Abstract:

Millennials are known for favoring educational and organizational contexts in which work and leisure are intertwined. Being the highly connected generation (Ogbeide, Fenich, Scott-Halsell, & Kesterson, 2013; Rodriguez & Rodriguez, 2015), millennials’ socialization, entertainment, knowledge acquisition, and skill development is accompanied by the extensive use of technology, video games, and social media (Akkucuk & Turan, 2016; Huang, Young, & Fiocco, 2017; Ogbeide et al., 2013).

Millennials are accustomed to virtual teams, digital communication, and collaboration in their personal life and educational experiences; however, workplace human resource practices may not have embraced technology as effectively as, for example, supply chain, leaving millennials disconnected from their organizations (Canedo, Grace, Graen, & Johnson, 2017).

In this paper, the authors will use self-determination theory of motivation to present a conceptual discussion about the impact of technology on millennials’ basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the context of workplace learning and performance. Successful organizational practices to support each of the three psychological needs with the help of technology will be analyzed. The authors will touch upon the use of social media for workplace learning, enterprise social networking, e-mentoring practices, and gamification. These organizational practices are shown to align with millennials’ need for digital interaction, teamwork, social learning, and frequent feedback on one hand, and current organizational emphasis on collaboration, on-the-job learning, and performance-based rewards on the other hand (Trees, 2015).

References:
[1] Akkucuk, U., & Turan, C. (2016). Mobile use and online preferences of the millennials: A study in Yalova. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce 21, 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.icommercecentral.com/open-access/mobile-use-and-online-preferences-of-the-millenials-a-study-in-yalova.php?aid=67475
[2] Canedo, J. C., Grace, M., Graen, G., & Johnson, R. D. (2017). Navigating the new workplace: Technology, Millennials, and accelerating HR Innovation. AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction, 9(3), 243-260. doi: 10.17705/1thci.00097
[3] Huang, V., Young, M., & Fiocco, A. J. (2017). The association between video game play and cognitive function: does gaming platform matter? Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(11), 689-694.
[4] Ogbeide, G. C., Fenich, G. G., Scott-Halsell, S., & Kesterson, K. (2013). Communication preferences for attracting the millennial generation to attend meetings and events. Journal of Convention & Event Tourism, 14(4), 331-344. doi: 10.1080/15470148.2013.843480
[5] Rodriguez, A., & Rodriguez, Y. (2015). Metaphors for today's leadership: VUCA world, millennial and "cloud leaders". The Journal of Management Development, 34(7), 854-866. doi: 10.1108/JMD-09-2013-0110
[6] Trees, L. (2015). Encouraging millennials to collaborate and learn on the job. Strategic HR Review, 14(4), 118-123. doi: 10.1108/SHR-06-2015-0042

Keywords:

Millennials, technology, workplace learning, self-determination theory.