The so-called, Millennials, the generation that was born between the 80s and the 90s, are young people who have grown up in the digital age of today. Witnesses to the advances of technology, they have created new rules within the labour market, and even more so, in the internationalization of businesses and expatriates.

The Millennials have certain skills and abilities, a product of this transition, that allows them to establish different types of relationships with businesses. They have access to other forms of education and communication, demand flexibility due to their multiarea performance, and value experiences above the paycheck.

It is a generation that is characterized by their preparation, their facility to communicate in different languages, and above all: their desire to develop a professional career with international experience. They are the expatriates of the future.

Commuter or Swaps?

The world is changing, and the profile of the expatriate is as well. The displacements are not exclusively the important and high up directors with their families. In the new types of expatriates, there are the commuters, those who from Monday to Friday leave and then return to their country for the weekends, or travel for short periods. Local plus are those workers who do not have a return contract, because sooner or later they will stay in the country of destination, or they maintain certain benefits from the mother company for the first period.

There is also the swaps model, an exchange of professionals in the same position that work in different countries, and the nomads, those professionals that develop their professional careers in different places around the world for specific periods or projects.

Agents of Change

All these new profiles or work models drive towards the creation of new structures and the need to value different perspectives in the management of human resources.

The businesses are at the forefront of global mobility, they are aware that the Millennials are a specific generation. However, they can adopt many of the characteristics such as the way of thinking.

The professor and researcher, John Moravec, coined the term Knowmad, a term that accurately defines the professional profile of today. It refers to those people who have a flexible mentality and act as agents of change in the educational and business environments. It responds to an innovative profile that is creative and agile in their solutions.

The term Knowmad also includes a characteristic trait of this new generation of Millennials. Their digital footprint and their way of sharing knowledge as a means of expansion. Sharing and collaborating are fundamental pillars for professionals of today.

They are not loyal to one single business because they work with many autonomously and they meet specific objectives. But they will never abandon a business that allows them to have the flexibility they demand. They adapt to change easily, and they don’t need to keep to a specific schedule.

They work from home, one does not know if in pyjamas, but they respond to the necessities of the business and they are trusted. But are businesses ready to assume these new professional profiles?

This information does not constitute under any circumstances legal advice, serving only for informational purposes. In case you need professional services in Global Immigration and Mobility, please contact us.

* It should be taken into account that the regulations of any of the countries analysed as well as the established procedures may change at any time and without prior notice.

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