Dive Brief:
- New research from Blackhawk Engagement Solutions reveals that millennials aren’t too keen on current employee rewards and recognition programs – a “key component in growing employee happiness,” notes hr.blr.com.
- Millennials are largely happy and comfortable at their work environments, but they want praise and affirmation for personal accomplishments directly from a manager or via company-wide announcements, hr.blr reports.
- Millennials are markedly engaged at their jobs, however, “with the majority having a clear understanding of what is expected of them, opportunities to learn, and bosses who seem to care about them.”
Dive Insight:
“Happy Millennials: An Employee Rewards & Recognition Study is the second of a four-part national survey that questioned 1,800 salaried and hourly employed Americans, including nearly 350 Millennials, about the key components of employee happiness, and the particular role rewards and recognition programs play in workplace satisfaction,” according to hr.blr.
64% of millennials want to be recognized for their personal accomplishments, and a fair majority of them would be happy with a direct monetary reward (think pre-paid cards) as a form of recognition. One issue: many millennials aren’t actually eligible for rewards that are offered. According to the survey, 82% of millennials don’t receive safety rewards; 67% don’t get spot rewards; and 48% do not receive wellness rewards.
But even when millennials do receive rewards at work, 43% don’t receive recognition rewards – and they’re pretty sensitive about it compared to other generations, the survey notes.
The survey also says that millennials are very careful about their work-life balance, putting their job near last in the 12 life factors that influence happiness. All things to consider as millennials become the majority of the workforce.