CONCLUSION

A Millennial-Inspired Modern World

We live in an age of heretics: an age where unconventional ideas become conventional wisdom rapidly. And that’s a good thing, because the future of industrial society depends on our ability to transcend the destructive management of the past and build a better kind of business.

—Art Kleiner, The Age of Heretics

What if we could change the autocomplete in our heads related to millennials? What if there was more to the story of the multi-generation workplace than endless divisive blogs, top 10 lists, and white papers? Instead, what if we all acknowledged and embraced the momentous difference digital technology has created? What workplace could we create together?

The results on search engines may not change, but our approach certainly can. Throughout our journey of transforming these five millennial myths into workplace breakthroughs, some of the concepts discussed may sound unorthodox or heretical. Many organizations are just at the beginning of cultural transformation in response to the advent of digital technology. Despite the continual rise of the knowledge worker over the last 60 years, we haven’t done enough to question “how we’ve always done things” and redefine effectiveness in organizations.

Picture an employee hard at work. Surrounded by beige and gray walls, beams of light from fluorescent ceiling bulbs and backlit LED monitors collide 12 inches away from their face. A document is drawn up and while typing away, dings from incoming e-mails and instant messages abound. Every decision feels vital, but having all the relevant information seems impossible. The phone next to their arm buzzes with an incoming message. Filtering through all the data and noise to understand what’s important is a constant battle. Their hand looks permanently claw-shaped from mouse and smartphone usage. Voices are everywhere. They walk to the nearest window to take a break, about three minutes away. As the workday ends, they contemplate the myriad of errands and tasks awaiting at home. There is an evening virtual meeting with global partners and a few more e-mails to get through before going to bed for a six-hour nap. Their work relies on an increasing number of connections to people they may have never seen or hardly know.

Throughout it all, there is an innate desire to contribute, to do something of meaning, to pursue excellence, to have a positive impact, to meet personal goals. Our employee is in an environment that is more egalitarian, more diverse, more global than before. What would a reinvented workplace look like in this world that enables engagement and productivity?

Picture another employee. After sleeping a full eight hours, this employee takes the time at home to eat breakfast and create a prioritized list of focused items for the day. This employee has experimented with personal productivity and decided not to check their phone for e-mails until later. They arrive at work, and as they walk to their work area, they pass by small teams and collaboration spaces that bring the outside in, but with minimal distractions. No one feels the need to wear headphones, and there are spaces to make phone calls just a short walk away. At their desk, there are a few notes from other team members. The employee picks the hardest thing to do on their list and starts with that task. When they find they don’t know something, they go online to the intranet and find a highly rated video posted by another employee on an easily searchable discussion forum. The employee has planned for a five-hour workday in the office today and then they are going to go home to manage their other errands. After completing the toughest task in the first three hours with minimal distractions, they open their e-mails and spend an hour managing those. The employee has a meeting with a clearly defined objective over lunch in a fun collaboration space where their teammate is white-boarding ideas with a sandwich in hand. After leaving well before rush hour traffic, running some errands, and pursuing a mental break, later in the evening they spend a moment synthesizing and reflecting on the major task of the day. The employee creates a write-up for their manager and hits send. They go to sleep, knowing they’ve accomplished something for a role they enjoy, for a company they have chosen to work for.

This workplace is different from the one we are used to seeing today. It is flexible to personal productivity through hours and work environment. It fosters connections between people of all levels and all backgrounds in the most efficient routes possible. Ideas flow and are cultivated organically through the organization. It is an environment of ongoing learning and feedback, where employees feel connected to the overall business mission as though they are business owners. And finally, that overall business mission is one that benefits society at large in some way, outside of a sole focus on corporate profits.

Ultimately, these are the types of changes that millennial behavior shows us are important for the workplace. By growing up in a world of digital technology, these are the inherent expectations and trends millennials globally are bringing to the table that will have an impact for generations to come. And rightfully so, because digital is not going away. New expectations of employees and of customers and of society in general aren’t going away either. Millennials, instead of a danger, are really a reflection of the society in which they grew up in, and in which all of us now live.

If these expectations and trends are ignored for the sake of holding onto the status quo, we will continue to witness the trends we have already been experiencing. Higher turnover based on a lack of trust between employers and employees. Disengagement and burnout due to lack of understanding of productivity in a digital, strategic work world. Lack of innovation and creativity stifling growth, eventually leading to “Uber-izing” of companies as competitors disrupt the scene.

In Table C.1, I’ve highlighted each of the myths, the transformations in perspective to the new language, and the related organizational changes we discussed. Keep in mind our guiding principles as you continue your journey. When you meet a millennial, consider their behavior not as a fleeting generational trait, but a sign of what’s modern and what’s to come. Recall that just as every coin has two sides, every behavior can be interpreted multiple ways. It’s your prerogative to step back and evaluate which interpretation you choose to act on. Recall that our research pertained to top talent around the globe and doesn’t necessarily apply to every millennial. Your own experience, conversations, and interpretations are just as important to understanding modern employees. The interpretations, organizational changes, and case studies are just the beginning for experimentation with creating the modern workplace. Lastly, recall that a foundation of trust and respect are at the root of every strong relationship. And what is a company if not a multitude of relationships seeking to achieve a mutual goal?

Take a look at your scores from the end of chapter assessments. Depending on your overall score, give yourself an estimate. How far away is this future of work for your organization? Five years? Ten years? Twenty-five years? What help do you need to move forward on the journey? Recall the resources we have posted on our resource library at themillennialmyth.com/resources, including the one-page guides, the co-created key quotes document, the 10-Minute Champion ideas, and the online version of the assessment and associated results.

Certainly, my research is ongoing and has much more room for discovery. Each of the major concepts shared has a wealth of room for experimentation and research in the future. Another key area, for example, is identifying what lessons, attitudes, and best practices we should strive to bring forward from before the advent of digital technology. What adaptations and lessons should we teach millennials and gen Z as they enter the workplace?

Table C.1 Summary of the five millennial myths transformed into workplace breakthroughs.

Source: Invati Consulting

With ideas in hand like building coversity networks, using virtual platforms to encourage idea flow and learning, instituting flexible work environments, and doing authentic social good in your local communities, I hope you find yourself empowered. When you started this journey, you may have had a different language for describing millennials, but I hope to have shown you a new way of thinking about millennials and modern talent, based on the radically different world in which we live today—a world that has deeply influenced this generation and will continue to influence society at large. As we embark on the journey of disrupting the workplace, a greater momentum of champions of the modern workplace will emerge and shake the status quo, the way we’ve always done things.

Change is inevitable. Be one of those champions.