CREJ - Office Properties Quarterly - June 2016
Within this issue, you’ll find several articles about catering to the newest generation of workers. Specifically, I wanted to share some findings from an April U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that shed light on some of the notions about those born into the millennial generation. The term millennial often is used in conversations about Denver to describe the influx of young, college educated, urban professionals. The study, from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, surveyed 9,000 men and women born between 1980 and 1984, 16 times between 1997 and 2014. The study focused on educational attainment, employment experiences and partner status. It is common to hear the complaint that this generation lacks job loyalty. In this issue, you’ll read about ways to retain your best young employees on Page 28. It is worth the read because the study found that this stereotype holds true. In the 10-year span, these individuals held an average of 7.2 jobs. The study notes that employees held more jobs when they were younger than older. When I think about personal experience, this makes sense. I had a different job almost every summer and most school years while in college. Once I graduated and entered my career, my job hopping diminished. The level of education also impacts loyalty. “Almost 50 percent of jobs held by high school dropouts from ages 18 to 28 were held for less than six months,” the report found. “For those with a bachelor’s degree and higher, 34 percent of jobs were held for less than six months.” Education is a common expectation when discussing Colorado’s millennials. But while 72 percent of women and 63 percent of men attended college, by age 29, only 47 percent of women and 41 percent of men had received bachelor degrees. When examining educational attainment among racial and ethnic groups, whites were more than twice as likely as blacks and Hispanics to receive a bachelor’s degree by age 29. The final component the study was partner status. While the generation is waiting longer to get married than previous generations, which could impact job/location loyalty, by age 29, 60 percent were either married (40 percent) or cohabitating (20 percent). These observations into the labor market are important because ideal tenants have a loyal employee base. With this generation representing a larger percent of the workforce each year, it’s important to understand which generalizations hold true when considering your office property’s future health.