It’s hard to believe, but a study by the Management Research Group concluded that a whopping 99.23% of leaders are not able to effectively balance the need for achievement and caring in their organizations.
Being focused on results without regard for people may have worked in the past, but more and more data suggest this leadership style does not work with millennials. A Forbes article points out with the percentage of millennials in the workforce growing every year, approaching 40% by 2020, this is an issue.
- 64% of millennials say it’s a priority to make the world a better place.
- 79% say they want a boss that acts like a coach or mentor.
- 88% say they prefer a collaborative work environment.
- 88% say they want work-life integration.
Don’t get me wrong; every business needs to drive results that generate profits to exist. The issue here is, “How can we manage our organizations so that we deliver the profit we need while meeting the needs of our employees?”
A study by the Society for Human Resource Management noting the top five influences of employee job satisfaction provides some clues:
- 63% are satisfied with opportunities to use their skills/abilities.
- 61% are satisfied with their job security.
- 60% are satisfied with the compensation.
- 57% are satisfied with communication between employees and management.
- 54% are satisfied with their relationship with their immediate supervisor.
Summarizing the Surveys
Millennials want a collaborative work environment where, ideally, their work and their life are integrated in a way that benefits society. Their preferred relationship with management is less dictator and more mentor/coach.
There is a large portion of the workforce that are clearly not satisfied in their jobs:
- 47% feel they don’t have an opportunity to use their skills,
- 39% feel their jobs are not secure,
- 40% have issues with compensation,
- 43% feel improved communication between employees and management is needed, and
- 46% feel their relationship with their immediate manager is not as good as it could be.
Course of Action to Improve Results
Imagine if we created a work environment that was collaborative, where employees felt that their work mattered, that they were contributing to a greater good, and where their boss was an encourager, a mentor, a coach that helped enable them to be the best they could be?
Do you think that kind of environment would raise the numbers of employees who had high levels of job satisfaction? Do you think productivity would improve? Would turnover decrease?
I bet that in the right kind of work environment, where people love what they do and feel valued, productivity would skyrocket, avoidable turnover would drop to nothing, and profits would climb!
The Platinum Rule of Leading
Jesus, teaching the disciples said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). I think this is just the starting point for how we should treat those in our organizations.
We should strive to treat God’s children, the way God would treat them if He were standing in our place. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).
What kind of breakthrough might be in store for us if we began leading the way we would want to be led? And then, what change might we see in this world if we indeed we managed to love one another in a way that reflected Christ’s love for us?
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome! What stands out about these two surveys to you? In your experience, how well do you think leaders are doing at leading in a way that maximizes employee job satisfaction? Do you think job satisfaction would increase if more leaders reflected Christ’s love for His children?
Category: Relationships | Power and Influence
The study done by the Society of Human Resource Management reveals that almost 50% of employees surveyed were unhappy with their current jobs. This may be so because many millennials are recent college graduates who are striving to obtain their dream job. Studies have also shown that many millennials are not as hardworking as previous generations. I have heard many guest speakers from Fortune 500 companies exasperatedly say that recent graduates they interviewed for jobs did little to no research, so much so that the applicants sometimes forgot which position they applied for. I also have personal experience working with other people my age who barely do any work at work and complain that their job is unsatisfying.
I believe that it does not matter where you start working but what matters is how to treat the job. When one is unhappy with their job, it shows in their performance. No one would want to promote or hire someone who works poorly. Sometimes the dream job that someone may want will not bring them the most satisfaction and God is leading them to a job that is even better suited to their personality and spiritual gifts. One cannot expect to land their dream job after graduation but instead, work hard at many other jobs in order to get more experience.
What some people may not realize is that they could find joy in working any job so long as they have the right attitude. If the company culture is not the best, one could attempt to create a better one. This is what I did to reduce employee turnover at a job where it is common for employees to quit after a few days or habitually not show up to their shift. There was little to no support from supervisors or upper management. When someone does not show up to their shift, it put more stress on those working to make-up for the productivity of that missing worker. While I was working that job, I was commended by other supervisors for creating a family-like working environment that reduced employee turnover. I believe that even though I was student worker and not a supervisor, if I took the time to know each and every person I worked with, I could make working less of a chore and more of a fun experience.
What stood out to me about the two surveys was millennials desire to have a positive impact on the world, and in having a boss who is more of a mentor than an authoritative figure; and the levels present in job satisfaction specifically that 54% are satisfied with their relationship with their immediate supervisor. And I think that reflects how leaders are doing in influencing job satisfaction, in other words there is room for improvement. I think if a mentor relationship was created in the working environment job satisfaction would increase a great deal, simply for the fact that mentors encourage and support while authoritative figures demand, this change could create positive results in employees.
I can definitely foresee this being a major issue. millennial are beginning to make our mark on the workforce. I can definitely see that we all have an insatiable desire to impact the world. I believe that is attributed to the culture we were raised in. Growing up all i can remember is how i was never discouraged from my dreams. I believe that translates across all of millennial. we have this desire to overtake and overpower all obstacles. I believe that is the attitude necessary to overcome all the adversity and the driving force for what the goal all millennial are trying to achieve.
If leaders simply adopted the golden rule (Luke 6:31) I think a lot of work environments would improve. Also, who wouldn’t prefer a mentor over a dictator for their boss. There’s a lot more moving around I’m my profession now. People aren’t afraid to leave for another employer. All the more reason to craft a work environment where employees are valued and truly mentored.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post! I think about these concepts often. Being a millennial, I definitely understand the increasing desire to make a direct impact and work to greater good in my career. In fact, this desire is so strong for me that I don’t think I would be satisfied working at a company whose corporate vision doesn’t align to my personal beliefs or area of interest. In order to be a part of that company, I need to value it as much as it values me. I feel that is what companies today are missing, truly valuing their employees and not simply viewing them as a workforce, but individual people with ideas and skills. I want to work for a company that works to better the world, because there are so many people already who are working actively or indirectly to make it worse.
My internship this summer revealed the most important lesson about my personal work and millennial-minded work ethic: People want to know ‘why’. “Go compile a list of contacts in the southern region of California” was actually a full instruction I received from my boss. No points of checking up with me, no bigger picture, no clear deadline. Just do it because she said so. I found myself extremely unproductive and unmotivated because I felt like she held no regard for me besides what mindless work I produced, and she didn’t value me enough to explain even what my work would be eventually used for. I don’t think necessarily my generation is looking for mentors or coaches explicitly, but we do need to know why we are doing things. Is what we are doing really mattering? What is the end goal or the point to this? Are we going to get any sort of recognition or feedback as to how our efforts are making an impact in our workplace?
I agree that employers need to lead like how they wish to be led. Although the workforce used to be driven by results, the numbers clearly show for themselves that employees are relatively unsatisfied. I, as well as my generation, want to lead in a way that still grants results, but is caring and loving much like how Christ was.
This was an informative article to read! I was aware of the issues of millennial in work places and perspective and impact millennial have in the work force, and this blog post informatively listed out the dilemma of millennial in the work place neatly. By 2020, 4o% of millennial will be in the work place. That is a huge percentage of the working body. Definitely, millennial have different perspective compared to baby boomers. Baby boomers are hard working and profit driven. Millennial are also profit driven but more cause and purpose driven that take the environment into deep consideration. The retiring baby boomers and economists are skeptical of millennial’s impact on economy and society, but I have a different outlook. Millennial grew up watching hard working parents and booming economy along with terrorism and declining environment. Millennial have also seen adult baby boomers who have strove their whole life for material wealth, but not much satisfaction. They have identified that individual striving for material wealth is not the primary purpose and goal in life. Millennial are community driven and want to collaborate. With a good role model and change of perspective along with sacrificial effort Millennial can create and heal the world that the previous generation have built and left for us.
What surprised me the most of these surveys was that employees want a boss that acts like a coach or mentor. Out of the managers that I’ve had, most have concerned their efforts in meeting a certain goal by pushing orders or wrongly motivating employees. It got the job done but never really built strong employees. Times have changed and just as companies are doing more for their customers, employees expect to be treated equally. The change begins by training managers to be mentors or bring mentors to join the managing team. I would be much happier with a boss that is concerned with knowing what my professional goals are and using that as a motivation to meet business goals together. It seems like a challenge to move away from the usual boss mentality but if we want to achieve an integration of work and life, bosses must start supporting their employees just as they would care for their customers.