Even though millennials are practically all grown up, with real jobs and real families and real everything, they still remain a big mystery to their employers. But that hasn't stopped many economic experts, pundits and wise guys from pontificating about them ad nauseam. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called millennials "likely the most studied generation to date."
So what's worth tuning into and what's white noise? What accurately reflects the habits of more than 75 million Americans, and what induces cringes and mad facepalms (previous statement included)?
Well, has anyone thought to ask millennials about themselves? We're sure they have opinions about their lives spent under the world's largest microscope.
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To help nail down the truth about what millennials want, we've collected a pair of recent surveys that asked millennials their opinions about how they view their health and health care. Use these to make more informed decisions about how to expand coverage at your place of business and why the youngest, biggest and arguably most influential swath of working adults demand you do so.
Millennials go either way on raises vs. better coverage
Casual meta-analysis of millennials surveys yields a common thread among them: Apparently, millennials will settle for almost any poor-paying job so long as they get something of equal value in return. What constitutes "equal value"? That's up to the employers' discretion.
May 1,000 fixie bicycles and taco trucks trample this myth under tires made from recycled, natural rubber. Businesses that think they can trade company culture for cash money will find this is certainly not a given, especially if their competitors offer identically hip, identically twee office environments around the corner for an extra few grand a year.
Your best bet is expanding health insurance coverage. According to a recent Benenson Strategy Group survey of 1,002 millennials, half said they would take "better insurance coverage" over "a 10 percent pay raise." It's also worth noting the survey was conducted between January and February of this year when President Donald Trump was still hashing out the details of his replacement to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Surveyed millennials believe health insurance under Trump will worsen in both quality and number of options. Greater security through an expanded employer-sponsored health program, therefore, plays off these fears and gives millennials something they deem valuable, not just employers.
Millennials are insecure about their horror-movie teeth
Oral health is something of a sore subject for millennial adults, according to a recent survey from the American Dental Association. Call it a decaying cavity for their self-image.
The ADA found 1 in 4 millennials have "fair" to "poor" dental health. What's more surprising, however, is how these yellow-toothed, gingivitis-inflicted, halitosis-having young adults feel about the condition of their smiles. They are the demographic most likely to believe their less-than-pearly whites make "life in general less satisfying." Three in 10 actually think the state of their mouths make or break job interviews.
So maybe leaving an optional dental plan out of the perks package will work wonders for turnover? Just kidding.
But you know what isn't funny? People who stay home on a Saturday night, experience crippling embarrassment (not to mention pain when chewing) and literally avoid smiling because they don't have access to a good dentist, all things the ADA study revealed. Instead of derogatorily referring to millennials as addicts of self-obsession, why not offer them dental health services they can use to step out from unwanted spotlights? Or better yet, how about providing services like smoking cessation programs that improve both the oral and full-body health, not to mention mental health, of those who follow through?
Health coverage for millennials doesn't require a million-bajillion research hours and a round-the-clock team of NASA number-crunchers. Let your younger employees guide your business to adopt smarter insurance strategies with help from your plan provider, agent and broker. Only then will you stop guessing what your millennial workers want and start actually delivering what they want.
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