Millennials in the Workplace (original) (raw)

Academy of Management Proceedings

Today's workplace is undergoing dramatic shifts due to the growth of Millennials within the workforce and the insertion of their ideals, values, and identity in organizations. This paper explores the workplace profile of Millennials, their use of technology, their workplace engagement, and the ultimate impact they have on organizational success. "Group life is never without change, merely differences in the amount and type of change exist" (Lewin, 1947a, p.308). All groups, systems, and organizations exist in a world that is continuously impacted by circumstances, internal or external, that drive change (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1997; Burnes, 2004; Marshak, 2006). Changes in personnel, resources, leadership, the economy, goals, business models, laws, consumer behavior, environment, and competition can trigger change in an organization. Tomorrow's success for today's companies depends on how these companies develop and respond to change on a global scale. Companies that embrace Millennials, born between 1982 and 2000 (Howe & Strauss, 1991), as an active part of their organization's development are most positioned for tomorrow's success. Organizational development (OD) has emerged as the field of study that examines change in organizations through a variety of frameworks and theories (Burke, 2008; Marshak, 2006). Although many of the OD frameworks and theories compete for status, the body of knowledge that defines OD seeks to explore universal principles through which groups, systems, and organizations succeed or fail (Burke, 2008; Marshak, 2006; Maurer, 2006). The purpose of this paper is to advocate that companies in which Millennials are embraced as an active part of the organization's development are most positioned for future success. Organizational Development OD is synonymous with change management, with most OD practitioners engaged in the strategic planning of an organization, directing change (Marshak, 2006; Schein, 2008). For many practitioners, the work of OD builds on Lewin's model for a planned approach to change that consists of three steps: unfreezing, movement, and refreezing (Burke, 2008). Unfreezing is considered the ratification of complacency and the realization that change is needed in an organization (Burke, 2008; Burnes, 2004; Lewin, 1947b). The unfreezing of an organization produces the initial behavioral conditions of a group that are necessary for the second step of the model, movement (Burnes, 2004; Burke, 2008; Lewin, 1947b). Movement is change, as it requires the learning, identification, and evaluation of new forces (attitudes, skills, knowledge, and or attributes) that will thrive in the changed environment (Burnes, 2004; Burke, 2008). Once these new forces are established, the third step of the model, refreezing, becomes possible. Refreezing (or freezing) is the sustention and the stabilization of a change in culture, standards, strategies, and practices of an organization (Burnes, 2004; Burke, 2008; Lewin, 1947b). However, there are varying perspectives in OD on change and its management (Burnes, 2004; Choi & Ruona, 2011). There are several alternative constructs on change management, one dominating perspective being a culture-excellence construct (Burnes, 2004).