How Millennials Are Changing Work Itself

Millennials are getting a bad rap. If you listen to the olds, we’re lazy, self-obsessed, and largely coasting off our parents’ accomplishments. But not only is this assessment mostly off-base, young people today are integrating themselves into a different type of economy, and we’re bringing an updated value system into our work lives in the process.

According to a 2013 report by Upworthy, millennials—roughly, those of us born between 1981 and 1997—will make up almost half of the American workforce within the next five years. If we’re to believe the talking heads complaining about youngsters then the whole country is doomed. But if you take a closer look, millennials aren’t just flailing around after college, and instead it’s this same group that has the power and impetus to modernize employment for generations to come. “[Millennials] value contributions to the world over monetary and material wealth,” Diane Gayeski, a professor at Ithaca recently told the Detroit News. “They have grown up with war, violence, crime and environmental crises in their face literally every waking hour. They recognize the fragility of life and the planet, and most of them want to make a positive contribution.”

So what’s that mean exactly? Basically, millennials are bucking traditional nine-to-five jobs and the payouts that come with them in favor of positions—sometimes self-appointed or created out of thin air—that jive with their values. Even more simply, young people are bringing their values into work and shying away from jobs that don’t mesh with those standards. “They clearly will transform the workplace,” Gayeski also told the Detroit News. “Overall millennials who are graduating from colleges and universities today will have vastly different expectations of the workplace. They very much want a ‘balanced’ lifestyle and are often willing to sacrifice money for the freedom to enjoy hobbies, family, volunteering, etc.”

Lack of security on the job market is also driving millennials into new spaces, and the economic gloom is encouraging innovation. “Millennials are getting sold an outdated product by our parents and authority figures,” Phil Hall, a 25-year old freelancer told the Detroit News. “What worked for mom and dad in the ’80s and ’90s does not work any longer. A college degree guarantees you nothing. Getting a job does not guarantee financial security. Getting married and having 2.5 kids with a house in the ’burbs does not equal a fulfilled life.” In that way, the traditional path to success is becoming harder to traverse and the end-goal becoming more alien. Millennials are in a unique position—similar to the one our own parents encountered in the ’50s and ’60s—to change the way we interact with our jobs. More than ever our passions are bleeding into the office and concerns over social justice and inequality are reflected in the changing workplace. The best part? We’re changing it for ourselves. That’s the perfect mix of selfish and selfless.