It has been well documented that workers today are likely to move jobs at a rate scarcely seen before.  While this has led to accusations of a lack of loyalty or endurance, research from the University of Missouri suggests that millennial workers may just want some respect at work instead of more trendy perks.

“Millennials have been called the ‘entitled generation,’ and they kind of give young workers a bad rap because their often-publicized interests began with wanting to have fun in the workplace, but today’s young workers have shifted toward interests in doing valuable work and finding meaning in their day-to-day job functions,” the researchers say. “Leaders and managers are the ones who have the power to help foster that connection of meaningful work, determine what employee well-being means and how to communicate that meaning in a respectful way to their employees.”

Meaningful work

The results emerged after a survey of over 1,000 full-time workers aged between 21 and 34 from 18 different career areas.  The participants were asked about a range of issues in their current workplace, including job satisfaction, employee loyalty, autonomous respect, respectful engagement, and occupational resilience.

The researchers cite previous studies suggesting that managers spend up to 90% of their time communicating with their team.  They believe that their findings illustrate the importance of doing this well, and they suggest that managers may need extra training to help ensure this happens.

“As we see here with our research, actively recognizing employees for the value they bring to their organization will help equip them to bounce back after adversity, to perform better in their jobs and be more committed to their organizations in the long term,” the researchers say. “I think that’s especially relevant today, even though this study was conducted before the coronavirus pandemic.”

They suggest that there is a real risk that employers could lose younger employees if they’re unable to properly use respectful communication in the workplace.

“There’s a giant risk for employers if they don’t help employees have a sense of purpose and a sense of well-being and engagement,” the researchers conclude. “Coming to work may not be joyful every day, but if work is something where I can feel fulfillment, I can feel respected as a human being and most important, that I can feel that I have earned the respect and recognition that I’m given by my boss and by my co-workers.”