A few weeks ago, I wrote about the millennials. I attended a marketing research conference this week and it was indeed refreshing to note that the issues Maltese employers have with millennials are very similar to those being faced by employers in larger and more developed economies.

I had made a number of points. Briefly, I stated that they dislike being micromanaged as they have grown up accustomed to manage themselves. They expect customisation in their job and not one-size-fits-all solutions. And they are continuously searching for new experiences, which very often leads to high job mobility.

These attitudes are likely to create tension at work as they are not what their managers expect out of them. One other element that needs to be kept in mind is that millennials have been born and bred with a mobile phone as part of their life. One statistic says it all: in three years’ time, one billion adults around the world will own a smartphone. In Malta the percentage of adults who will own a smartphone will also be very high.

Research has shown that when millennials go out they want to take three things with them which are all related to their survival: a wallet, which contains money to buy them food; their keys, which open the door of their house when they return, so shelter; and they take their phone because it helps them to connect and belong.

This is a generation that has been successful, is highly digitally literate, and has a relatively high disposable income

The smartphone has also led us to call millennials the selfie generation or the ‘generation me’.

From a consumer perspective this has led products and services to be revolutionised and customised.

From an employment perspective, this causes a headache as employers expect these millennials to stop thinking about themselves and to think more about the company that employs them.

However, I would like to question whether this generation is really more self-obsessed than any other young generation that has preceded them and that has subsequently grown up and assumed responsibilities. Or have millennials simply used mobile technology to share their self-interests more effectively?

I strongly believe that when there are bigger and more important things happening in a company, selfies become largely irrelevant. I do not believe that this generation is the one that had more connectivity than before but disconnected itself from its responsibilities.

This is a generation that for all intents and purposes has been successful, is highly digitally literate, and has a relatively high disposable income for their age. They have an activist streak in them but are cynical of those who seek to be moralistic with them. Employers should seek to exploit fully that activist streak in them.

The selfie generation seeks to be authentic and ethical at work as much as older generations are. We need to recognise that at times it is us, the older generations, that have set them the wrong example.

I believe that the selfie generation will eventually evolve into a generation that will address the various ethical issues that are posing challenges in the workplace, including posing the economy to the service of the human person and not the other way round.