That sounds ominous, doesn’t it?

It depends on your perspective, but the truth is that Millennials will soon be the majority. By 2029 Millennials will overtake Boomers as the largest generation in Western society. This shift has already started in the workplace. Although Gen-Xers have been working for a couple of decades, there was never enough to replace the massive number of working Boomers, most of whom were in long-term, and often supervisory positions.

Then the shift started, over the past decade, a large influx of Millennial employees, with a simultaneous rise in Boomer retirement. This has transformed how an organization or business operates because Millennials and Boomers look at work very differently. Moreover, it often leaves one or two minority Gen-Xers juggling values while trying to maintain unity between incoming and outgoing employees.

What does this shift look like for our Millennial workforce?

Let’s unpack some data! In 2022 CNBC released a report on Millennials and Gen-Z in the workplace, titled, “72% of Young Workers Say They’ve Regretted a New Job After Starting“.

The research showed that “72% of [young] job seekers say they’ve started a new job and felt a sense of surprise or regret” and these “new-job regrets are disruptive for workers and employers alike.”

They added that “roughly 20% of [these] job seekers say they would quit within a month if their new job isn’t what they expected, and another 41% would give a new job just two to six months before quitting.”

CNBC.com

What do these stats tell us?

These statistics present a new employment reality, that 61% of young workers surveyed will quit within 6 months if the job no longer feels right. This makes them the most transient generation of employees that the workplace has ever experienced.

I’m certain that this research is resonating with you on some level.

• Maybe you’re a Millennial who has wrestling with these feelings and even now, you’ve been contemplating yet another new job, burdened by this ongoing lack of contentment.
• Maybe you’re a Gen-Xer who feels stuck in the middle, having given 20 years to your career, knowing that you have another 20 years of endless recruiting, hiring and training.
• Maybe you’re a Boomer who has been contemplating early retirement because this new generation won’t take up the mantle that you’ve carried for decades.

As the workplace changes, there will be challenges for every generation. Each of us can decide now, to prepare for this shift. We can make a choice to seek out an alternative perspective.

Embrace the Millennial take-over.

Remember that this isn’t a surprise to God. There’s a plan and purpose in it, for our good and for His glory. For those of us who proclaim to follow Jesus, we can start embracing Millennials now, making a choice to invest in them. They’re not going anywhere. By 2029, they will be the most prevalent generation in most businesses and organizations. We will need them to work with us and for us.

The Church has an opportunity over the next few years, to show our world a new way; a better way to work in generational unity. If we’re open and willing, there is incredible growth available for all of us, but we all have work to do. We all have assignments over the next few years.

• For the Millennial, stop listening to the lie that the next job or employee will fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Instead, find a mentor and find contentment.
• For the Gen-Xer, give Millennials a chance, but seek out candidates that have teachability over technique. Seek out contentment over credentials.
• For the Boomer, respond with grace to a Millennial who asks for help, because it was counter-cultural for them to reach out. Be a mentor and leave a legacy.

Regardless of our generation, the drastic shifts in culture and in the workplace will test us and challenge us all.

A final word for Millennials.

For the Millennial who is reading this, we love you and care about your future. Please don’t read this post as a theft of your individuality. Some of you won’t fit into the statistical window I’ve outlined in this post. However, some of you do, or you at least have friends who do.

In the next 5 years, you will likely find yourself in some very difficult situations, and subsequent conversations. How you respond in those moments could make or break you. Why not prepare for them now?

1. Seek out a mentor who loves Jesus and has considerable years of life experience.
2. Ask them to help you live a life of contentment (in career, experience, money, possessions, all of it).
3. Embrace new opportunities that don’t feel natural to your disposition or generational culture.

Taking on these three goals will take substantial humility, but by 2029, you will have become a leader in your generation. By 2029, you will be a Millennial with a unique skill-set that will set you apart. By 2029, God will have positioned you for an amazing life journey.

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts

• What generation are you in and how do you feel about the Millennial take-over?
• If you’re a Millennial, do you have a mentor? Why or why not?
• If you’re a Boomer or Gen-Xer, are you investing in a Millennial? Why or why not?