Millennial – Building the Bridge

By 2025, 75% of the workforce will be made up of millennials and the next generation commonly called Generation Z or Gen 2020. Although there is no agreement on the name or exact range of birth dates of the next generation, one can be sure that they will rely heavily on technology to communicate. This brings to mind a number of issues that can arise.

In speaking to a colleague last week, he suggested that the youngest generations are really into themselves and lack interpersonal communication skills. In a conversation, they talk a great deal about themselves and don’t inquire about the other person at all. That is not the first time I have heard that the younger generations have one-sided conversations and are rude and self-absorbed. Taking a different approach, this generation had parents dubbed helicopter parents who gave their children a great deal of attention and they are technically savvy. Their parents showered them with encouragement and made them the center of attention. They are driving people crazy who are the very ones who raised them! This is their norm and when it is brought to young people’s attention, they often are unaware of how their behavior is creating those perceptions.

According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center and Elon University, “By 2020, Millennials will “spend most of their energy sharing short social messages, being entertained, and being distracted away from deep engagement with people and knowledge.” They’ll lack “deep-thinking capabilities” and “face-to-face social skills.” (Business insider)
 

To be ahead of the curve, the youngest generations need to understand how to develop trusting relationships in the workplace. Skills to be learned include:

• Nonverbal behavior
• Perception checking
• Relationship development
• Listening skills
• Interpersonal communication skills

The youngest workers are extremely bright and entrepreneurial, but without interpersonal skills workplace relationships will suffer. It will be important to partner them with more seasoned workers to understand the importance of relationship building because after all that is how work get accomplished in any organization!