Much has been said about millennials, the segment
of the population that typically falls in the 18-29 age range. Every aspect of
their behavior, from their TV viewing habits and shopping preferences to home
and workplace behavior, is constantly being scrutinized.
With many applicants and new hires coming from this
segment, companies are eager to know what makes millennials tick, what
motivates them, and perhaps most important of all, what would make them stay with
the company. To do this, we need to separate the facts from the myths, the
conclusions from the assumptions, and confirm or debunk them as needed.
This is exactly what Prague-based fintech company
Home Credit—itself an employer to more than 4,800 millennials, or 82% of the
Home Credit PH workforce—did, as it recently surveyed close to 600 applicants
about their career and workplace preferences (you can check out the survey here).
With close to 80% of the respondents falling under
the 18-29 range, it gave plenty of interesting insights about millennials,
while shedding some light on the other/older respondents, too—allowing us to
determine whether the following are simply myths, or solid facts:
It is almost universally agreed by all Filipino
workers, young and old, that traffic is no fun—and no good. But some say that
millennials don’t mind a few hours of commute daily if it means working at a
fast-paced business district, where all the action is (and where the top
companies are).
According to the Home Credit survey results,
millennials are virtually split between preferring to work close to home (48%),
or work in a top business district (52%). A similar split is seen in the
30-something segment, with 49% wanting their office to be near home.
Myth
or fact: it’s all about the money
It’s no surprise that salary is a top
consideration for employees, especially young ones, while older workers—many of
which might have families to support—also want good benefits for their loved
ones. In fact, 67% of Home Credit’s 30 years old and above respondents chose
having good benefits for their families over simply having a high basic salary.
But what might be surprising is that an even higher
percentage of millennials—73%-- chose good benefits for loved ones over high
basic pay, possibly an indicator of Filipinos’ strong family-oriented culture,
even among modern millennials.
There are those who say that millennials are hooked
on long work hours, especially those in creative-driven industries, while some
say that young professionals are actually averse to overtime work, and want to
have some “me” time after 6.
But it seems that workaholics comprise a very small
minority, as an overwhelming 76% of surveyed millennials put a premium on
work-life balance, almost equal to the 77% preference rate of the 30-and-above
group.
Myth
or fact: size (and name) matters
Another seemingly obvious ‘fact’ is that
employees care about the name or image of the company they work for. A big-name
company is good, while a small, obscure company is not-so-good. Right?
Not quite—while 54% of young respondents did say
that they’d rather word for a big company than a start-up, 46% said that they
prefer helping a start-up grow. The discrepancy is even smaller for
thirtysomethings, with 48% preferring to work at a big company and 52% wanting
to offer their services to a start-up.
Myth
or fact: millennials = job hopping + quick promotion
Moreover, 84% of millennials said that they prefer
to become specialists or experts in their field before moving up the ladder,
while only 16% indicated that they prefer quick promotions.
So what do you think, millennials? Do you agree
with the results? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
