S2 Ep 8: Millennial workforce, career diversity, and the Future of Work, with Lilly Sheng

What are the challenges millennials face in their careers today? How can employers better support the new generation entering the workforce? Will the Great Resignation seize post the pandemic? In S2 Ep 8, I discuss with Lilly Sheng, a data and technology professional based in Canada on the topic of “Millennial workforce, career diversity, and the Future of Work”. In this episode, Lilly shares her experience of quitting a job she liked, and switching career roles in the midst of the pandemic. We discuss relevant aspects of career diversity within an organization with regards to seniority, experience, age and functional expertise beyond the primary diversity dimensions. Lilly talks about her view on diversity as a Chinese Canadian woman identifying as a millennial. We further explore the role of digitalization in reducing the barrier of entry for information sharing.  The pandemic has changed the way the new generation who are already entering the workforce are viewing career development and job fulfilment. The “Great Resignation”, a term coined by psychologist Anthony Klotz is the tipping point of a nearly decade-long trend of employment dissatisfaction. Many employees particularly Gen Z and Gen Y are leaving jobs or switching careers in this ongoing economic trend. In our conversation, we unpack some of the challenges that millennials face and the increasing expectations of the new generation from their workplaces. We share our ideas on how employers can better support the new generation entering the workforce. We close the podcast episode by addressing the topic of The Great Resignation and sharing viewpoints on whether this trend will cease post the pandemic. *** About Lilly Sheng: Lilly Sheng is a data and technology professional with experience in the public sector, financial services, and consulting industries. She specialises in the delivery of large-scale transformation projects related to data and systems change. In addition to her day job, she is an aspiring writer and chef. Lilly is based in Toronto, Canada. About Adya Kumar: Adya is a tech enthusiast, engineer, project manager, and an inhouse consultant for a leading logistics company. She has a passion for solving problems through the use of technology and is a strong supporter of digitalization as an enabler to grow and sustain diversity in businesses. In 2021, she founded “The Digitalization & Diversity Podcast” with the mission to create engagement and raise awareness on the power of Digitalization to improve Diversity. Through this platform, Adya shares insights, personal stories and digital journeys of diverse people. The podcast has been downloaded in over 50 countries across Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts. Adya has lived and worked in diverse environments in India, France, USA, UK and Germany and traveled to 40+ countries. Today, she calls Bonn (Germany) her home of choice. *** Links and mentions: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lillysheng  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/lillyreadsbooks Listen to the podcast on other platforms: https://adyakumar.com/links/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adyakumar/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.dd.podcast