A millennial can be defined as anyone who was born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. The term "millennial" has grown to have a negative connotation recently. The negative connotation associated with millennials comes from older generations beliefs that millennials have many negative traits that define them. These negative traits that millennials have according to other generations include lazy, self-absorbed, and prone from jumping from job to job (Main). Older generations want people to have a negative outlook on millennials, but currently millennials are a driving force in reshaping the workforce towards a positive change. Positives of the millennial generation include their experience with technology, a willingness to work with others, and they are more open minded. Millennials have positives and negatives, but so does every other generation before them. Millennials are positively changing the workplace for generations to come by causing employers to adjust their work environments to be more geared towards teamwork, integrating technology into every aspect of the workplace, and by making companies give feedback that allows employees to grow and develop. Millennials impact on the workplace is important because they are the up and coming generation that will change the workforce soon with a projected fifty percent of the workforce being millennials by 2020 (Asghar).

Those who speak negatively about  millennials have a social disconnect. Millennials communication skills are what some bosses claim to keep them away from hiring millennials. Lisa Daughtery, a manager of a Columbia, SC Hibbett Sports, says that she is very picky when it comes to hiring millennials. "I bring them into an interview and they act so timid and almost scared. They don't make eye contact and they fail to show good communication skills" (Daughtery). Although Lisa continued to confide in me that millennials are just not the same as employees she has had before, her argument had one crucial flaw. She began to say she has some great millennial employees and then the flaw in her generalization came out, "I have many good employees. A few are millennials. These millennials were obviously raised right and taught how to have manners and communicate" (Daughtery). If millennials are all disconnected, then how are their still millennials who are great with communication? This question is what disproves her argument and other people who criticize millennials. The fact is with any generation you can have people who do not have good manners or good communication skills. This is just a matter of parenting that varies from parent to parent and how the child reacts to the parenting. Therefore, we cannot subjugate an entire generation because there were some parents who did not help their children develop communication skills and manners in order to succeed in the workplace or life.

Another argument against millennials is that they are lazy and they only care about themselves. This argument is one that has no substantiation or reasoning besides studies that have been done that totally disprove this argument that millennials are self-absorbed. Millennials now are made to do community service in school and are taught the importance of community throughout the education system (Chau). The same author argued that millennials are selfish and do not care about the well-being of their employers and they assume no loyalty to businesses. This is a fact and is true, but is not a drawback to millennials in the workplace, but rather the employer.

Millennials are accused all the time of being selfish for their needs and not caring for the needs of others.  They are seen as people who join a company and leave as soon as they find a better opportunity they jump ship and take the better offer. This is because millennials want to advance in their career field, but employers do not provide them with opportunities so they seek these opportunities elsewhere. By wanting to elevate their position in the workforce millennials are causing companies to develop new tactics in order to get millennials to assume loyalty to their companies. One thought process employers do not recognize, is millennials grew up during a time of economic instability. Millennials realize that during any point in their career there could be another recession and they could lose their job, so why should they stay at their current job if they can get a better position. Money is important to millennials because they know they could lose it at any point. "For example, college students in 1971 ranked the importance of being very well off financially No. 8 in their life goals, but since 1989, they have consistently placed it at the top of the list", according to Joanna Chau. Millennials need money and career advancement, but companies now are changing the ideology of the corporate advancement model. 

Companies now are adapting with millennials by changing the work hierarchy. Millennials are more geared toward working in a team environment. To react to this team environment, companies are changing their corporate model with less people in management positions. Instead of having definitive roles, companies are making everyone feel of the same value by calling them all team members. Their new attitudes are best described by, "Millennials often believe you don't need a title to be a leader  --  it can come from heading a project or campaign, or even taking an active role on your team" (Monych). Anyone can emerge as a leader to a millennial through a variety of ways. This promotes equality throughout the workplace and makes it easier for companies to offer a standard wage and allow companies to make all employees feel valued the same.

With the lack of high ranking positons in the workplace comes a change in the environment of the workplace itself. A new team initiated workplace for millennials mean they want a new workspace layout for their office. The typical cubical, that was once so prominent with companies just a few years ago, is now starting to fade away. This is all because of the whole aspect of having an environment that is conducive to group communication and teamwork. Millennials now want an office that has a flow to it and is open air. This is so the millennials feel less of the company hierarchy than generations before. This is a generation difference that we have not seen before in the workplace. Millennials are seeking more of a coach or mentor type rather than the boss type who does not seem to care for the employees, but rather just the overall function of the group (Monych). It is key that millennials feel that connection one on one with their boss, so to make millennial bosses feel more welcoming toward their employees companies are starting to make their employees including the bosses all be in one office area. This really adds to the team environment because there is constant communication between employees and it prohibits the growth of ideas between employees because they have their coworkers and their boss to bounce ideas off of while at their work station. This trait of teamwork and comradery is one that millennials have acquired over time and has carried over to the workplace with the open office spaces and easier access to their bosses. 

Millennials have always been provided with feedback throughout their lives and now they want the same feedback and communication at the workplace. This can vary from asking for advice from a coworker to asking their boss what they think about their performance and the quality of their work. They want to learn the ways of the business they are in order to become proficient at their jobs. To do this millennials require a little more care than previous generations. During their years in school millennials have received feedback from parents and their teachers through conferences. This feedback allows a millennial to adjust when they need to become more proficient at the task at hand. Millennials almost need feedback in order to be successful. Companies should embrace millennials desire for feedback because it allows them to become better employees and be more productive on the job. Micah Solomon, an author for the business magazine Forbes, had this to say regarding millennial feedback, "The solution here is obvious, and is an organizational win regardless of generation: provide more input" (Solomon). This change that is sweeping across companies is one that shockingly had not been done before in the workforce besides maybe the yearly report on the quality of everyone's work. By giving both formal and informal feedback the boss/company is developing a personal relationship with the millennial employee that provides a positive change that will allow for growth and development for not just the millennial employee in the workplace, but the boomer who has been with the company for an extended amount of time or the generation x'er who is on their way to receiving a high ranking manager in the company. The millennial generation's ideals in this situation turn out to help all employees and the company's success. 

Technology and the access of high level technology is something that is fairly new and has only been easily accessible to the people of the millennial generation. Like I discussed above, some have seen it to be the failing point of the millennial generation, but it is actually what has allowed millennials to become more conscious in their work by opening their minds to new things. These mind opening experiences due to the World Wide Web allow for millennials to keep that open mind in the workplace. Technology has also made millennials develop skills that other generations did not have coming into the workforce. These skills previously had to be taught to employees, but now millennials come straight into the workplace with these skills. Currently companies looking to hire expect their employees to have some sort of experience working with technology already. This is because of the technology that the millennial generation has had access to at school and at home. Millennials use their technology for many things including, " ...  research, collaboration, experience-seeking and quest for convenience translates into heavy technology demand" (Wisenberg Brin). Now that millennials are so experienced with technology they want free range on the job, therefore the demand for technology is high at the workplace. They want their employer to supply them with the tools they need to be successful on the job. This can include anything from supplying the employee with a cell phone that is used for work and personal purposes to a laptop used for the same reasons or maybe even working from home. This allows millennials to have flexibility with their work which is something that I will discuss later.

With their technology, comes the ever so debated topic of social media and the workplace. Millennials want to be able to have access to social media and other networking sites while at work (Scwhabel). According to Dan Scwhabel, a writer who works at a company that teaches employers how to recruit millennials, "Companies should embrace social networks because they allow millennials to build relationships, learn about what's going on in their industry, and develop their own careers" (Scwhabel). This compares much to the open workspace environment from before, except in this case the millennial employee has access to their boss and coworker outside of the workplace. This is a great tool because it allows the millennial to also communicate with people they might have never met in their field had it not been for social media. Now, there are websites and apps geared toward attracting the millennial employee to be recruited. This is an excellent tool that benefits both the companies recruiting millennials and millennials also. One example of this is a website/app called LinkedIn. It is a tool that allows for businesses to see employees and for potential employees to see what company they may possibly be interested in. By using technology millennials are changing the way companies interact with their employees at the workplace and reaching out to future employers. Millennials mastery of technology has expanded the range of companies and allowed them to make advancements as companies.

Millennials unlike previous generations before them are not caught up in the typical desire to work the normal nine to five for five days a week. They desire to come and go from the job as they please. Millennials are not as concerned with a defined work schedule and would rather do their work when they have time. They do not care if it causes them to run the risk of not advancing up the ladder because, " ... millennials' inclination in this regard relates to them having watched their boomer parents delay happiness in return for career advancement, a worldview they're not willing to buy into for themselves" (Solomon). Millennials do not want to drag themselves down with work and that is something that employers have to respect. That begs the question of scheduling. Some companies are reacting to with a work when you want attitude. This attitude allows millennials to work when and where they want as long as they reach their deadlines and provide good quality work. Millennials appreciate this freedom and it can be what makes them decide they want to work for one company over another. By allowing employees to work from home companies are offering an atmosphere which promotes a balance between work and outside life. This balance allows for employees to feel like they have freedom to move at their own pace and also lets them feel like they can spend time with their families when they want. By giving this freedom companies promote a healthy environment which makes for happy employees that lead to better results at the workplace.

The workplace is evolving with the influx of millennials into today's workforce. Companies have to make these changes geared toward millennials because by 2020 there will be approximately eighty six million millennials in the workforce or about forty percent of the workforce (Asghar). Changes millennials bring to companies allow for more comradery and teamwork that benefits all the employees because they get a sense of unity rather than a competitive environment where everyone is out to beat their coworker. A stable environment is created with the lack of cubicles that separate employees and a new open air office space is created so millennials can have open communication with their fellow employees which promotes the aspect of teamwork in the workplace. Millennials desire for balancing their work and personal lives has made companies give them access to technology so they can work outside of the workplace and have constant communication with fellow employees. Technology has also allowed millennials to be able to grow their knowledge about their jobs and how they can improve at the workplace. By being raised in a time where jobs were not a guarantee,  millennials are making a positive change in the work force that causes businesses to become more geared toward the success of the company as a whole.

