times a week, and 71% of them admit they use these apps at least a couple of times per year.
23. 57% of millennials consider traveling the world to be a major priority.
(Live Mint)
Priorities have greatly changed over the last few years, meaning benefits and a big salary aren’t at the top of the list anymore. When it comes to the earning power of millennials in the workforce, statistics show that making a lot of money was important to only 52% of them, while buying a home is a leading goal for 49%.
24. Just 55% of millennials believe that businesses have a positive impact on society as a whole.
(Business of Apps)
In addition to this, only 37% of millennials believe that business leaders have a positive impact on the world, and 26% believe that business leaders shouldn’t be considered a source of reliable information.
Problems Millennials Face in the Workplace
25. Millennials don’t earn enough money.
(Debt)
Even millennials who work full-time often take on extra work to cover their basic monthly needs. From blogging to babysitting, millennials have all kinds of side hustles, but it’s still not enough to cover their financial needs. Only 25% of them earn more than $500 a month from their second job.
26. Approximately 61% of millennials went to college.
(Best Work)
At first, this doesn’t sound like a problem, however, the latest millennial workforce trends show that a college diploma today means nearly the same as a high school diploma did just a few decades ago. The problem is that the number of better-educated people currently surpasses their demand, leaving 39% of those younger than 25 unemployed or underemployed.
27. Only 25% of workers have an opportunity to extend their financial education.
(Debt)
And yet, 71% of employees want their employer to offer financial planning services. For millennials in the workplace, recent articles reveal that only a quarter have the chance to improve their financial knowledge. One of the main reasons millennials aren’t investing outside of work is that they don’t know how to.
28. Approximately 2 in 5 millennials still owe money on their student loans.
(Best Work)
The overall student debt today is 2.5 times greater than it was in the previous decade. Research shows that at the end of June 2019, US students owed more than $1.3 trillion overall on their student loans.
Health and Millennials in the Workplace: Statistics and Facts
29. Close to 50% of millennials have quit a job due to mental health issues.
(CNBC)
A survey found that money and work are the greatest factors when it comes to millennials’ sources of stress. This has caused half of the millennials with employment to leave a job, both voluntarily and involuntarily. Younger generations are more aware of their mental health needs and are willing to put them before money and work.
30. Since 2013, there’s been a 47% increase in diagnoses of major depression among this generation, as statistics on millennials in the workplace show.
(Business Insider)
Today, many millennials feel sad, lonely, burned out, and desperate. Longer working hours, stagnant pay, and overall stress are all issues for this generation. Unfortunately, a great number of millennials can’t afford mental health therapy due to their low wages.
31. On average, millennials sleep for 9 hours per day.
(Washington Post)
We’ve already seen that millennials are among the generations that work the longest hours. However, they’re also the generation that sleeps the longest. Non-millennials, on the other hand, work less and sleep an average of 8.6 hours every night.
32. Female millennials have more health issues than males.
(Time)
Research into millennials in the workforce from 2019 shows that besides major depression, female millennials often suffer from type 2 diabetes, various endocrine conditions like thyroid problems, cardiovascular issues, and some types of cancer. These conditions have a number of causes, but one of the main ones is the stress brought on by financial insecurity.
33. Due to treatment costs, 54% of millennials have at some point in their lives avoided or postponed a visit to a doctor.
(teamhfa)
Millennials may trust doctors, but they also avoid them because their wages often don’t allow them to pay their physician a visit. A survey discovered that besides money, other reasons for avoiding a physician is the long wait for an appointment and fear of bad news.
The Bottom Line
As can be seen from these statistics, dealing with millennials in the workplace can sometimes be challenging due to some of their views and expectations. Millennials view companies in different ways than older generations do. Seeing what the layoff culture did to their parents, millennials don’t necessarily expect loyalty to last longer than a few months. Most importantly, they value their own mental health and happiness more than their job.
However, younger generations can be very traditional about things like fair benefits, good compensation for their work, the chance to grow and develop, and even opportunities to make friends in the workplace.
Although millennials in the workplace appreciate flexible and remote working hours more than the typical 9–5 cubicle job, they’re the future of the workforce. With their fresh ideas and willingness to continuously learn new things and upgrade their skills, they can help any company achieve success.
