Curatti

Millennials and The New Career Track: Play, Create, Learn and Grow

  • Cesar Romero

    • Worldwide, only 13% of employees are engaged at work. According to the most recent Gallup study about employee satisfaction released on 10/9/13, from 230,000 full-time and part-time workers in 142 countries, only 13% of workers feel engaged at their jobs.

    Only 13%? Something’s wrong here. Everyone deserves to do the things they are passionate about and wake up each day with the drive and fulfillment that comes from doing work that matters. Low levels of engagement affect productivity and quality of life. We spend a substantial part of our lives at work and this is an indication that most people are unhappy, unproductive, and liable to spread negativity to coworkers.

    My friend Albert Qian in his most recent article talks about the challenges and opportunities that all the generations experience like looking for jobs where they feel fulfilled and changes in the way industries do business because of the recession and economical shifts. While the economy and finding fulfilling jobs are enormous challenges they also represent opportunities to think outside the box and reinvent the way we do work.

    What can we do to encourage companies to care about their employees again, beyond just an 8 hour day? What can we do to let Millennials know that they can make an impact through what they do in the workplace?

    I think it all begins with reinventing the way we do work into a more engaged workplace that focuses more on happiness, growth, abundance, and a common mission. Employees who are engaged in the company culture are generally in better health and have healthier habits than employees who are not engaged.

    The way we do work has changed over the years and it’s no longer about clocking in, work for 8 hours, and clocking out. This has changed and we need to adapt. People want to have fun at work while learning new skills and feel like they are making a positive contribution to the world. They want to feel excited to jump out of bed each morning.

    Companies that have high levels of employee engagement have the following characteristics:

    Everyone in the company is allowed to be themselves doing work and getting results in their way.

    They select people who are talented, driven, and positive creating a work environment that helps their employees move forward in life.

    They focus on creating a company culture driven by happiness, growth, abundance, and aligned with a common purpose.

    They provide training and mentorship to help employees grow personally and professionally.

    They get involved in causes that result in positive social change and contribution.

     

    Naturally, there is so much more to this. In the spirit of true dialog, I welcome further articles from millennials and non-millennials. This is a debate that needs to happen and it will benefit all of us.  So let’s do it!

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    Cesar Romero

    Cesar Romero is a bilingual writer, social media strategist, speaker, adventure traveler, running enthusiast, cookie monster, startup lover, and lifelong learner. His life motto is “Live Life in Permanent Beta” always working towards your next big accomplishment. His writings have been featured in Under30CEO, Gulf Elite Magazine, and other outlets. As a community manager for Under30Experiences, Cesar is currently working on making traveling more accessible and creating the biggest most engaged community of young travelers who want to see the world, understand it, and get inspired to create projects that change the world for the better. Cesar was also involved in the first ever Startup Weekend Managua 2013, where he led a group of high school kids to be among the top 3 projects.