Three reasons the Millennials may be right

Did you know that it costs 1.8 cents to make a penny, and 9.2 cents to make a nickel? That’s right. Apparently the rising costs of these not-so-precious metals make their production a money-losing proposition. That’s ridiculous!

I got that little tidbit from Spirit magazine’s October 2011 issue. Spirit is the magazine of Southwest Airlines that gets tucked into the seatback pockets on the plane – right next to Sky Mall, the magazine with all those cool toys. (I’ve learned to stick to Spirit so I can avoid the peril of ever speaking words that sound like, “I’d like to order the Ginsu knife please.”)

I like to think that an organization’s investment in its people and the people’s investment in the organization is more give and take than the penny or nickel ratios mentioned above. Those ratios are too lopsided for the symbiotic relationship necessary for an organization AND its people to grow.

I read an article the other day (if you follow me on Twitter @cruze24, you might have seen it) that talked about how Millennials are turning corporate culture on its head. This has been coming for a while, but I think the pace of change is going to accelerate because more and more Millennials are joining the workforce every day.

The big three for the Millennials are:

1. Work is Personal – You know the old saying, “Do what you love and you’ll never work another day in your life.” Find something you want to do and that you’re good at, and do that.
2. Work is Life – You’ve probably heard me say that work-life balance is becoming a thing of the past. It’s the 21^st century. We have our work tools with us all the time; let us work when we want to. That’s work-life integration.
3. Open Culture – Keeping your opinions to yourself sucks when you feel you have something to contribute – have the freedom to say it! An author I read a lot (W.E.B. Grffin) trumpets an old military SOP that general officers solicit the opinions of subordinates before they offer their own so that they get honest feedback. That’s a good idea.

The workplace the Millennials anticipate is a real break from the traditional workplace of the past; the one we’re all really trying to break free from. After all, who wants someone constantly looking over their shoulder? How about the concept of face time is quality time? Antiquated. The real measure of quality time is productivity. What are you accomplishing? Not, “what time did you come in?” And, “what time did you leave?”

Another real break is one you’ve probably heard me trumpet (ad nauseam?): Open Culture. Yep, Millennials want to have the freedom to express themselves without fear of reprisals. Duh! We all want that, don’t we? Haven’t we always? Well there’s no time like the present – go Millennials! (and take the rest of us with you!)

The Millennials are getting a bad rap in some circles as the entitlement generation, but it’s starting to sound more and more like sour grapes. They’re just demanding the things we all wish we’d had all along.

As it turns out, we may have as much to learn from the Millennials as they do from us. They’re willing to invest in the organization that’s willing to invest in them, but it can’t be a 2-1 ratio like the pennies and nickels.

What’s your two cents?