Survey shows millennials are being pushed into new jobs due to lack of challenges

THEY have a reputation for job hopping and leaving employers in the lurch and a new survey finds out nearly 60 per cent of young workers want a change.

THEY have a reputation for job hopping and leaving employers in the lurch — but all Millennials and Generation Y workers really are after is to be challenged.

Employers hesitant about giving young, inexperienced staff a go, often for fear of investing time and money in training then losing them to another employer, may want to look at what they are doing wrong to push them away.

A ManpowerGroup Solutions survey finds more than half (59 per cent) of Australian millennials are actively looking for their next job.

General manager Sue Howse said in contrast to popular theory, moving around was not being driven by a hunt for a better pay cheque.

“If an employer is not meeting a candidate’s expectations or aspirations for advancement, it is likely they will actively look for the next opportunity,” she said.

She said employers did not need to promote staff unnecessarily but provide continuous education, present career pathways and offer mentoring.

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Leadership Management Australia strategy and growth executive director Andrew Henderson said there had been a big disparity between what young workers wanted and what they were being given by their boss.

“We had a lot of feedback that Gen X and Baby Boomers felt that Gen Y didn’t want to listen to them, but when we went out and surveyed Generation Y, one of the things they craved the most was the opportunity to be mentored in the workplace and developed,” he said.

“Employers of choice, or employers wanting to retain staff, were those that adapted a mentor approach.

“Where they were tapping into many years of experience and making young staff feel valued in their roles, they actually retained the Gen Ys for a longer period of time.”

Mr Henderson said young staff used to immediate feedback in a technological world wanted regular feedback and communication at work, whether it was what they were doing wrong or right.

The same rules applied whether employers were running a small business or a large corporation.

“It isn’t that they don’t want to learn and they don’t want to listen, it was just that they needed to be consistently challenged in their role,” he said.

“Whether small or large, they are looking at what the organisation offers to them in terms of an opportunity.”

MILLENIALS NEED A SUPPORTIVE WORKFORCE

Hayley Clavell, with Britney Eastwood, 17 and Jaymes Ryan, 19, at Re-Engage Youth Services, said the organisation gave her support which is essential in a first-time job. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

IT does not take lavish office lunchrooms, big bonuses or perks such as an onsite masseur to keep millennial and Generation Y workers engaged — just a supportive work environment.

That is what Re-Engage Youth Services tries to encourage employers it works with to achieve.

The not-for-profit organisation works to get young people employed but also tries to practice what it preaches with its own staff, and this year ranked sixth in the national Great Place to Work list of organisations with less than 100 employees.

Partnership development co-ordinator Carolyn Habib said as a charity, it did not have big budgets to give staff tangible perks so instead focused on the work culture.

“We are really committed to delivering the best outcomes to young people and believe in an organisation that supports staff the best way possible, so they can go above and beyond in the community,” she said.

“We have team lunches, professional development opportunities, and we do have policies, such as a ‘snooze or cruise’ policy — you can come in an hour late on your birthday, or leave an hour early.

“When businesses employ young staff, it’s really important they support them in different ways, even if it’s as little as creating a culture in which new staff and younger staff feel comfortable to ask questions and know there's no silly questions.

“These things make a massive difference for young workers who don’t have the experiences of older workers.”

She said it was also important to role model behaviour, for example, to be patient with staff if they are required to have patience when providing customer service.

Case manager Hayley Clavell, 20, did her student placement at Re-Engage Youth Services then temporary work at the organisation before being hired full time in August.

“There’s so much support. For me, it’s a really big thing because it's my first fulltime job,” she said.

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Originally published as Survey shows millennials are being pushed into new jobs due to lack of challenges