Citation
Singh, P. (2013), "Millennials and the Workplace: Challenges for Architecting the Organizations for Tomorrow", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 21 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID.04421gaa.003
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Millennials and the Workplace: Challenges for Architecting the Organizations for Tomorrow
Article Type: Suggested reading From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 21, Issue 7
Preetam Singh, Asha Bhandarkar and Sumita Rai,
Sage, 2012, ISBN: 8132108981
Millennials and the Workplace, by Preetam Singh, Asha Bhandarkar and Sumita Rai, offers a number of insights from their research on an emerging and interesting topic, which responds to the concerns of managers and employees alike.
Backing this research is the experience of the authors as trainers and consultants to more than 400 organizations. Endorsed by a number of senior managers, their views are also grounded in global research spanning themes related to the values and expectations of the millennials.
The authors define millennials as the employees born between 1977 and 1984. Assuming that in 2012 their average age would be 32, and that an average professional might enter the workplace at the age of 24 after gaining a postgraduate degree and some work experience, these millennials today would have a tenure of eight to ten years behind them. With this experience they can be expected to be in positions of responsibility and influence in the organizations.
There could not have been better timing for this research as more than half of Indias population is in this productive age group. The topic and findings are relevant for all emerging economies that are experiencing a surge in the proportion of millennials at work.
The book is based on a survey of 2,158 individuals with education in management and engineering. The respondents were brought up in all five zones of India: north, south, west, east and central.
The book is divided into five chapters. The first two are introductory and devoted to the meaning of work and workplace and who constitutes the millennials. The third chapter elaborates on the survey findings related to the meaning of the workplace. These cover: the workplace attributes ranked as relevant by the millennials; the result of factor analysis; and the major variables that affect how the millennials perceive the workplace. There is also a section that discusses the impact of personality on the meaning of the workplace.
An in-depth analysis is then used for comparing the millennials expectations with the organizational attributes found in practice. A way of making the workplace appeal to the millenials is described.
The authors provide a fascinating profile the millennials in India as high achievers and strivers after goals. They are driven and capable of confronting their failures with the aim of improving their performance and achievements. They are concerned with personal development, seek fulfilment, prefer a progressive orientation and care for community development. With these attributes, millennials look for organizations that encourage innovation, recognize performance, believe in fairness and justice, provide the opportunity for initiative and encourage leadership development.
HR specialists tend to view the millennials as materialistic, overambitious, low on commitment to the organization but high on commitment to self, highly energetic, well-informed, technology-savvy and creative but with little respect for authority.
Millennials tend to believe that their workplaces do not offer them enough autonomy and opportunity for self-development. The supervisors they would like to work for are described as humble, honest in feedback, willing to mentor, open and approachable and team-builders.
The book starts well by explaining the meaning of work and the workplace and offers an impressive review of research. However, the authors move straight away to discussion of the millennials. The book could have engaged a wider readership if it had included discussion of the importance of inter-generational differences, ways of looking at workplace diversity and cohorts, generations other than millennials, inter-generational differences and their impact on organizational performance.
In general, however, the book is still a highly useful resource and a welcome step in the direction of understanding the millennials and harnessing their energy.
Reviewed by Margie Parikh, Gujarat University, India.
A longer version of this review was originally published in Management Decision, Vol. 51 No. 3, 2013.