By Nia Saunders
A generation far different than those before, the millennials are continuing to enter and take over the workforce. In 2015, millennials became the majority of working individuals in the United States at upwards of 60 million, a number that is only projected to increase. However, a new trend is evident in millennials, and it’s a significant problem for those hiring them. In addition to “Generation Why”, and the “Me Generation”, millennials have picked up another stereotype and nickname, the “Job Hoppers”.
To put it in other words, the term job hopper refers to the induvial who works momentarily in one position after another instead of staying with one company or organization for a long period of time. A study from Gallup revealed data to support this recent trend of millennial job hopping. Roughly 21% of millennials claim to have changed their employment in the past year, a number three times higher than non-millennials who have done the same.
The reason for this? There are several, and they have to do with this generation’s values. Millennials value mental and emotional fulfillment in all aspects of their life, including their career. The study from Gallup also found that less than 30% of millennials feel engaged at work. Because millennials lack passion and energy for their jobs, companies end up spending additional time, money and energy hiring and rehiring more often. According to a survey from The Career Network, 87% of companies in various industries reported that replacing a millennial employee cost somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000.
Millennials value their self-worth and individuality, which is why they are often referred to as the “Me Generation”. They have strong sense of self-confidence, a trait given to them and attributed to the way they were raised by Generation X. As parents, Generation X was highly involved and praised a high sense of self-esteem in their children. As a result, millennials will not stay in a position where they feel unappreciated. Millennials do not want their job to define them as an individual. This lack of loyalty gives them the incentive to change employment so often. Rather than committing to a company or an organization and working their way up the ladder to a desired position, they choose to job hop.
Source for infographic: https://www.hrcloud.com/blog/6-millennial-retention-strategies-to-adopt-in-2015/
How can we solve this? To find out, one company, Sun Microsystems, conducted an experiment by creating a mentor/mentee program. In this program, more experienced employees gave younger employees routine feedback and advice. Among other benefits, this program established an engaging relationship within the workplace. The experiment found that millennials who partook in this program stayed with the company longer than those who didn’t.
For companies, there’s no way around this issue. Millennials count for a majority of employees in the United States. To increase efficiency and avoid unnecessary costs and efforts to rehire for positions, employers will need to cater to this new generation. In order to increase the tenure of millennial workers, it’s important for managers and HR to focus on engaging their employees. By understanding the millennials’ values and characteristics, job retention will increase, and employees will feel fulfilled.
Sources:
https://strategysourcellc.com/hiring-and-managing-millennials/
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236474/millennials-job-hopping-generation.aspx
http://www.genfkd.org/millennials-are-job-hopping-like-crazy
http://millennialbranding.com/2013/cost-millennial-retention-study/
sans CV 
Leave a comment