A recent opinion piece in the Washington Post raised the point that millennials will likely never adapt to the current workplace; instead, they will make the workplace adapt to them. Contrary to popular belief, this is a good thing. It's proof that this generation is willing to invest in making the workplace work for today’s employees. Before discarding this as another example of pandering to millenials, consider for a moment that according to Mercer’s Attraction and Retention Survey, employee engagement levels have dropped from 24% to 13% in 2012.

The Post article suggests that "what the college-educated Gen Y-ers entering the workforce want is engaging, meaningful, flexible work that doesn’t take over their lives." A good work-life balance is what this adds up to and it’s what my generation wants, even if it takes a front seat to salary.

One of the ways you can help any generation achieve this balance is by ensuring employees are recognized publicly for the work they do and ensuring that their work day provides several opportunities to engage with colleagues and ideas across the organization. This can mean declaring opinions, collaborating with colleagues in idea generation sessions, volunteerism or even waving the corporate flag as ambassadors for your sustainability programs.

While many view millennials as entitled and demanding, a closer looks raises a single important question. What is the cost benefit to my organization if the millennial version of the workplace results in increased engagement, motivation and retention?

Learn what really motivates today's knowledge worker.