I’m sure you’ve seen it. There’s a lot of Millennial hating going on out there. This newest generation to arrive in the workplace is alternately painted as lazy and entitled, or as enthusiastic and diligent. They are the first truly “digitally native” generation. They’ve always had access to a computerized solution for virtually any problem, and they can’t remember when the Internet didn’t exist.

They also have their own unique challenges. This is the generation that carries most of the burden of the nation’s multi-trillion-dollar student loan debt. They’ve grown up with the understanding that lifetime employment is a thing of the past. They struggle to get entry level jobs, many of which now, incomprehensibly, require a few years of experience. They know that they will not be working their way up from a job in the mailroom. The mailroom was outsourced back in 2003.

So, what do Millennials want out of work? This article from Harvard Business Review addresses just that. The top three goals that the Millennials surveyed want hope to achieve in their careers are:
 

• Making a difference to the organization
• Helping to solve social/environmental challenges—a sense of purpose
• Work with a diverse group of people

Noble aspirations, aren’t they? And if you look further at the survey results, you will see that the Millennials’ responses aren’t terribly different from those of Gen X or the Baby Boomers. It shouldn’t be surprising that we all have more in common than we originally thought.