Millennial preferences in training messages: The role of teamwork and corporate social responsibility

As the last of the millennial generation is graduating and entering the work force, it has become imperative to devise new ways of engaging this group in safety initiatives.

This study seeks to investigate if messages aligned with particular identified millennial workplace culture preferences (i.e. teamwork and CSR) can more effectively engage millennial workers.

Thirty participants completed surveys to determine their predisposed attitudes of teamwork and CSR. They then viewed three versions of a safety presentation each addressing the same topic and information, but each with a different theme behind their safety message (i.e. control, teamwork, and CSR).

The pooled teamwork and CSR data showed that these messages were favored in larger proportion than the control message. No statistically significant differences were found between the three messages when analyzed individually.

ANOVA analyses showed a significant difference between the control presentation data and the pooled teamwork and CSR presentation data indicating that millennials prefer safety messages aligned with teamwork and social responsibility to a safety message with no extrinsic motivational theme.