Millennials sometimes get a bad rap. They allegedly end industries, one of them being diamonds and cereal. They are also known for job-hopping and lacking loyalty in their companies. Unlike their parents, they are struggling to acquire a house and start a family—hence, the obsession with plants and spending so much on their pets.
Having born in the age of technology and information and living through climate change, Millennials are an interesting generation. They may not be able to complete a purchase with a letting agent, but they are already changing the landscape of the workplace. Their attitude towards work reflects in their work preferences and entrepreneurial tendencies.
Millennials in the Workplace
Generally speaking, most people work for money. Millennials are very much subject to this with 70 percent of them are trying to pay off one long-term debt and 30 percent have two or more. However, for millennials, work is more than just paying the bills.
76 percent of millennials prefer earning less from a job that they love over a high-paying job they do not like. Millennials seek meaning in their work to gain a sense of fulfillment from it. Aside from this, 77 percent of millennials enjoy flexibility at work because it makes them more productive. Most of all, despite their “lazy” reputation, millennials love the challenge of career opportunities and advancement.
Millennial Businesses: Startups
The demands of millennials in the workplace can be solved by one thing: a startup. As defined by Investopedia, a startup is a “young company founded…to develop a unique product or service and bring it to market.” 22 percent of millennials think this is the path to career advancement.
Millennials do want to start their own businesses. 66 percent of millennials have this as their goal in the search of finding better job security. They have big goals for their business, as 41 percent want their business to grow with 22.2% of millennial entrepreneurs borrowed money from Fundera to support expansion.
This interest in entrepreneurship stems from the generation’s access to unlimited information via the Internet. Hence, giving them an awareness of the vast amount of choices they have in this lifetime.
The Internet has also made it easier to start a business. For example, you can set up an online shop just by making an Instagram account, like the top 20 entrepreneurs in this generation–all having an Internet-based service. Because paying advertisements for social media can be done in one, two, three, marketing becomes easier as well.
The Millennial Entrepreneur
0.22 percent of millennials begin their businesses in each month. On average, millennials being their entrepreneurship at the age of 27 which is earlier than boomer who started their first businesses at 35 years old.
Because these people want to find meaning and purpose in what they do, 87 percent use the change that they bring to the world as their basis for success. Compared to older generations, millennials lead the charts for philanthropy. 80 percent of millennial entrepreneurs place significance on altruism, donating an average of $13,654 annually, as of 2017.
Despite the financial struggles, this generation is willing to risk incurring more debt to pave the way for business growth. In fact, 43 percent sought funding to finance their companies, incurring an average of $44,729 in financial funding.
Why Choose a Startup?
The preference of a startup commonly starts from the attitude of millennials towards work. Where they reject a strict 9-to-5, startups offer flexibility. It is things like this that encourage millennials to work for smaller companies.
Startups are typically lax in their culture. Some do not even require a dress code, and some provide toys in the workplace. Jobs with a work-from-home nature have flexible time schedules which allow employees to manage their time according to their own lifestyle.
The office layout is also a little different. Because they are only starting out, offices do not have the privilege of space for individual desks. Thus, startups incorporate an open layout that encourages discussion and collaboration between employees.
When the millennials are bosses, they have a preference and the fluency for technology. This increases the efficiency in the workplace because, in the 21st century, there’s an app for everything. Communication is sped up via chat and file transfers are made easier through drives.
A little grain of salt, though, since startups are just starting out, the pay may not be competitive. They are also prone to closure, as 90 percent of them do not survive. The decision is still yours. Weigh the risks and rewards. You might find yourself enjoying your stay in a small company or a corporation. Both are valid, and both can pay the bills.
