Millennials at the Workplace of the Future

In today’s world, the structure, content, and process of work has changed. Ten years ago, who would have imagined an office without dedicated desks, along with instant voice and video communication with colleagues from other ends of the world? As evolving end-user experiences drive the need for faster and smarter enterprises, digital natives today are making it clear that integrating the latest technologies into the workplace is the way to go.

India is expected to become the youngest country by 2022, with an average age of 29. Gen Y in India are looking beyond the working hours, pay and stability. Their expectations from a job incline more towards the role/s they play in an organization, their contribution in terms of their achievements or projects that they are involved in and also a healthy work-life balance. Contrary to the myth or continued perception of the millennials being a lazy generation, Indian millennials clock in an average of 52 hours of work per week.

India is also becoming increasingly digital with all the amenities a mere click-away, the millennials in the country are internet-savvy, technologically more equipped and knowledgeable than the previous generations. According to a report by Morgan Stanley, by 2020, smartphone ownership among millennials in India will be 100%, they will have access to the internet 89.5% of the time, online shopping adoption will be at 40% and they will spend an average of 17 hours on the internet per week.

Gen Y may not have the in-depth knowledge and experience that experts in the field have but it does have a vast, native and adaptive understanding of new age media and technology. Studies indicate that by 2020, Millennial or Gen Y are projected to be 50% of the workforce and by 2025 this number is expected to reach 75%. So, how should businesses engage the growing number of millennials in the workplace of the future?

1. Connect, collaborate and conquer – Time is of the essence for millennials. This does not mean they compromise on the amount of work they put in, in fact, they want to do a lot more in that time. To enable this a business should enable instant communication and smart applications which are essential tools for millennials to be able to deliver good results. Jumping through hoops within internal networks are detrimental to their productivity.

2. All over the place. – Millennials desire flexibility. Their schedules are fluid and not set in stone. Give them access to information so as to enable them to work on the go, at any hour of the day. A flexible work environment will only reinforce employee loyalty.

3. Device-athon – Millennials are surrounded with devices. A millennial will at least have two - three devices on his/her person at all times. The multiple devices serve different purposed and are used in an effort to minimize work. The same devices are put to use for professional and personal needs. Productivity will shoot up with adoption of the BYOD model and by minimizing the approval process for IT.

4. Need for speed – The millennial worker loves getting things done quickly. Security perimeters should be redefined across all applications and devices to ensure that sluggish security scans and disruptive breaches do not cause disruption. Deliver millennials a seamless working experience, and watch them add value to your business.

5. Cloud High – Millennials consume large amounts of data and also share and store information. They share information through Dropbox and save documents on Google Drive. They are already their own chief cloud officers for private cloud usage. Employing a hybrid cloud - mix of public and private cloud, will serve as a tool of innovation for the millennials.

Millennials are starting their domination in the world of work. But even as they are increasingly taking up senior management positions, they want the flexibility to be able to make business decisions wherever they are-be it the boardroom or bedroom. Be sure to keep this savvy bunch equipped with the environment tools they need to succeed, so they can be more engaged with the organizations that aim to go faster, smarter, and safer.