Millennials and Motivation

Advice on how to reach or motivate Millennials (or those born after 1982) appears in business helps, news, education, and advertising – give them more free time and less supervision, provide opportunities for service, provide intrinsic motivators such as a challenging job. The consensus seems to be that young people entering into the workforce today are different than prior generations. The idea behind this belief is that a group of young people share traits created by a common set of experiences such as war (WWII, Vietnam, or the war on terror) or economic situations (great depression, prosperity, or economic downturn). As usual, my first thought is, what does the research tell us on this subject? However, on this topic, conclusive evidence still eludes us. Some research suggests that there are very little differences (Costanza et al, 2012) and other research suggests some differences (Twenge, 2010).

Obviously generational differences do not necessarily cross cultural boundaries. If you grew up in Brazil and now live in the United States, you may not hold to the same values as your coworkers despite being the same age.

Several reasons exist for the problems associated with finding if differences actually exist. First, people struggle to find common definitions for Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials. Second, how the research is conducted creates problems. If you compare Baby Boomers today with Millennials today, they are different ages. As we age, we tend to have certain typical changes which skew the data.

The research that looks at data found as Baby Boomers and Millennials entered the workforce appears to provide the best look at potential differences. Twenge reviewed several sources of data that were collected in 1972, then again in 1999. Twenge found several key differences that may help you understand how to recruit and retain the Millennial generation.

First, how central is work to your life? Baby Boomers tend to see work as a key component of who they are. Both Gen X and Millennials believe that work is not central to who they are. The statement that stood out in this category was “Rich people should feel an obligation to work even if they do not need to?” My response (and yes, I am a Baby Boomer) was: of course—everyone needs to work. The young tend to disagree with the idea that everyone needs to work. MLM and direct selling can use this knowledge to their advantage.

Second, how much do you value leisure time? Millennials appear to value leisure time more than Gen X and both Millennials and Gen X value leisure more than Baby Boomers. I hate to admit this. Again, I am a typical Baby Boomer. It is a Saturday and as usual, I am at work. I am slowing down as I get older. However, I still find that working two jobs is part of my core. This is a challenge for MLM and direct selling. If the statistic we gave you in the gamification articles is true and gamers play an average of 22 hours a week, then recruiting them to a second income may be hard. You may have to focus more on how to make the process simple and accessible via technology, so that leisure time is not too interrupted. Mark Rawlins, of InfoTrax Systems (leader in MLM compensation software), has stated that the industry has to get serious about designing apps to help the new generation feel comfortable working in this industry.

Third, do young people care more about serving others? The research here does not show any difference across the age groups. That doesn’t mean that you should ignore service as a way to make people feel good. It just means that all ages appear to value service at about the same rate.

Fourth, are young people more intrinsically motivated (do they find meaning in challenging work)? Again here, there appears to be no difference in how much people value meaning in work.

Fifth, what about money? The results here surprised me. The Gen X group (when they were entering the workforce) valued money more than the Millennials and both Gen X and Millennials value money more than the Baby Boomers. Surprise! I thought Baby Boomers were the money hungry ones. However, this focus on money, should help MLM and direct sellers overcome some of the other values that work against getting into MLM such as sacrificing free time.

Last, are young people more likely to feel entitled? The research does suggest that Millennials feel that the world owes them a place, a job, and a good life. This can work for or against recruiting. You need to think about how to approach young people who may not want to work to get to the good life.

In conclusion, to my surprise, many differences do appear to exist in how the young people of today feel about key work and life values. The news is both good and bad for recruiting into MLM or direct selling. You need to get to know the people that you are working with and find out how they fit into their age group. Just like any other generalization, individuals will vary.

Costanza, D. P., Badger, J. M., Fraser, R. L., Severt, J. B., & Gade, P. A. (2012). Generational differences in work-related attitudes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business and Psychology, 27(4), 375-394.

Twenge, J. M. (2010). A review of the empirical evidence on generational differences in work attitudes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 201-210.