One thing that I am always perplexed by the millennials and the way they work and think. I am taught the old school ways by my elders like being down-to-earth, don’t cut corners and hard work will pay off. However, times are changing rapidly. So while I was reading some of the posts of my followers, PENNEYVANDERBILT caught my eye and the featured post is pretty insightful and interesting, thought I would love to share with you all.
Enjoy her post and tell us all about what your thoughts are in the below comments!!
1. Now
Now means now in most office settings. But for Millennials, it usually means when you are ready on your own time or done with a project or task. When we track everything in microseconds, there is no now, right? Well, if you run a company, there is always a now. If you need to meet urgently, make sure people under 34 understand you meanright now.
2. Meeting
If you say “let’s have a meeting” to a Millennial, they might not get it. Do you mean Skype, or instant message, or even Slack? Maybe it’s a phone call? There’s no way you mean in-person because that’s barely a thing anymore. However, the word “meeting” is important because it means you want to communicate about something. You should define “meeting” as important face-to-face communication one on one or in a group.
3. Office
You can’t really ask a Millennial to meet in the office. It doesn’t exist. To a Millennial, an office is where you have a laptop and a cup of coffee. It doesn’t means your place of work. Yet, using the word “office” helps in business because there is a place to work. It’s usually the place where you send the checks for your lease and where everyone else goes to work.
4. Friend
Facebook has ruined the word “friend” forever. It doesn’t have the same meaning to Millennials. It’s more of a social media connection and less of a supportive, caring individual. However, in a work context, encouraging real friendships–not the virtual kind–is a good idea. It might mean being clearer about what you mean by a true friend.
5. Boss
Millennials see the word “boss” as outdated. Are you kidding? A boss? They report to a team leader or to no one in particular-they answer to fellow employees or just to the person in charge of their project for that week. That’s not going to work in most businesses, though. Most companies (Zappos excluded) have an org structure. For clear communication, there needs to be a boss who directs employees.
6. Process
A business process is not a bad thing. It’s an agreement about how to work effectively. Millennials usually balk at the word and view it as a negative. They can’t seem to adjust to the fact that “doing things my way” often goes against the direction of the team. It’s OK to let everyone know that a process is something valuable.
7. Mission
In a startup, a mission is a unifying message that creates value. Millennials view the word as a higher calling that may or may not have anything to do with work. It’s important to define it in the context of business and not let a personal mission interfere.
MiddleMe 
First, millennials will deal with the same thing when they get older, just the previous generation to ours had to deal with casual Friday, and the overall casualness that infiltrated the workplace, redefining what “professional dress code” meant.
With that in mind, there is always an adjustment of communication between generations that an organization has to deal with, whether it is to adapt or demand adoption of the traditional way. No right answer is what makes this one a difficult quandary.
Both change and tradition have their role. It is the sorting out the two and deciding consciously and intentionally which direction the organization wishes to go.
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Great summarizing the whole article!
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Spot on. I completely agree with Time and meetings as it’s difficult task to get them on time and make them realize important of meeting 🙂
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I found this post very enlightening, the seven points give a great overview of a way of viewing office work that is very different from what “traditional” business books have drilled into older generations. I’m not millennial, but a life-long freelance and consultant, so I relate to all this as a better way to work effectively…
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Thank, Bea for leaving us a comment!! I relate this as well as most of my staff under me are millennial and sometimes you need to talk the talk.
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Ok, This was so interesting! I work with younger people and you are so right on the word “now”, and explains why now doesnt mean “now”. Thank you so much!
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So happy that you enjoy the article. 🙂
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I couldn’t agree more about ‘Now’ and ‘Meeting’ but not the rest completely. Yet they are bringing green ideas. Great post!
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Hahaha! I just can’t get through to them sometimes too.
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
GOOD CATCH!!!
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Very delighted that you chose this piece to share out
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ORT-ORT!
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Insightful! Thank you for sharing, Kally.
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Thank you for liking it!
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