The business of doing good; how millennials are changing the corporate sector

Last updated on: August 19, 2014 at 2:02 pm by Mission:Work

The business of doing good; how millennials are changing the corporate sector 2014-08-19T14:02:58-05:00 Mission:Work

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This article by philanthropist Jean Case popped up on Forbes.com the other day. Case, who is head of the Case Foundation, reminded her readers:

The Millennials are coming… to an office near you. Over the course of the next decade we will bear witness to one of the largest demographic shifts in the workplace in modern history. By the year 2025 Millennials (born between 1979 and 1999) will come to fuel approximately 75% of the U.S. workforce, and worldwide this generation will account for 50% of those employed. To put that into context, there are 80 million Millennials today, of which approximately 45 million are employed. That’s 45 million voices, opinions and needs already sparking a new movement for change in the workplace.

Millennials currently represent close to two-thirds of our team at the Case Foundation, and for good reason. It is with purposeful intent that I look to bring forward great talent from this generation, because simply put, they are poised to transform the social sector.

So….why are two-thirds of her employees under 35? Because, she writes,

Many in this generation are known for being well-educated, entrepreneurial, tech savvy and idealistic. They take risks, are bold and want to change the world. Unlike past generations, they want to make their passions, inspirations and desire to do good part of their identity—and part of their work. The lines between personal passions and professional engagements are already rapidly disappearing. As a result, this commitment to doing good in the workplace is quickly becoming the new norm that will define the generation.

Millennials are choosing jobs in many cases based on the opportunities the jobs give them, not only to be fun and innovative, but to really change people’s lives:

Companies that are attracting and retaining the best and brightest of the next generation understand that they need to focus not only on their company’s social good footprint, but also on how their company is creating opportunities for employees to do good in order to help them achieve personal fulfillment and workplace satisfaction….

Millennials recognize that many companies today are already making strides as stewards in their communities. This recognition from the Millennial generation coupled with the strong responses around the importance personal fulfillment and satisfaction in the workplace opens up a new door and the next big opportunity for companies that want to engage with their Millennials workforce—moving from a company that does good to being a company that creates opportunities for its employees to do good….Millennial employees most appreciated cause initiatives such as volunteering, service activities or making a donation that helped their surrounding community….and expressed a specific desire for companies to institute more company-wide volunteer days and sabbaticals for volunteering.

The implications of this for the church are pretty obvious. If the American workforce is more and more going to be composed of people who are passionate about doing good in the world, we need to be part of that conversation. (Something we’re trying to help with on this blog every day!)

Check out the rest of the article along with some other thought-provoking articles about millennials here, and a lot more statistics on the topic (if you’re the numbers type) in the 2014 Millenial Impact Report.

Image: “Teodora” by Alexandra Zakharova, used under a Creative Commons license.

Common Good

Faith and the Marketplace

Christian businesspeople

Previous Post

July 12, 2014

How employing people with disabilities transformed a business

Next Post

July 14, 2014 How can we bridge the divide between our faith and our work?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Audio posts Bible and Work Book Review Books Budgeting Calling Common Good Community Development Conferences Discipleship Economics Entrepreneurship Ethics Faith and Family Faith and the Marketplace Faith and the Workplace faith and work History of Work and Vocation Leadership Local Church Meaning New Blogger News Prayer Relationships Seminaries Theology of Work Uncategorized Video posts Vocation Worship Resources

Select a Month April 2026 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 April 2025 January 2025 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 August 2023 July 2023 April 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 June 2021 May 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 December 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Pharisee" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Holy one Healer Teacher Separated one