Millennials and Gen Z employees are now valuing workplace culture and values more than the pay scale while choosing their employers. And so, it has become important for companies to build a healthy and positive workplace culture. More importantly, they must be able to communicate their values, use advanced wellness technology, offer employee wellness programs, and other wellbeing perspectives appealingly.

Most Millennials are active in their social lives and pursuit for value and purpose in their personal and work lives. And that’s precisely why companies must focus on creating a workplace culture that adds value to their employee’s beliefs and purpose.

Many studies have revealed that Millennials and Gen Z are not fully impressed with the big cash benefits and corporate perks. However, they care more about the workplace culture and how the company works to solve social and employee concerns.

Workplace Wellness Expectations of Millennials

As the Millennials are becoming the major section of the working market, the ideology and strategy of promising corporate philanthropy must become the USP of the company. It not only boosts company branding but also helps in recruiting talented candidates and retaining them.

A PwC study reported that almost 64% of Millennials prefer working remotely, and 66% want a flexible working schedule.

Also, 41% of Millennials want to be recognized, appreciated, and rewarded at least once a month for their efforts and performance at the workplace. Only 30% of the other working generations preferred this frequency level of rewards and recognition.

Apart from having a flexible schedule and remote working options, Millennials highly prioritize workplace culture. The common elements expected at the workplace from most Millennials are –

• An environment that promotes strong teamwork
• Transparency when it comes to rewards, recognition, benefits, compensation, and career opportunities.
• A company that seeks regular employee feedback and genuinely works on it.
• A culture that supports employee work-life balance.
• Promoting a sense of diversity and inclusion to build a better workplace community.
• Support from supervisors and management.

Despite having a natural mastery of the latest technology, Millennials usually do not prefer having discussions over emails or social media platforms. While they do love Gamification methods to overcome burnout, they do not prefer technology-based communication tools. Instead, they prefer having a phone call or a direct in-person conversation, especially when it comes to workplace matters.

Millennials and Gen Z want to represent their company, its values, and its culture. And so, they not only expect their company to implement the right policies and promote a healthy culture, but they also expect their co-workers to practice these values every day.

Establishing a Strong Company Culture

The first and foremost step to establishing a healthy and positive company culture is identifying employee interests and beliefs. Seeking employee feedback through pulse surveys, employee engagement surveys, polls, or discussions can help in understanding their ideologies and requirements.

After determining their values and interests, the next step is to set a plan of action and communicate it to the entire workforce. Communication is the key to boosting employee engagement.

When the existing workforce is happy with the workplace culture and convinced about the company’s values for employee wellbeing, they become the chief elements of the organization’s brand positioning. As the ‘word-of-mouth’ approach is probably the strongest marketing strategy, it starts by pleasing the existing employees, who, in turn, will play a key role in inviting skilled candidates to the organization, leading to business growth and success.

Studies show that just preaching about “cause marketing” does not really impress the Millennials or most employees today to choose their employer or to stick with them for a long time. It takes genuine efforts from companies to prove their interest in making an impact and achieving the right workplace culture.

Millennials have changed the idea of a perfect workplace. Their concept of positive workplace culture and a low tolerance for social inequalities has forced employers to change their working policies. And so, if employers wish to have a competitive edge in the market, they must align their working policies with the latest trends and values.