Another population bulge changing Canada

Canada’s large cohort of young people may have the same aspirations as their parents, but they have very different ideas about work and lifestyle, and it’s something employers will have to adapt to, according to a polling firm.

At an estimated 9.5 million, the so-called millennials, are believed to make up about 26 per cent of the population.  They are between 16 and 35 years of age and the children of the baby-boomers—that large number of people born in Canada and other industrialized nations after World War II.

Same goals, different means

While millennials want homes, jobs and children as their parents did, they have different ideas about how to go about it, says David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data. And their expectations about work are very different.

“In Canada, millennials grew up at a time where our parents, our teachers really taught us and told us that anything was possible. And so, we have this optimism and this perspective that when we finish our education we’re going to be able to find a job that we love,” says Coletto.

‘Loyalty isn’t there,’ says pollster

“And that, I think, is a unique perspective from previous generations who perhaps looked at work as a way of making ends meet, paying the bills, advancing your family. Whereas instead, millennials want to make a difference, want to contribute.”

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Loyalty is no longer prevalent, says Coletto, and millennials will leave their jobs if they are not happy. The challenge for employers is to find ways to motivate and engage them.

Millennials consume differently

Millennials are taking longer to achieve their goals. For example, many 25-year-olds still live at home and are financially dependent on their parents. They are active in the share economy so have different patterns of consumption. Uber and Airbnb are popular with them. And they are less likely to tune in to traditional broadcasters and news services, preferring online services like Netflix.

This is forcing Canadian society to adapt, says Coletto because the size of the group is so big.