Today there are over 80 million Millennials in the US only, and by 2020, they will form 50% of the global workforce. If you’re a manager today, it’s already critical that you understand what makes this digital-native generation tick.

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Ambition, lack of patience, need for purpose, and work-life balance are just a few of their unique characteristics. Not to mention Millennials are the first digital-native generation, and that alone makes them a lot different from their predecessors.

The managers and companies who will not adapt their culture for Millennials will be missing out on a huge opportunity.

For that, we put together a set of statistics that describe the habits, aspirations, and values that govern a typical Millennial’s life.

Technology is a way of life

75% have a profile on a social networking site and 20% post videos of themselves online. (US Chamber of Commerce)

Millennials are 2.5 times more likely to be early adopters of technology than previous generations.

Millennial’s main sources for news are television (65%) and the Internet (59%). Lagging behind are newspapers (24%) and radio (18%). (US Chamber of Commerce)

Millennials are always text ready. 80% of them sleep with their phone next to the bed. (US Chamber of Commerce)

41% say they prefer to communicate electronically at work than face to face, or even over the telephone.

Millennials routinely make use of their own technology at work and three-quarters believe that access to technology makes them more efficient on the job. (pwc.com)

Work is very important, but money isn’t everything

This generation is committed to personal learning and development and this remains the first choice benefit they expect from employers.

As shown in the graph below, one in five Millennials (22%) believe that training and development are more valuable benefits than actual cash bonuses. Only 14% place money on top of their benefits list.

Millennials have a strong appetite for working overseas and 71% expect and want to do an overseas assignment during their career.

This is great news for many employers looking for global growth.

Work-life balance is equally important. That’s why Millennials find it perfectly alright to work from a remote location. Because they are tech-savvy, 21% actually envision themselves using instant communication solutions to stay in touch with the rest of the team while they work from different locations.

Always on the lookout for new jobs

The fact that Millennials are job-hoppers is not a myth.

In fact, 60% of millennials are open to different job opportunities.

According to a Gallup research, only 29% of Millennials feel engaged at work, meaning they are emotionally and behaviorally connected to their job and company.

21% of millennials report changing jobs within the last year, which is more than three times the number of non-millennials who report the same.

Food for thought

Every generation has its own characteristics, shaped by the economic, political and social context they experienced. Whether millennials are entirely different from previous generations is somewhat unimportant in the end. They are here and they will represent more than half of the workforce in just a few years from now.

For a business, this only means one thing – it’s an opportunity if you know how to handle it. Work hard to understand their needs and what makes them tick to attract and foster the best of them. And it’s never been easier to do that because Millennials are by far the most studied cohort in history. This article just scratches the surface and there is so much more data out there. So be curious.

Or as Steve Jobs used to say: “Stay hungry, stay foolish!” And bring your team to Hubgets 😉