The Importance Of The Millennial Generation

In the article “A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much”, by Catherine Rampell, the author analyzes and challenges the popular stigma that Millennials are the laziest generation to have ever existed. Rampell begins her article with a staggering fact: “The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds is a whopping 17.6 percent” (Rampell 388). And according to seventy-five percent of Americans, “Today’s youth are less virtuous and industrious than their elders” (Rampell 388). This may seem like an incredibly high percentage of Americans, but you might be astonished to learn that even “Two-thirds of millennials said older adults were superior to the younger generation when it came

In the article “The Beat Up Generation,” Abby Ellin claims that the negative way other generations view the millennials may all be wrong; instead, the millennials are preparing for the world most generations are opposing. Ellin declares in her article that the millennials are shown to be the most disliked generation; their ideas collide with those in the Baby Boomers and the Gen-Xers causing confusion. Constantly, Articles are being thrown out about the millennials “incompetence” and their “self-absorbed” behavior which only causes more hatred according to Ellin. However, she continues to state that millennials are no more selfish than the previous generations; in fact, millennials are only trying to discover new ways for “communication and

The ethnography The Myth of the Age of Entitlement: Millennials, Austerity, and Hope by James Cairns, discusses the myth of entitlement about millennials (or Generation Y) in a political, economic and social perspective in the North American context. Cairns debunks the idea that “young people expect everything to be handed to them without having to work for it” (Cairns, 2017, p.133). There is a misconception that millennials do not work hard, are addicted to praise, have a lack of respect for authority and are more entitled than any previous generation. When in reality they have to work harder due to the loss of entitlements compared to previous working generations. For instance, when Sedef got her dream internship at CMI she was grateful to

To start, this shift towards a shared economy is giving Millennials a bad reputation. Instead of focusing on their spending habits, Huffington Post blogger, Tim Urban, targets the work ethics of the younger generations in his article, “Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy.” In fact, Urban believes that younger generations were too spoiled in their childhood, so by the time adulthood hit they were destined to be failures. In addition to

The ethnography The Myth of the Age of Entitlement: Millennials, Austerity, and Hope by James Cairns, discuss the myth of entitlement about millennials (or Generation Y) in a political, economic and social perspective in the North American context. Cairns, debunks the idea that “young people expect everything to be handed to them without having to work for it” (Cairns, 133). There is a misconception that millennials do not work hard, are lazy, are addicted to praise, have a lack of respect to authority and are more entitled than any previous generation. When in reality they have to work harder due to the loss of entitlements compared to previous working generations. For instance, when Sedef got her dream internship at CMI she was grateful to

At every turn there are talks about millennials. Whether it be a meme on the internet mocking them or a serious article addressing possible issues that involve their futures. As David Brooks argues in his article, ‘It’s Not About You’, if millennials are going to be successful in life then they have to realize that not everything is about them. Brooks’ claim effectively appeals to the audience’s emotions, yet he fails to explain the logic in his argument and build his credibility. Pointing out the many problems that millennials may face as they start life on their own, Brooks elicits many emotions from his audience.

Joel Stein uses his article in TIME Magazine, “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation” to address the underlying issues and positives of the millennial generation by using various forms of data, statistics and negativity. While he is mostly successful with his tactics, he goes to such extremes with his negativity that he loses some of his audience before he even has a chance to talk about anything else. Stein spends much of his article speaking about how the Millennial generation is lazy, however research suggests that the Millennials aren’t necessarily lazy, but are held in place for various reasons outside of their control.

Many employers are challenged with handling the millennial due to the lack of proper understanding of this generation since there is plenty of myths, propagated through anecdotes and assumptions. However the separation of the myths and the facts is important for an organization so as

Upon reflecting on the three main generations that comprise the workplace today, a few differences emerge. “Baby Boomers” grew up in a time when movements were prominent, the Vietnam War occurred, key figures were assassinated, the Watergate Scandal occurred, and television was introduced (Twenge et al., 2010; Schullery, 2013). Overall, “Baby Boomers” seem to exhibit a distrust of authority, value hard work, and want to enjoy their achievements (Robbins & Judge, 2015; Twenge et al., 2010). As such, they are results driven and give their utmost effort (Robbins & Judge, 2015). “Generation X” grew up in a time of computers, divorce, two career parents, MTV, and economic uncertainty (Twenge et al., 2010; Robbins & Judge, 2015). For the most part, they seem to exhibit the workplace behaviors of independence and a lack of commitment to employers (Twenge et al., 2010). They value a balance between work and life and place more focus on extrinsic rewards such as monetary compensation (Twenge et al., 2010). “Millennials” grew up in prosperous times with technology dominating the era and over-protective parents (Robbins & Judge, 2015; Schullery, 2013). Generally, they seem to place a greater value on employee benefits, leisure time, teamwork, and open communication (Society of Human Resource Management, 2004; Twenge, 2010; Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010). In addition, they have also been given the labels of “self-centered” and “entitled” (Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010).

Throughout history, the newest generation is always claimed as the most lazy, narcissistic, and self centered generation yet, and each previous generation disregards the reasons why the new generation acts the way they do. However, Joel Stein expertly brings to light in his article,“Why the Millennials Will Save Us All”, the fact that “They [the new generation] are not a new species; they've just mutated to adapt to their environment,” (Stein 4). Stein starts his article bashing on the millennials, utilizing a conversational tone and effective use of ethos and logos to draw the reader in. But halfway through the article, his tone suddenly changes along with his purpose as he analyzes his own life to shows how his own generation has the same

They deplore the fact that a post-secondary education is no longer an automatic ticket to the perks of a middle class lifestyle. They also demonstrate distaste for institutions and labels, and feel that freedom of expression and liberation of self is fundamental for positive change. On that token, one of the most controversial topics of comparison between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials is that of work ethic. Boomers are often thought of as being hard-working and industrious. They often tie much of their self-worth directly to their professional achievements. They are often competitive which drives them to take on a host of professional responsibilities. This keeps them motivated and self-assured. Millennials have a tendency to want to start at the top, side-stepping the entry level positions and the upper rings of corporate ladder that Boomers dedicated decades of their time to

As he assures, “I am about to do what old people have done throughout history: call those younger than me lazy, entitled, selfish and shallow” (Stein 28). By using words with such negative connotation, Joel Stein diminishes his focal point of explaining the ways millennials are helping society. Their laziness, among other negative traits, is passionately justified rather than balanced with his optimistic

Throughout Simon Sinek’s speech regarding the topic of millennials within the workplace, he makes his claim very clear that Millennials disadvantages can be directly correlated to the failed parenting strategies, the advancement of technology, and lastly the environment created by big corporations which hire millennials. Sinek states that these negative factors cannot be blamed on Millennials, but rather the older generations. I wholeheartedly agree with Simon Sinek on his position over this argument because I myself am a millennial who has observed and experienced the claims which he makes. I have felt the failure of parenting systems which gave me a sense of entitlement, I have observed the powerful impact technology has taken over my generation

Stein claims that “millennials’ self­involvement is more a continuation of a trend than a revolutionary break from previous generations. They’re not a new species; they’ve just mutated to adapt to their environment” (31). He supports this assertion by using pathos, logos, and concession. Stein’s purpose is to explain millenial behavior to the older generation in order to recognize how millenials came to be and their importance in society. Even though he begins with a condescending tone addressing the negative attributes of millennials, he expresses a generally positive outlook on the qualities of millennials to the previous generations before them. This work

Altogether, the millennial generation can be seen as unrelenting heretics throughout their ideology against conformity, questioning authority and trust in government. Although the vast majority of these acts Millennials partake in are moral, the minority manage to favour disreputable behaviour that has led to the older generation labelling the millennial generation as uncontrollable, entitled, egocentric and shallow. However, Millennials should not be labelled based upon what a certain group of people participated in, rather on what the generation as an entirety believes in, which is equality for all in this