How long have you been in your current job? If you were born between 1980 and 2000, chances are that it’s been less than three years.



Employers Behind the Times



Millennials, the largest generation after the baby boomers, have different attitudes toward work, but employers haven’t caught up.



“They’re dealing with a generation for whom retention – loyalty to their employer – is not their number one objective,” says Joe Kessler, CEO of Noise, a marketing and creative agency.



Kessler argues that corporate benefits, including the popular yearly bonus, don't reflect the values of many of today’s younger workers.

A New Paradigm



“If you accept the idea that your best people aren’t going to stay,” says Kessler, “you start to develop programs that are geared to getting the most out of an employee while you have them.”



In response to changing attitudes, some companies are experimenting with different types of benefits, such as micro raises.



Instead of the traditional annual review, “companies are actually doing shorter, quicker monthly reviews with monthly smaller raises that over the course of the year might add up to the same amount or even add up to less, but give these young employees more constant feedback.”



Beyond the Workplace



Kessler anticipates that the same millennial attitudes currently challenging employers’ expectations will work their way into other aspects of society.



“We have deep-rooted cultural institutions, in terms of finance and the economy and governments – led generally by boomers and Xers…that are resisting that change, but I think it’s inevitable that change is going to occur."