By Gemma Major
Chair and co-founder of Seed Waikato
We know young people are providing major disruption to businesses, and by 2020 millennials will make up the majority of the workforce in Aotearoa.
With the rise of the gig-economy and job dissatisfaction among millennials, employers are experiencing high levels of young staff turnover rate, with 43 percent of millennials leaving their workplace within two years at an estimated cost to employers of $25,000-$50,000.
Not all of the disruption is positive.
Gemma Major says by 2020 millennials will make up the majority of the workforce.
Millennials are the largest generation on living record. Half of Aotearoa is under 35, and here in Waikato 16 percent of the population is aged 18-30. In Hamilton city that rate is even higher at 23 percent. As with each generation, millennials face significant challenges, and you only have to look at our horrific youth suicide rates to see how significant our mental health crisis is.
And as with each generation, millennials hold powerful possibilities. They’re purpose-driven, tech-savvy, big on sharing-economies (like AirBnB and Uber), collaborative, flexible and great problem solvers. Spending is a form of activism for young people. They’re choosing to support social or environmental issues through their purchases or products and services that do good, but also solve a problem for them. We’re told 80 percent of innovation happens before the age of 30, and with mentorship, community, resilience and agency, young people can thrive.
And that’s why we exist. Seed Waikato want to see millennials claim back their mental health. We wants to create online education tools for millennials to succeed in the workplace. We want to create a place that they can call home, that they can belong, and that they can share ideas. We want to upskill millennials so that they become great problem solvers, rather than great problem makers. And we want to help businesses foster greater innovation by unleashing the true potential of their millennial workforce.
We are a grassroots movement, one that is being driven by young people, for young people. We’re an award-winning, registered charity that provides epic experiences and opportunities for young people to connect and grow, currently operating in the Waikato region. Our goal is to support the greatest challenges of our generation, and unleash their potential to meaningfully and positively contribute to our economy, society, culture, and environment.
Our top tips for millennials:
• Expectation v reality: When you graduate, you are not going to be offered a management role with a six figure salary. Right now, you need to focus on developing experience in your field, failing and succeeding. Find someone you admire, or an organisation you are inspired by, get in there, and work hard when no-one is looking.
• Find your voice: Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you, go and find them, or create them. See a gap in the organisation you’re working in that you could fill? Put a one-page proposal together and share it with your manager. Want more experience? Volunteer for a cause you care about in the area you want to develop in. Want more responsibility at work? Ask for it. And prove yourself, then ask for a pay rise.
• Mental health: You are entirely up to you. Decide today to make your mental health and wellbeing a priority by creating a self-care plan. Come along to our inspiring events, belong to our community, and through our workshops, develop resilience. Reach out to us at Seed Waikato if you don’t know where to start. Ask your employer what support they offer for wellbeing. If you’re not feeling well, you can text or call 1737.
Our top tips for employers:
• Loyalty: To young people, loyalty isn’t about the number of years you work for a company, it’s about the 120 percent effort you put in while you’re there. They’ve got energy to burn, they are hungry to learn, and when they understand how what they do connects to a bigger purpose, they’re engaged. To harness their strength, you need to know their strengths, and in order to give them opportunities to develop and learn within the organisation, you need to know where they want to go.
• Creativity: With inspiring leadership and empowering management, their creativity can be unleashed not only in their role, but across the organisation. Have you ever put all the young people in your organisation in a room together and issued them an organisational challenge?
• Innovation: The vast majority of innovative ideas happen before 30. Do you have a young person on your board? We can smell tokenism, so make sure to look at your skills matrix, and where you have gaps, promote the opportunity for a young person to contribute.
• Wellbeing: What leadership does your management team demonstrate in nurturing positive mental health? Has anyone in your organisation done a mental health first a id course? Do you support your staff to increase their resilience? Mental health is arguably the most significant challenge of the millennial generation. Take action to show you care.
If you have any questions you’d like answered about millennials, email the editor at richard@nmmedia.co.nz and we’ll respond next month.
