The Millennial Generation

-
The millennial generation consists of those who were born between 1980 and 2000, and is “the youngest generation in the workplace” (DeVaney, 2015). The age range of millennials may differ between sources, so some databases may widen or shorten the range. In 2015, the millennial generation reached seventy-seven million, making the generation “one-and-one-half times as large as Generation X and almost equal in size to the baby boomer generation” (DeVaney, 2015). Generation X consists of those who were born between 1965 and 1979 or 1981, and the baby boomer generation consists of those who were born between 1946 and 1964 (DeVaney, 2015). 
 
Figure 1 (Arellano, 2015) 
Figure 1 shows one source’s research on the various generations that make up the workplace. As previously noted, the birth years for the generations may differ slightly from the above statement. The image shows that the baby boom generation, Generation X, and millennials make up roughly the same percent of the current workforce. As time goes on, the percentage of baby boomers in the workforce will decrease and the percentage of millennials will increase.  
Each generation has events that bring those in the generation closer together. For Generation X, some of the defining events were the energy crisis and the Vietnam War. For the baby boomers, the events included “economic prosperity and the growth of the suburban middle class” (DeVaney, 2015). Significant events for millennials include 9/11, the Internet Age, and globalism (DeVaney, 2015).  
            Forty-seven percent of millennials are minorities. This is ten percent higher than those of Generation X and twenty-one percent higher than the baby boomers. Roughly twenty-five percent of millennials have college degrees – this percent is the same for older generations. However, “a 2010 Pew report entitled Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next projects that millennials will be the most educated American generation” (DeVaney, 2015).  
Millennials are known as the “Look at Me” generation. They are seen as over-confident and self-absorbed (Karen, 2010). They are also “criticized as a generation for lacking fundamental literacy skills, having short attention spans and not being loyal to their employing organization” (Weber, 2017). Some names that are used to describe this generation are one’s that do not help prosper the devotion to work and, in fact, can dull the interest of the employee: 
  • Millennial – Year 2000 reference
  • Gen Why?- They sure do question everything
  • Internet Generation – Few if any remember life before web sites or cell phones 
  • Gen Next – Forward focused in perspective  
  • MyPod Generation – Besides the digital music reference, they expect mass customization  
  • Baby Boomlets – Most are the progeny of the Baby Boomer generation  
  • Echo Boomers – Same as above, with additional reference to wide impact of Gen Y on society  
  • Boomerang Generation – Many are returning home after college, still trying to find their way  
  • Generation Now – Little patience for accepting things as they way they are  
  • Generation Waking Up – Raising the bar on global sustainability and change (The Many Names for Generation Y, 2017) 
Millennials are faced with a slow job market and high student loan debt. These challenges have led to “millennials moving back in with their parents, delaying marriage, delaying buying first homes, and starting their own businesses” (DeVaney, 2015). Entrepreneurship is popular among millennials. Companies whose founders were millennials include Groupon, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Tumblr. These companies are technology based, which illustrates the strong technology skill set that millennials are known for (DeVaney, 2015). The technological knowledge that millennials possess lead to the belief that “they are very capable and they do not relish the idea of working their way up the ladder” (DeVaney, 2015).  
In the workplace, “Millennials are more self-focused and less other-focused than managers from the 1980s or 2010s. They emphasize competency skills more than today’s managers but less than the managers of the 1980s and place more worth on moral values than managers of the 1980s but less than today’s managers” (Weber, 2017). This illustrates the differing behaviors of millennial workers and other generational workers. Understanding that employees may have various approaches to achieving their goals is important for the success of the company.   
Millennials desire a “hands-on role.” They are known for wanting to “make a bigger impact” through their work where they can gain a sense of purpose and be happy. Two distinct groups of millennials have been found through multiple studies. One group prefers to work wherever they decide; the other group prefers to work in the office, for they see value in physical presence at the company. Millennials tend to demand more of a “work-life balance” than other generations have demanded in the past (DeVaney, 2015).  

Millennial characteristics: 
  • Creative 
  • “Solution-focused” 
  • “Socially conscious” 
  • “Team-oriented” (DeVaney, 2015) 
Millennial traits: 
  • Entitled 
  • Civic minded 
  • Optimistic 
  • “Values work-life balance” 
  • Multitasking 
  • Impatient 
  • “Close parental involvement” (DeVaney, 2015) 

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction & About the Authors

-
Image
            Welcome to  Millennials in the Workplace ! The purpose of this blog is to provide background information on millennials, and how they are viewed in the workplace today. The blog is  grounded in research from library databases and attempts to draw connections between the stereotypes made about millennials and the statistics that may or may not align with the stereotypes. The three authors of the blog are Kayla Carew, Alexandra Vincent, and Brianna Purcell.  The following paragraphs  aim to introduce the reader to each of the authors.              Kayla Carew is a rising junior at Saint Michael’s College in Winooski, VT. She is from Jericho, VT. Kayla has an intended double major of Mathematics and Secondary Education with a minor in Business. On campus, Kayla is involved in “Go Baby Go” – an  organization  that rewires Power Wheels cars for kids with physical disabilities – and int...
Read more

The Mental Repercussions of Growing Up as a Millennial

-
Image
Figure 1  ( Yarnt on )                  With  all  the stress of weak economic engagement, millennials are destined to have a life full of worry and poor health.  To elaborate,  No one would ever be able to predict what our mental health and well-being will look like in 20 years, but it's likely that we'll remain a generation characterized by anxiety and mental health—particularly considering our openness when it comes to discussing these topics. But we should be concerned by the prevalence of mental illness in our 20s .  (Ewens, 2016)               The presence of social media and our constant contact coupled with economic deficiency leaves this generation in a severe slump. While Gen Y’s work tirelessly and aimlessly, they keep in mind that they are attempting to save for the future, which is not as successful as they had hoped. “We'll...
Read more

Difference Between the Millennials and Other Generations

-
Depending  on  when someone w a s  b orn, they  a re cl a ssified into  a  cert a in gener a tion. There is the World W a r II gener a tion, followed  b y  the  b a b y   b oom gener a tion, gener a tion X,  a nd the  millenni a l gener a tion. Over the p a st couple of ye a rs, there h a s  b een much de b a te  a s to wh a t is so different  a b out the  millenni a l gener a tion. E a ch gener a tion h a s their own speci a l ch a r a cteristics they  b ring into the world,  b oth positive  a nd neg a tive. They h a ve v a rious communic a tion preferences, typic a l  b eh a viors in the workpl a ce,  a nd w a ys in which they like to do d a ily  a ctivities (H a ll, 2016).      Figure 1. Le a rning Ch a r a cteristics  b y  Gener a tions  ( Lifvend a hl , 2008)   In Figure 1,  a  m a jor le a rning ch a r a ct...
Read more