Right now, there are 0.9 people for every 1 job opening in the US. In other words, there are more jobs than there are people available for employment.

And there’s not just one reason for this, but several factors that have come together to cause an ongoing shortage. For example, since the COVID Pandemic in 2020 nearly one in five people in the U.S. have altered their livelihood (so as to make employment optional), 17% have retired, 19% have transitioned to homemaker, and 14% are now working part-time.

The Pandemic ignited a restructuring of where people work, affected how much workers are paid, and accelerated the development of machines and technology that could potentially replace aspects of human-driven functions in the workplace. Additionally, workforce participation remains below pre-pandemic levels. We are still missing about 1.7 million Americans from the workforce compared to February of 2020.

But the decline in the U.S. labor force participation is nothing new—fewer and fewer Americans have been participating in the labor force for decades, resulting in a smaller workforce that is expected to continue shrinking for years to come.

Part of this has to do with the fact that 65,000 Baby Boomers (a generation of a historically large working population) hit retirement age every day in the U.S.. Additionally, people of Generation X didn’t have as many children as their parents did. And Millennials are choosing either not to have children, or are doing so at a later age.

So basically, as Baby Boomers continue to retire from the workforce, we are only going to have an even more difficult shortage in the labor market. “We have a lot of jobs but not enough workers to fill them. If every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have millions of open jobs.” [U.S. Chamber of Commerce]

But that’s not my point. Here’s my point—The Millennial generation makes up the majority of the workforce.

Understanding why workers are missing from unfilled jobs is only half of the equation. Another integral piece lies with implementing solutions to attract and retain new/more workers.

By 2025, Millennials will account for 75% of the global workforce, and 35% of the U.S. workforce (followed by Generation X at roughly 31%, Baby Boomers at 18%, and Generation Z at around 16%). And with all of the above information in mind, I have one primary question for you—What level of understanding do you have about how the Millennial generation relates to work?

About how they communicate professionally (and personally), what they value from work, in what ways they interact and build relationships professionally (and personally)… And I don’t mean the stereotypes you’ve heard. I mean how much do you really know and understand?

Because the math tells us that it would be smart to make this a priority. It is worth your time, attention, energy, and money to better understand your Millennial workforce so that you can take effective steps to retaining them—And retention is a measure of front-line leadership. So consider taking the Leadership First Approach™ to retention.

Millennials do business differently. They think about business differently. And as they continue to takeover leadership positions we have to accept how they think—How they make decisions, how they run things, operate, perceive, participate, invest, engage…

>>If I’m not already standing on a soapbox in your mind, consider this my ascension 😉<<

Older generations cannot keep playing the “they’re the one’s that are wrong” game and expect good results. Older leaders cannot keep thinking “it’s a them problem,” or feed into stereotypes about poor work ethic and entitlement.

It’s your job now to acknowledge that theirs is just a different way of doing things—Your job to understand it, and your job to accept the culture of it. Heck, by definition I’m a Millennial. And if that surprises you because you wouldn’t categorize me into the same pile as other Millennial stereotypes, then great. I’ll take the compliment while you take a moment to consider your biases.

And let me be clear that my advocacy for this point of view has nothing to do with my being a Millennial, and everything to with a passion for helping organizations become bigger and better.

I’ll say it again so we have appropriate dramatic effect, and you really hear it—Retention is a measure of front-line leadership.

Organizations are not entities, they are groups of people working together to achieve an agreed upon set of goals. So we have to take a people-centric approach to organizational success. And leaders exist to LEAD the people. Progress starts with leadership.

Your investment in leadership development is an investment in retention. And your investment in retention today, is going to lead to your preparedness and success tomorrow.

>>And now I shall descend from that soapbox… It’s time for lunch and I’m hungry.<<

*Resource [U.S. Chamber of Commerce]

*Also check out Cross-generational Workforces: An Advantage, Not a Roadblock