What Millennial employees want

Restaurant operators already know they have to handle Millennial-aged employees differently than they did their Gen X or Baby Boomer predecessors. Now we’re beginning to find out more about which specific factors keep workers ages 18-34 satisfied with their jobs and which ones cause them to move on.

These insights come courtesy of Snagajob, an online source for hourly employment, in conjunction with TDn2K, parent company of People Report. Snagajob quizzed more than 400 job seekers born between 1980 and 2000 to come up with its findings, revealing them in its “Millennials in the Workforce” report, which includes data collected by Snagajob and TDn2K, as well as additional information courtesy of Red Tree Data and Mashable.

“It’s clear that this burgeoning generation has preferences and behaviors different from their predecessors,” says  Megan Overton, Snagajob's director of marketing. “Especially when it comes to jobs.”

Millennials have been dubbed the “Me Generation” with many of its members chronically underemployed. It’s no wonder their collective sense of job satisfaction is low. Red Tree Data found that only one of four Millennials is completely satisfied in their current position. Here are some aspects this generation’s workers view as part of a good job:

• having a flexible schedule (26 percent)

• competitive pay and benefits (25 percent)

• having a favorable location (21 percent)

• growth opportunities (18 percent)

A second component of the study looked at turnover. Additional research found that three out of five Millennials expect to switch jobs within the next five years. According to Snagajob's survey, the following factors cause these workers to seek employment elsewhere:

• 39 percent leave in search of getting a better schedule

• 36 percent leave due to a perceived lack of growth opportunities

• 15 percent leave because of “issues with management”

• 9 percent are fired

Millennial behavior continues to perplex just about everyone who studies it. It’s a generation that holds vast potential, concludes respected data-gathering organization Pew Research in its “Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change” report. Alternatively, Millennials should be viewed as primarily a bunch of losers, says Vanity Fair in “Generation Wuss,” which declares them “too sensitive, too narcissistic, too stupid.”

No matter your personal take on Millennials, employing them is a fact of life. That’s who’s in the labor pool now. Mashable Data notes that 80 percent of restaurant new hires are Millennials and that this generation will account for 46 percent of the overall workforce by 2020.

That goes for management positions, too. TDn2K notes that most management new hires for quick-service and fast-casual operations are now between 33 and 37 years of age. Which is to say, soon Millennials will be managing Millennials at restaurants. Be ready.