Millennials lack faith in their employers, want purpose over paycheck: study

Wednesday, 15 May 2019

Millennials are critical of businesses' intentions, with the majority saying they would refuse to advocate for their employer because they lack faith in them.

That's according to the just-published NZ Shapers 2019 – The Growing Influence of a New Generation study of the values and attitudes to work of people born between 1984 and 2000.

The research, commissioned by The Purpose Business, found just 40 per cent of young people believed in their employer enough to endorse them.

Fewer than one in three respondents felt the business they currently worked for had a social purpose, while 59 per cent said they would prefer to work for a business that had strong values and purpose – even if they were paid less.

Brianne West, founder of the natural and environmentally friendly beauty brand Ethique, said money was not the primary motivation for her work.

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Business leaders said the message millennials were sending managers and business owners was clear: companies needed to have a reason for existing other than making money if they want to keep millennials around and engaged.

Jacqueline Farman, co-founder of The Purpose Business, an agency that helps brands improve their relationships with customers and staff, said that challenged the perception that millennials are flighty and selfish.

Jacqueline Farman is the co-founder of The Purpose Business, an agency that helps brands improve their relationships with their staff and customers.

'I think that there is still too much of a short-term view on making a profit at all expense and millennials are calling businesses to account,' she said.

'[Employers] complain about them moving around all the time. But actually are you really connecting with and engaging your workforce at that level?

'It's not relevant anymore to stand up there and talk about money. They want to know why it matters and why they should care.'

She estimated millennials made up about 40 per cent of the workforce, so attracting and retaining millennial staff should be a top priority for businesses.

'They have great skills, great energy and a real desire to have an impact and make change. As an employer that's exactly what I would want,' Farman said.

She urged business owners to listen to their younger employees and involve them in decision making.

'I think that businesses need to get their 'why' sorted and do that quickly. That whole area of purpose and values and what you believe in needs to move out of the HR and sustainability [department] and become central to how you do business.

'If it's hidden away deep in the background then people won't understand it and they won't connect with it.'

For millennial entrepreneur Brianne West, being socially conscious has paid off.

The 32-year-old founded the plasticwaste-free beauty brand Ethique in 2012 while she was studying science at university.

She started making shampoo bars in her kitchen as a hobby. Today, she has nine employees, exports her products to 19 countries, and is growing her business about 300 per cent year on year, she said.

However, money was not her primary motivation.

'I would much rather work in a role for $30,000 a year doing something that I had a passion for than earning $100,000 working for a tobacco company or something,' she said.

'Money doesn't make you happy on its own. Doing something with your life and feeling like you're achieving something with purpose is proven to make people happier.

'We're beginning to realise that life is not all about a corporate high-flying job. It's about doing what you can to support your community.'

West's advice to other business owners was: 'It's not about corporate social responsibility. It's not the one per cent of your business that you give back to charitable programmes. It's what your entire business does.

'You can't outweigh a lifetime of bad with a small [corporate social responsibility] programme. You need to be doing good all the time in every aspect as much as possible,' she said.

Jarrod Haar, a professor of human resources management and deputy director of AUT's Work Research Institute, said providing junior employees with regular opportunities to do new things could help improve staff retention.

He warned business owners to remember that the millennial generation was connected: 'If you abuse and rip them off (e.g., long hours and poor pay) they will share that information.'

Turnover was inevitable, but ensuring managers got the most out of their younger workers, and giving them attention and a challenge would help, he said.

The research, by Pure Profile data and insights company, involved 499 online interviews with millennials nine in-depth interviews and three case studies with millennials of different ages and backgrounds and 250 online interviews with other generations (X and boomers).