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8 Highly Unproductive Millennial Habits (That You Can Change!)

According to professionals, Gen Y (also known as millennials) are the most stressed generation found in society today. Many millennial find themselves lying awake at night, suffering from anxiety attacks, and feeling overly fatigued on a regular basis.

While many of the things that cause millennial stress can’t necessarily be helped, there are a few highly unproductive habits that you, if you are a millennial, can curb in an attempt to reduce stress and be more productive.

Skipping breakfast.

With school and work starting early, and most millennial never seeming to get enough sleep, it’s common that this ever-busy group of people miss their morning meal.

Instead, they grab an apple or granola bar on the way out the door. Maybe they even skip food altogether and instead opt to grab a coffee. This, although commonplace, is detrimental and unproductive.It sets the body up for being tired and the mind for being unfocused.

Sitting too long.

Many jobs require the worker to sit for hours at a time. We understand that this is required in this case, but it is considered to be one of the many things slowing millennials down.

Professionals have linked sitting for extended periods of time with more than just aches and pains; they have also found links to increased anxiety.

Taking work home.

Many millennial are guilty of never really “clocking out”. By this we mean that much of this generation of professionals is always working or thinking about work.

This, even though it’s possible to go to the gym while planning your speech for the next day, doesn’t allow for the person to relax fully. This can bog the mind down and cause anxiety, fatigue, and general mental overload.

Too much “Netflix and chill”.

It’s easy to think that Netflix and a night of relaxing is a great way to unwind, but it’s actually been found that watching more than two hours of TV at a time can cause an increase in negative moods.

In other words, millennial who binge their favorite shows on the weekend could easily fall victim to mild depression.

Being too connected with social media.

Social media is a good thing. It connects long lost friends and relatives, and can help businesses flourish – but it can also be a problem for young professionals.

Millennials, according to many researchers, using their phones and social media more than any other age group. Like watching too much TV, using social media too much can cause anxiety problems.

Staying up later than recommended.

Most healthy adults need 7-8 hours of sleep a night, with a handful being exceptions to the rule. Those who have stable jobs, however, should always try to get at least 7 hours in order to function properly at work.

Millennials, like the generation that comes after them, are prone to staying up too late finishing work, watching TV, or browsing the internet.

Here’s How Your Brand Can Connect with Millennials More Effectively

Although millennials are arguably one of the most misunderstood generation, they are also today’s most sought after segment of consumers. If you want your brand to connect with millennials more effectively, perform the following strategies:

  1. Recognize their intelligence.

The worst thing that you could do is to dumb down your message. It is important to recognize their intelligence, so it is recommended to present valuable information in a fast-paced manner such as in social media. Moreover, because they are goal setters, doing so can also make them feel like they are advancing towards their objectives.

  1. Add some quirkiness or playfulness in the content that you create.

If the boomers are anti-establishment, millennials are a combination of quirky and earnest. This is apparent in the popularity of kittens and puppy memes. If you want to connect with them, you need to adapt to their goofiness by including playfulness in your brand voice. However, it is important to note that you should be genuine about it because they value authenticity.

  1. Give them a chance to engage with your brand through social media.

As you probably already know, millennials spend a significant amount of time on social media, and what’s great about this is that they also use it to interact with various brands. They tend to share their opinions on this type of sites about the things that they strongly like or hate. If you want to connect with millennials effectively, it is important to provide them with content that they would want to share, and ask them questions to keep the conversation going.

However, it is important to keep in mind that engaging with this generation through social networking sites should not be regarded as purely a way of driving traffic to your official business website, nor is it only for making quick sales. What your main focus should be is to provide relevant and meaningful content that will keep your target market engaged and establish strong genuine relationships with them.

  1. Make your content more flexible.

Studies suggest that millennials tend to switch their attention between multiple devices for over 27 times per hour. With this, it is necessary to make sure that you can grab their fleeting attention in all online channels imaginable.

For instance, your content marketing strategy must include a tweet that millennials can read as they wait for their order at a restaurant, a Top-10 list that they can read while commuting to their office, or a longer article or video that they can view during their break time.

Final Thoughts

Always remember that each generation is unique. With this, you need to always be ready to tweak your marketing strategy to be able to connect with a new generation more effectively. The ideas presented in this article are just some of our most highly-recommended approaches. What are some other tips that you can share?

Understanding the Millennial Consumer

Millennials have a significant influence and serve as trendsetters in various industries, ranging from food to fashion. With this, businesses find the need to compete for millennial mindshare to have a competitive advantage.

However, these businesses somehow find it challenging to grab the attention and connect with millennials. Time and again, it is proven that the traditional approaches in marketing, sales, and advertising do not work for this generation.

Aside from this inability to establish a solid relationship with them, a lot of companies also make the mistake of believing in what we can say “myths” about this generation. One example of these common misconceptions is that millennials are not loyal to a brand.

So to understand the millennial consumer, a research study was conducted on 1,300 millennials from the database of Elite Daily. Here are the most interesting findings:

  • Advertising doesn’t have a significant influence on millennials. Only 1 percent of the participants of the survey report that an attractive advertisement would entice them into trusting a brand more. Moreover, the study shows that this generation is not convinced of the authenticity of advertisements, which is why they tend to frequently skip ads and avoid banner ads on news sites and Facebook.
  • The millennial consumer would prefer to purchase a car and rent a house. Out of the participants surveyed, 71% responded that they would rather buy a car instead of renting it, and 59% would choose to lease a house instead of purchasing one. Moreover, 61% admit that they can’t afford to buy a home.

A substantial number of millennials still live with their parents, are underemployed, and are still paying for their student loan. As millennials are getting married, having kids, and are getting better paying jobs later in life, this generation tends to put off purchasing their own house. Instead of being cheaper, a car is also perceived to be necessary for them to get around.

  • Out of all the participants, 33 percent review blogs before making a purchasing decision, while only 3% rely on magazines, television news, and books. While older consumers depend on traditional forms of media, this generation use social media sites to obtain information on what’s going on. Furthermore, they trust content that is produced by their peers.
  • Millennials value authenticity compared to content. When reading news, 43% of the participants consider authenticity as more important than content. In addition, they need to trust a website or company first before they would even consider consuming their content. Blogs must be authentic to appeal to millennials, and this generation connects more effectively with people than logos.
  • They are interested to engage with brands on social media sites. The study revealed that 62% of millennials surveyed stated that they will tend to become a loyal customer if a brand engages with them through these sites.
  • The results of the research indicate that millennials want to co-create products and services with businesses. A considerable 42% want to get involved with the development of companies’ future offerings. Those which allow millennials to take part or have a say in the process of product development will likely to be more competitive and preferred by millennials.
  • Millennials use multiple devices, with 87% of the participants stating that they use around two to three tech devices daily. Moreover, 39% are likely to buy a tablet in the next half a decade, while 30% are planning to purchase a wearable device. If you want your brand to stay relevant in this consumer world dominated by millennials, it would be a great idea to engage them with new platforms as they are launched. For example, an app that runs on smartwatches could be a sound long-term investment that could engage millennials.
  • Contrary to common belief, millennials are actually brand loyal, with 60% of the participants saying that they are often or always loyal to certain brands that they currently use. Hence, it would be awesome to establish a solid relationship with this generation sooner, because they will likely to stay loyal to your brand and purchase your products even as they grow older.
  • Millennials expect companies to give back to society, as a whopping 75% of the participants stated that they are sick of corporate greed and that it is important for brands to give back. Furthermore, they prefer companies that provide support to local communities in one way or another.

With all the information shared in this article, we hope you’ll be able to understand the millennial consumer much better. By keeping these things in mind, you will surely be able to develop better strategies for your business, or simply connect with this generation more effectively.

Tips in Effectively Managing Millennials at Work

Although millennials are among the most educated compared to other previous generations, they are also known as job-hoppers and remain a mystery to business leaders. In this article, we will discuss how you can effectively manage millennials at work, as well as how to motivate and keep them engaged.

Tip #1 Explain the vision of your company.

If you can manage to explain the bigger overall picture, then it connects the meaning to the millennial worker. The thing about this generation is that they are more likely to look for meaning and impact when it comes to their jobs.

Millennials are not just satisfied with simply punching a clock and getting paid. They are the kind of employees who want to have a clear sense of purpose, and therefore, you should help them understand their part in the organization by explaining your company vision. Doing so does not only make them feel that they are valued, but can also improve their productivity.

Tip #2 Allow them to have more flexibility.

When it comes to millennials, one of the primary drivers of employee retention is work-life balance. Being required to sit at a desk for the whole day does not appeal to millennials. Good thing, there are now more innovative ways of working.

They are not called Digital Natives for no reason—millennials are a tech-savvy generation. This means that they can work from anywhere and at any time as long as they have a stable internet connection. According to a recent study by the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation, employees from this generation are willing to sacrifice salary for more vacation time and the chance to work outside the office. Some of the ways by which you can offer this to your employees include increasing vacation time, allowing them to have a more flexible schedule, and occasional telecommuting.

Tip #3 Constantly provide constructive feedback and motivation.

Millennials respond well to motivation and feedback, and they need to know that they are being noticed. Aside from supportive feedback, simply saying “congratulations” or “thank you” can make a significant difference in keeping them engaged. An additional advice is to keep an open communication and let them know if they are doing well and teach them how they can become better.

Tip #4 Offer professional development.

Millennials are hungry for growth and development. With this, if you want to retain them and manage them more effectively, you should offer professional development. You can do this by training them, sending them to leadership conferences, or bringing in speakers to help them learn more and hone their skills.

Final Thoughts

These are just some of the most basic tips on how you can manage your millennial employees more effectively and keep them engaged. Millennials only seem difficult to handle because you don’t find the time to try to understand them. We hope this article sheds some light on millennial workers, including how you could win their trust and make them valuable assets of your company.

Generation Y Decoded: Why They Are the Way They Are

During one of my research sessions, I came across a video in which Simon Sinek attempts to explain why millennials are the way they are stereotyped to be. Now, it is a given that not everyone born in the years from 1984 to 2000 share these stereotypical characteristics, but nevertheless, people have their ideas. So, to help explain why they are the way they are, Simon Sinek gave 4 things.

1. Failed parenting strategies. This refers to parents telling their kids that they could have anything they want because they can. Meaning, they don’t have to work for it and they don’t need to put in the effort to get there. What also happened with this generation, is that they were rewarded with medals or trophies for losing or coming last. This may seem like a good idea, but it isn’t. Because they know they don’t deserve to receive a reward, they feel bad and their self-confidence is negatively influenced. As a whole, the Gen Y kids tend to have much lower self-esteem and self-confidence than the generations before and after them.

2. Technology. Gen Y has become addicted to technology. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. are all their drugs. Engaging with social media and getting ‘likes’ releases dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a happy hormone and is associated with the feelings of pleasure we get when smoking, drinking, having sex, or gambling. No wonder they got addicted.

3. Impatience. The millennials grew up with instant gratification. No matter what you want, you can get it online or by delivery, etc. No need to go to the movies or wait for a show time. You can just go online and watch. The same with series. No need to wait until next week, just watch everything now. Heat up a frozen dinner or call for take-out. Unfortunately, this has set them up for disappointment. Job satisfaction and strong relationships don’t play by those rules. It takes work and time.

4. Working environment. Clearly, these poor kids were dealt a bad hand as Sinek says. Corporations are more concerned about numbers than training and building employees up. The result is that they feel like failures and further lose confidence.

With this combination of factors, it is easy to see why Gen Y is the way they are.