Dive Brief:
- The Horizon Media’s Finger on the Pulse study shows that 81% of millennials expect companies to publicly pledge to be good corporate citizens, reports the Huffington Post. The study found that millennials aren’t the self-absorbed generation they’re rumored to be.
- A separate 2015 study found that 62% of millennials said they’d take a pay cut to work for a company that’s socially responsible, says the Huffington Post. All other generations’ responses were 6% below that of millennials.
- Having a formal corporate social responsibility (CSR) department is one way employers can show they’re committed to the positive ideals with which millennials identify.
Dive Insight:
CRS departments were prominent in the 1970s as companies responded to new equal opportunity employment laws and unrest in surrounding communities. Based on these studies, many millennials would support a CRS resurgence.
Employers should avoid generalizing workers if they want to create and maintain a positive, supportive work environment in which millennials and other workers can thrive. Millennials have been generalized inappropriately as job-hopping, disloyal and self-absorbed, despite evidence to the contrary.
The truth is, CSR programs are one way to present an attractive culture to younger employees, but HR will have to go further than that. The key is to engage millennial hires with a consistent, multi-faceted approach that includes comprehensive support for career development.
