The Importance Of The Millennial Generation

In a world where technology is portrayed as the key ingredient of the common millennial life, I sometimes wonder what would happen if we were to quit technology for one week. For most people, it would be chaos. Even though I am technically considered Generation Z, I feel as if I have fallen into the millennial trap of consuming most of my life on my pc and phone. We live in the world where we show our dream life through social media instead of showing our real unfiltered life. Don’t get me wrong, social media is fun, but what about life? Some people would argue that social media is their life. Simon Sinek is an emphatic and humorous person who teaches people things that no one else really has the guts to say. During an interview entitled “Millennials in the Workplace” with Be Inspired he addresses the millennial trap, specifically in the workplace environment. Not only does he state that millennials are having a tough time coping with the real world, he also mentions a probable reason for why this is. The parents of the millennials glorified their child with love and compassion, giving them high self-esteem and no real chance to learn. As a cause of this, “...we’re seeing an increase in suicide rates in this generation, we’re seeing an increase in accidental deaths due to drug overdoses, we’re seeing more and more kids drop out of school or take a leave of absence due to depression…” (2017) This is true even within my school. You have no idea how many kids suffer from

The Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, and they fall between the ages of 53-71. This generation was subject to the civil rights movements, the Vietnam War and the Cold War, and space travel. Their parents had the highest divorce rate and second marriages in history. “The American Dream” was promised to them as children and they spent their lives pursuing it. As a result some generations see them as being greedy, materialistic and ambitious. This generation believes in working long hours to establish self-worth and identity, they tend to be workaholics and are used to working up to 60 hour work weeks. Working this much caused an imbalance between most work/home life because the workers of this generation were afraid of losing their position at work if they took more time to spend with their families. The preferred work environment for a Baby Boomer is going to be democratic, believe in equal opportunity and be a warm friendly environment. Some pros of the Baby Boomer in the workplace include that they are anxious to please and tend to challenge the status quo. They are mission oriented individuals who will go the extra mile. Some cons of this generation are that they expect everyone to be workaholics like themselves and they don’t like change either after being raised by traditionalists. Some keys to working with these Baby Boomers is understanding how

Their values were shaped primarily by a rise in civil rights activism Vietnam and inflation. Baby Boomers were cherished by parents that had sacrificed and fought a war for the right to bear them raise them, indulge them. Baby boomers tend to be more optimistic and open to change and are also responsible for the “Me Generation” with its pursuit for personal gratification. Baby Boomers value face time in the office and my not welcome workplace flexibility or work/life balance trends. High levels of responsibility, perks, praise and challenges will motivate this Generation. Furthermore, when understanding Boomers, there’s the issue and added complexity of older Boomers and younger Boomers also known as the First half/Second Half. First halfers are those born in the 1940s. They are more idealistic, more likely to be workaholics and more likely to have put career first, family second. The first halfers’ world view was more affected by the 1950s. The late Bloomers or second halfers tend to feel different about work. They graduated from college and went to work during the Reagan era. They got the first taste of downsizing, large scale layoffs. This makes them more cynical and less gung ho about management than early Boomers. They feel that good work habits and positive mental attitude are not always rewarded and often are not enough to save a job regardless of how well it has been

The most prominent change in the workforce affecting human resources is the rise of a multi generational workforce. Providing different human resource needs to various employees is an emerging challenge for Judie. In the interview, she grouped Generation X and Millennials into the same group, and focused primarily on the differences between Baby Boomers and Gen X/Millennials. She described the Baby Boomers as skilled in their jobs, thankful to be working, and without questioning change or decisions in the organization. However, she felt Gen

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).

The most prominent change in the workforce affecting human resources is the rise of a multi generational workforce. Providing different human resource needs to various employees is an emerging challenge for Judie. Being aware of different workplace standards between these generations is taken into consideration to reduce “pain points” (Calvert, 2015). In the interview, she grouped Generation X and Millennials into the same group, and focused primarily on the differences between Baby Boomers and Gen X/Millennials. She described the Baby Boomers as skilled in their jobs and maintaining the implicit

Work-focused. Often cited as workaholics, the stereotypical Baby Boomer is extremely work focused. Sally Kane in her article, Baby Boomers, states “position, perks and prestige” are great motivators for Baby Boomers. Because they believe they have put in the long hours and self-sacrifice required to get where they are today, they feel the incoming generations should do the same. They find it difficult to understand the younger generations’ desire to constantly challenge work day hours and their insistence on off-site work options. They are independent and challenge authority, yet are loyal to the team. They are goal oriented and they want to make a difference.

“Baby Boomers ranked the highest when it comes to being a productive part of their organizations (69% of respondents agree), "hardworking" (73% of respondents agree), a "team player" (56% of respondents agree), and mentoring others (55%)” (Giang, 2013). In view of the aforementioned citation, it delivers a perspicacious frame of reference into the purpose of this case assignment. A case assignment that will be evaluating the aging workforce from a human resource (HR) mindset. Along with a deliberation, of the increased worthiness baby boomers provide a company. When said, company is acquiring contemporary employees with unique skills. In their efforts, for compensating for the impending loss, they will have to endure upon the departure

Today, four generations of Americans are represented in the American workplace: the so-called "Matures" who were born between 1900 and 1945, "Baby Boomers" who were born between 1946 and 1964, Generation Xers, born between 1965 and 1980 and the Millennials whose cohort began in 1981 and continues to the present. The purpose of this paper was to gain a better understanding of an individual from the Baby Boomer generation, in order to explore the patterns and markers that are significant to this generation. In addition, a discussion concerning a common conflict that occurs in the workplace between members of the Millennial Generation and the Baby Generation is followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Replacing Millennials with baby boomers is a problem because they do not want to take on the traditional style of work and life balance. Because of this, Millennials are more than likely to resign from their high-paying positions. Graen & Grace (2014) used the word “traditional” to describe the work life Millennials try to avoid. “Traditional” means repetitiveness of tasks performed at home and work. Millennials leave their high-paying positions because their daily routines of going to work and coming home each day seems boring to them. In the work setting, Millennials become uninterested in their work routine since they have already acquired all of the skills and knowledge required for their positions. Millennials have the urge to work outside

1. The aging labor force affects Human Resources by the department needs to take the time to motivate employees who are older to push themselves, start planning for retirement and manage the cost health care. In today’s society, many older people do not plan on retiring anytime soon or do not have enough money to retire. From this, some older workers are cutting down hours, working on temporary assignments, and or working from home. This allows older generations to mentor younger generations with work ethics and other aspects of the business. While this also gives the younger generations to mentor older generations with the latest technology and new ways of thinking. Human Resource management might run into different issues with the different generations such as the silent generation values job security and income. Baby Boomers value job opportunities and time management. on the other hand, Generation X is self-managed and can be pragmatic and Generation Y is good with technology and respect the hard work of older generations.

281). The writers present the “popular perceived” stereotype of Millennials to include: disloyal, neediness, over all casualness and sense of entitlement (Thompson & Gregory, 2012, p.238). Thompson and Gregory (2012) suggest Millennials entered the job market as veteran employees were either fired or asked to increase productivity “while compensation was flat” confirming what many Millennials believed: “the psychological contract is dead” (Thompson & Gregory, 2012, p.240). This observance allowed Thompson & Gregory (2012) to assert, “Millennials are much less likely to stay with employers simply because they think it is the right thing to do” (Thompson & Gregory, 2012, p239). The article progresses and researchers assert key components that contribute to millennial loyalty and retention with an organization including, “good work-life balance, meaningful work, and sufficient attention recognition” (Thompson & Gregory, 2012, p.

“The number of employees over the age of 55 has increased by 30 percent; however, the number of 25- to 54-year-olds has only increased by 1 percent” (Claire, 2009). In 2008 the eldest of the 77 million baby-boomers turned 62. Estimates are that by the end of the decade about 40 percent of the work force will be eligible to retire. As people begin to reach the age of retirement there may be not be enough new employees to fill the gap (Clare, 2009). Companies need to find ways to attract Boomers and Millennials. Companies that want to attract Boomers and Millennials need to be creative in their culture, HR policies and work environments.

The world’s labor force primarily consists of three major generations: the “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” and “Generation Y.” The “Baby Boomers” were born during and after the 2nd World War (1940 to 1960). This generation has a legacy of expertise, “old-fashioned” autocratic management, and healthy productivity. “Boomers” are known to work hard, remain loyal to their employers, and receive promotions on the basis of hard work and high skill. Technology was rather limited (Hewitt and Ukpere, 2012).

This paper will attempt to identify characterizes of the millennial generation, what is they expect to see in the workforce, and strategies leaders and managers can use. In order to effectively lead millennials, it is important for leaders to know the experiences of this generation and how these experiences have shaped them, as well as the . This understanding could give leaders an insight into how to effectively lead millennials in the workplace.