Middle Ground

The ‘millennial’ question is to be tackled diligently at the middle management level too.

- Dr Debashish Sengupta

Millennials are a force to reckon with both at the workplace and in the marketplace. They are huge in numbers—nearly two billion of them globally, out of which nearly 410 million are present in India, according to a Morgan Stanley report (2017). That is even more than the total population of the US, and more than the total number of millennials that China has today (Morgan Stanley, 2017). India has more than 50 per cent of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65 per cent below the age of 35. Presently, millennials make up 47 per cent of the working-age population. They will form 64 per cent of the workforce by 2021 in India, with an average age of 29 and by 2028 this will grow up to 75 per cent, which is nearly two-third of the workforce (Ramanathan, 2015). India is growing younger, and will become the youngest country very soon.

Not to forget that India’s working-age population is expected to expand to 18.6 per cent of the global labour force by 2027. Indian millennials are going to form a large part of the global workforce as well. Millennials are a significant factor, a key demographic segment, and a labour force that will drive India’s growth story, and at the same time, fulfill global talent demand.

The 7-C strategy

I have always felt that engagement is a function of how well we understand an entity we are attempting to engage. In this case, we are engaging an entire generation of workers. In my book, The Life of Y: Engaging Millennials as Employees and Consumers, I have mentioned that employers need to understand how experiences and environment have shaped millennials and their mindsets. Having grown in the era of technological abundance, a competitive educational system, and a very public life, thanks to social media, millennials are an aspirational generation and have a multi-dimensional definition of success.