Lazy?
Over-indulged?
Spend thrifty?
Hardly!

A recent quarterly UBS Investor Watch report reveals that Millennials (individuals between the ages of 21-36) are surprisingly the most financially conservative generation since the Great Depression era. This is probably good to know for your corporate team building strategies. The report also reveals that this group of enterprising individuals shatters all stereotypes of entitlement. These hard-working and enterprising individuals aren’t afraid to define success as an intricate balance of money, healthy relationships, and enriching experiences. So how do these findings transfer to the workplace? Are today’s CEOs ready and “willing” to engage a workplace full of millennials by providing strong, interactive leadership and team building skills?

A vast majority of millennials in the study (69%) believe that to achieve success it requires hard work and are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve their goals. They also believe a good education and frugal living provides them with financial freedom. With the financial and job market crash of 2008, this generation witnessed their parents life savings and careers go up in smoke – literally overnight. Millennials are now, and rightfully so, educated and cautious in both the financial and job market sectors.

“Millennials seem to be permanently-scarred by the 2008 financial crisis,” said Emily Pachuta, Head of Investor Insights, UBS Wealth Management Americas. “They have a Depression Era mindset largely because they experienced market volatility and job security issues very early in their careers, or watched their parents experience them, and it has had a significant impact on their attitudes and behaviors.”

“Conventional wisdom has categorized Millennials as ‘entitled’ and ‘lazy’ because they have more than their parents and grandparents did. But this study counters that hypothesis,” says Pachuta.“Having witnessed both the technology boom and the collapse of global markets, it has made Millennials concerned, but resilient, and optimistic for the future. They’re conservative, similar to the WWII generation coming out of the Great Depression, not resting on their laurels, but rather working hard for their wealth and success, making sacrifices because they believe their goals are achievable.”

With this new mindset arising out of the ashes of the recent, prolonged recession, corporate organizational leaders need to provide these workers with jobs that further enrich their life experiences and quest for financial security. Millennials are communicators, collaborators, and love to share their experiences as evidenced on social media platforms. They require a workplace culture that not only inspires them, but provides a sense of teamwork, purpose, financial stability, and job security. They will seek out corporations with established winning business team cultures like Zappos.com or Google, the search engine powerhouse.

CEOs and management teams that include innovative corporate team building strategies in their business plans will learn to move away from the “business as usual mindset.” Having experienced, or watched their parents experience, job volatility and financial loss during the recession, millennials have now added collaborative relationship building, financial security, and enhanced life experiences to the traditional definition of success. Is corporate America prepared to embrace the ideals of a “millennial-rich” workforce?

Copyright TIGERS Success Series by Dianne Crampton

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