It's not just about money
It is impossible to ignore how drastically employee turnover rates have increased over the last decade. It was not that long ago that the most commonly adopted strategy for career progression was for employees to commit to one employer and work their way up the ranks. Nowadays, staying with any given company for more than three years is perceived as taboo, particularly by millennials, who have been dubbed as the job-hopping generation.
There are some people who believe that millennials are opportunistic, fair-weather employees just biding their time until they ‘trade up’ to the next higher-paying role. The opposing view is that employees of this generation are simply not willing to settle for a job that offers nothing more than a salary. Because, as long as money becomes the most appealing aspect of one’s work, there’s nothing that will stop them from jumping ship as soon as a better offer comes along. That is why companies have to offer more than just money in order to keep their people.
According to a recent Havard Business Review article, the best way to motivate people is to make their work more meaningful. So companies have to appeal to employees’ sense of purpose.
“Money may lure people into jobs, but purpose, meaning, and the prospect of interesting and valuable work determines both their tenure and how hard they will work while they are on the job,” reads the article.
Another view is that millennials simply want their careers to progress. They want to be recognised and they want to be promoted. And that has to happen both in the form of a salary increase and by way of having more responsibility. Otherwise, they will always be on the hunt for an employer that can offer them those things.
For more on this topic, read Industrial Psychologist Phiona Martin’s article about the value of intrinsic rewards.
