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Millennials in Workplace: Value of Knowledge Over Hierarchy
Digitalization

Millennials in Workplace: Value of Knowledge Over Hierarchy

It might be called discomfort or creativity, yet millennials have to find new ways constantly because old-style solutions are done with the changing technology.

Sura Aydin
March 28, 2022

Over the years, the effect of transformation to technology in all manners and new attitudes of young people have often been a topic of many discussions. According to literature, millennials are categorized as the people born between 1980 and 2000. They are now in their 20s,30s, and 40s. The word "millennials" was made famous by William Strauss and Neil Howe in 1987. The two men coined the term to refer to the generation of people who came of age around 2000. It is inevitable to ask what made them categorize these people as millennials and how they are different from older generations. I will primarily refer to people born around the 2000s since my main interest will be how technology leads different paths in life.


Starting from the 90s and peaking around the 2000s, technology became an inseparable part of daily life. This change gives us many opportunities regarding communication, information management, also entertainment, and more. When cell phones or computers became available to everyone, it has entered daily life as something so popular. To note that, usually being so popular means that the popularity will fade away after a while and something else will take its place. Yet the clear fact is that technological tools became personal more and more in time and didn't lose any popularity, and it became almost a basic need for modern life. Before then, TVs and radios were great inventions, but they were not for personal use. What happened with the cell-phones and computers is that technology is personalized for everyone, like clothes.


There is a significant change in life and the world with the Millennium. Inevitably, people born around the 2000s are different from those who have witnessed the life before personal use of technology in daily life. They are native to technology and instant communication. They have been described as being more liberal, promiscuous, apathetic, selfish, less religious than preceding generations because they have grown up with many paths to success available for them.


They are the first generation to grow up using technology as a norm. The term 'millennial' became more popular in the early 2000s. This difference in the new generation has started some shifts in the workplace as well. Millennials are more focused on work-life balance and ensuring they know what they are doing at work. Expectations from life are different before. For example, freedom and diversity matter much more than before. The norms young as inexperienced and old as experienced have transformed to adaptableness and learning regardless of age.


With the millennial generation coming of age, they are eager to balance their work and personal lives better. This means they are no longer willing to climb the corporate ladder without knowing what they are doing or compromising their personal goals. They want to feel like they have support from their company--especially when it comes to time off.

Millennials value knowledge over hierarchy, and this is reflected in the workplace.

With more self-driven individuals entering the workforce, we expect to see a paradigm shift into a collaborative and open work environment. This new type of work culture leverages the knowledge of its employees to create innovative products and services. The millennial generation will be driving this transformation by seeking out companies with strong policies such as 'open office culture,' 'collaborative endeavors,' and 'development opportunities.'


It might be called discomfort or creativity, yet Millennials have to find and learn new ways constantly because old-style solutions started to not work anymore with the ever-changing technology. With this, they make their ways, and they have to. Problems have more than one solution, and teams with the new generation can reach the optimal solution with better-trusted communication. The future will not change for the traditions, but old-mindedness must change for the future.

Transformation, learning, and adaptableness are the critical points of this period. 


AUTHOR
Sura Aydin

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