Millennial Managers? Think Again. U.S. Millennials Choose a Career for Me Over Being the Boss

- Being the boss is low priority for Millennials - Just 17% in the U.S. rank leadership as top career goal

- Millennials are eager to learn individual skills, just not management - Millennials prize technical, interpersonal and IT skills over managerial skills

- Men aspire to leadership roles more than women - Millennial men aspire to manage, get to the top and start their own company 10% more than women, the largest gender gap globally

News provided by

ManpowerGroup

Nov 17, 2016, 08:00 ET

MILWAUKEE, Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Instead of climbing the corporate ladder, American Millennials are focused on learning the technical and personal skills to ensure long-term career security, according to a study released today by ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN). Millennials prioritize pay and purpose. Asked about their career goals, 28% say making a positive contribution is a priority, followed closely by earning a lot of money (26%) and working with great people (19%). They are looking for work they believe in and learning the skills to build a 'career for me.'

Just 17% of American Millennials rank aspiring to leadership roles as a top career priority.

"Millennials want employment security and are pursuing a 'Career for Me' to get it. They see traditional managerial paths as less appealing than learning technical and personal skills," said Mara Swan, Executive Vice President, Global Strategy and Talent at ManpowerGroup. "Loyalty is a two way street. To cultivate the next generation of leaders, employers need to show Millennials how taking on managerial roles aligns with their long-term career goals and will help make them more employable in the future."

View the full U.S. infographic, "Millennials: A Career For Me," at: www.manpowergroup.com/millennials

Being the boss is a low priority for American Millennials. Just 17% of American Millennials rank aspiring to leadership roles as a top career priority. This figure includes: managing others (4%), getting to the top of an organization (4%) and owning my own company (9%). All three ranked at the bottom of American Millennials' list of career priorities in almost all 19 countries in the global research except Mexico, where their entrepreneurial drive put "owning my own company" at the top of the list (31%).
American men aspire to leadership more than women. In 24 of 25 countries men consider reaching leadership roles — managing others, getting to the top of an organization and owning their own company — to be a higher career priority than women. The United States has the largest gender gap at 10%. France is the only country where men and women aspire to leadership roles equally.
American Millennials are eager to learn individual skills, just not management. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of Millennials want to develop their technical, personal or IT/technology skills in the next year, while just 39% want to improve people management or leadership skills. For Millennials globally, skills are the new currency: four out of five would change jobs for a role with the same pay and more skills training opportunities.
American Millennials are pleased but not satisfied with management. Three-quarters are pleased with how they are being managed; however, most American Millennials rank their own people management style more positively than that of their managers when it comes to: listening (77% for Millennials vs. 51% for managers), offering feedback (65% for Millennials vs. 45% for managers), and giving encouragement (67% for Millennials vs. 53% for managers).

To learn more about ManpowerGroup Millennials research, click here: www.manpowergroup.com/millennials

About the Research
ManpowerGroup commissioned thought leadership consultancy Reputation Leaders to conduct a quantitative global study of 19,000 working Millennials and 1,500 hiring managers across 25 countries to understand what Millennials want now and in the future, and help individuals and organizations succeed in the changing world of work. Millennials were identified as those born between 1982 and 1996.

Fieldwork took place between February and April 2016. Participating countries included: Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Singapore, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

About ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN) is the world's workforce expert, creating innovative workforce solutions for nearly 70 years. We connect more than 600,000 people to meaningful work across a wide range of skills and industries every day. Through our ManpowerGroup family of brands – Manpower, Experis, Right Management and ManpowerGroup Solutions – we help more than 400,000 clients in 80 countries and territories address their critical talent needs, providing comprehensive solutions to resource, manage and develop talent. In 2016, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the sixth consecutive year and one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies, confirming our position as the most trusted and admired brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup makes powering the world of work humanly possible: www.manpowergroup.com.

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SOURCE ManpowerGroup