Millennials: how do we see them?

A new generation and new working ecosystems.

In the USA Millennials have overtaken Generation X; in Europe youth unemployment keeps rising, marking a wide gap and making us reflect on the changes under way in the world of work.
While in America 1 worker in 3 is between 18 and 34, in Europe this age group is the most penalised in the job market, and ends up looking at the future in negative terms.

Too much pessimism, or plain realism? It should be said that companies tend to misjudge and misunderstand Millennials, generally associating them with lazy profiles, with little spirit of sacrifice and no qualifications.
Looking specifically at Italy, Millennials have had to face a severe and prolonged economic crisis that ended up changing working arrangements, forcing these young workers, often highly specialised and university-educated, to look back nostalgically at the past as a time of prosperity, calm and easy entry into work that they are unlikely to come close to today.

How do we deal with this situation, given that in the States Millennials have won a considerable share of the job market?

Recent research shows that Millennials are underestimated by companies, even though this group of workers holds a great deal of potential and brings positive values that benefit brands. Looked at closely, these elements reveal a generation that is socially aware, fast, efficient and in touch with the web and all the up-to-date information it offers.

Millennials were the first generation to build their personal history alongside the spread of the internet. Their individual dimension takes the form of being there, and is shaped by the sense of having their own place in an interconnected social network.
Always online, always connected, Millennials shape their lives around sharing content on their social networks. They value and cultivate relationships through social networks, and in doing so adopt new consumer behaviours: they are always informed about brands thanks to direct access to information and reviews on social channels. They have the internet on for 70% of the day and are the most present on Facebook (81%), with a higher average number of friends.

What we need to keep in mind is the weight this audience has on the world economic stage, as players in the world of work and as representatives of a deep change in society.
The focus of this generation is no longer owning a material good but access: using services, in the wake of the sharing economy and collaborative consumption, in connection with technological change. Thanks to the internet they can read up, learn, watch films, listen to music and travel using apps and platforms that offer shared services that are simple and cheap, such as Airbnb, Uber and BlaBlaCar.

What emerges is the portrait of a generation that believes in moral principles, wants authenticity and has little trust in political and religious institutions. A generation that calls itself complicated but has managed to turn its uncertainty into added value, investing in itself and continually reinventing itself.

We close with a fine initiative by Corriere della Sera, Mi-Quadra: a blog that gives a voice to young people in Lombardy, the region with the highest number of innovative start-ups. A platform that brings Generation Y into dialogue with the candidates in the upcoming Milan elections, to listen to each other and start planning the near future, picking up needs and ideas.