People and Management January 2019 | Page 30

PARADIGM SHIFT MILLENNIALS IN THE GIG ECONOMY: TRENDS Ajay Sharma Future of Work Strategist Founder – Get Me Experts.com & FlexiOrg.com T he world is around changing very fast. In last ten years, our working behaviour has changed drastically. We are now more social media savvy, most of us are on Linkedin, we share about our services on Facebook, whatsapp, snapchat. There is a heavy emphasis on technology in almost all the facets of work life and personal life. The focus on “gadgets” has made our work simpler but life has become more stressful due to loads of information moving around us. But while the GenX may be struggling to cope up with changes happening around, a new breed, Millennials are making their way forward. They are defi ning new rules for the workforce. Instead of following what mid-senior aged employees conventionally followed, they want to create a workplace, which is going to be as per their choice while keeping the focus on business goals. into easy to use and cheaper for the masses to apply in daily work life. Social and geographical boundaries are fading away and making the world a real global village. Millennial factor in Future of Work Millennials, the term indicates those people who were supposed to attain their adulthood in early 21st century and later. There is so much of discussion about them. They are not aliens. However there are certain behaviour patterns which are expected from this new generation professionals. It is expected that by the year 2025, 70% of the workforce will be millennial. These are estimates for US workforce but similar estimates can be predicted for India as well. This new breed workforce will bring a new attitude about work, new expectations, a very different workplace behaviour and a set of values which may not be similar to Gen X & GenY professionals. Technology driving Behaviour Technology has made certain things easier, they have enabled social and collaborative platforms for businesses. They are changing some of the legacy enterprise platforms like CRM, Billing/Invoicing, time tracking, and payments The expected behaviour of Millennials will revolve around new set of values, work methods and focus on the way to acquire education & skills. The reliance on University degree will be low, practical aspect of the skills With automation and AI looking most mundane repetitive jobs, HR has to look for certain expertise. HR heads will advertise not for Head of Marketing position but for someone who can manage digital out reach of our brand to customers, and support sales with market analytics. 30 | Vol. 10 Issue 1 • JANUARY 2019, Noida