The attitudes of millennials in the workplace will inevitably determine how relevant and attractive they view unions. In today’s post, I review some of the challenges unions face with young workers: reliance on seniority and changes in labor-management relationships. In Monday’s post, I will review some of the opportunities unions have in engaging young workers, particularly their favoring of collaborative and egalitarian work environments.
Calling the young folks entering (or trying to enter) the labor market unprepared, recent news reports and “studies” have stereotyped young workers as unmotivated and self-centered. (See the self-serving report from York College’s Center for Professional Excellence to get a full sense of the criticisms.) Often this sentiment has seeped into the way more seasoned union leadership see new additions to the workplace. But a review of more scientific literature reveals particular insights for these leaders on how to best engage young union members.
In an overview of the popular literature and research on millennials organizational relationships in the recent edition of the Journal of Business and Psychology, Karen K. Myers and Kamyab Sadaghiani reveal an important difference that presents a particular challenge for unions: the sense among older workers that newbies need to “pay their dues”. Boomers put a significant emphasis on “career” formation and building. And while the idea of a company job is largely just a memory for many, it is still embedded in one of the cores of unionism: seniority based on time with the organization. However, the current high-level of young worker mobility is not conducive to climbing seniority ladders. (Check out the Freelancers Union for more on how unions need to change to accommodate the new work environment.) Changes in the nature of work, and the over-confidence that many millennials have from being over-nurtured, inspires young workers to ask to be involved in significant projects early on and to be hurt when not consulted on important decisions. Within the union context, providing opportunities for young workers to take some responsibility and have a sense of ownership is clearly important. Of course, taking a look at ways to measure seniority to reflect the new realities of the labor market would also be helpful.
Another challenge, but a related one, is that young workers expect to have a closer relationship with their boss. In some industries, like in the building trades, unions and management see each other for the most part as in this together. However, generally in the union context, management is the enemy. Young workers may not be as motivated by the same adversarial messages as older workers; and may be more forgiving of mismanagement – or timid to risk their personal relationship. I have certainly heard my fair share of older members say that the new folks think “management gave them everything” – well thats a symptom of young workers looking for workplace parents. Millennials are looking for their workplace parents to give them the same kind of compliments that their parents gave them growing up. (In a guide to managing young workers, AllBusiness advises: “younger employees require a lot of attention and feedback, demanding more of a time commitment.”) So what can unions do? Mentor, mentor, mentor. If young workers are looking for workplace parents, union leaders should fill that role – don’t let the management do it. Also, within that context, give them the structure and positive feedback they need to stay motivated.
Most importantly, these challenges make clear that seasoned members need to be more open to understanding the characteristics of younger workers and the next generation of leaders need to be more patient in understanding the perspectives of older members.
Tags: Engaging Young Workers, Lessons for Unions, State of Young Workers, Union Reform
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