Millennials

Millennials: aka Generation Y, the Me Generation, the Net Generation.

Millennials born between 1980-2000. Differences between Millennials and other generations. I try to find studies that are free to view but that's not always possible. I'm finding all kinds of studies that contradict each other. Business studies say Millennials are confident (these are almost all based on questionnaires answered by millennials themselves), psychiatry studies say they have the highest rate of depression and anxiety. Read the studies closely to see how they were done and how the researchers reached their conclusion. If a sample size is too small, or too homogeneous, the conclusion may be suspect.


 * 1) Racially diverse, economically stressed, politically liberal. Multiple studies here. Direct PDF download.
 * 2) Price Waterhouse Coopers. Paper titled "Engaging and Empowering Millennials".
 * 3) "Millennials are willing to give up some of their pay and slow the pace of promotion in their careers in exchange for working fewer hours."
 * 4) "Millennials tend to look for recognition rather than, or in addition to, money; rewards that will benefit them in life or in career-enhancing ways."
 * 5) "Millennials want greater flexibility in their schedules and career progression."
 * 6) Deloitte's paper "Mind the Gaps".
 * 7) PDF from the Whitehouse, "15 Economics Facts About Millennials". Oct 2014.
 * 8) Millennial paper. Paywalled.
 * 9) Millennials write in to The Atlantic about what they are facing. Some of the answers hit the spot. "Many Gen Y'ers complain about the lack of jobs, but refuse jobs they don't want to do." 2011.
 * 10) 2015-05-11 Study from PLOS One. Millennials are less religious than other generations. "In four large, nationally representative surveys (N = 11.2 million), American adolescents and emerging adults in the 2010s (Millennials) were significantly less religious than previous generations (Boomers, Generation X) at the same age."
 * 11) Why Millennials are so unhappy. An article about a significant portion of  Gen Y.
 * 12) Prof. Paul Harvey discusses the entitled portion of Gen Y in a video.
 * 13) Coddling the American Mind. How erasing anything offensive or that might cause discomfort affected the Millennials. The Atlantic. Sep 2015.

Managing Millennials

 * 1) Google search.
 * 2) 11 Tips for Managing Millennials.
 * 3) How to Lead Millennials in the workplace. By Forbes.
 * 4) "6 Key Principles for Managing Millennials".
 * 5) Millennials want more feedback more often, but don't assume to know what "feedback" is.
 * 6) "Millennials: The Beat (Up) Generation".
 * 7) "Called the "Trophy Generation," notorious for receiving prizes simply for showing up, they are thought to be entitled, narcissistic, self-promotional, coddled, opinionated, whiny, and needy, especially at work (when they're not complaining about unemployment, that is). They seek constant feedback and immediate gratification. They multitask and can't focus. They're sensitive to criticism and unable to work alone. They refuse to pay their dues. Don't even mention their (limited) verbal and writing skills."
 * 8) "Newspaper and magazine articles only feed the fire, regularly chronicling Millennial incompetence. For example, wide publicity attended a study reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that analyzed 9 million high school seniors and college freshmen and found that Millennials are more materialistic, more politically disengaged, and less concerned about helping the world at large than both Generation X and Boomers were at the same ages."
 * 9) "Millennials' work ethic also leaves something to be desired, the stereotype goes. In a 2006 study of executives and human resource managers at more than 400 companies, most said that today's college graduates had only "adequate" professionalism, innovation, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills."
 * 10) "Jeff Avallon, the vice president of business development at IdeaPaint...contends that Millennials' behavior is totally functional for the world they inherited. They don't respond to traditional hierarchical organization? Sorry, there's no longer enough time for that. The economy demands constant innovation, and the ruling-by-iron-fist model is not nimble enough for reacting quickly. Millennials are simply trying to do better."
 * 11) "Millennials Work for Purpose, not Paycheck". “Why be loyal to an organization that doesn’t return that loyalty when the chips are down?”
 * 12) Realistic view of Millennials in the workplace. How they grew up and how that affects how they look at work.
 * 13) A bold look at the weaknesses of some Millennials.
 * 14) "Self-centeredness and entitlement is one of the biggest hindrances for twenty-somethings finding work. As workers, they've been described as "self-centered, needy, and entitled with unrealistic work expectations." Although money ranks low on the typical Millennials’ priorities (so they say), a gratifying and flexible job is more important."
 * 15) "The same study found that 79 percent of Millennials think they should be allowed to wear jeans to work at least sometimes, and 93 percent say they want a job where they can “be themselves.” In contrast, only 60 percent of Boomers think they should occasionally be allowed to wear jeans. Why do all of these twenty-some-odds think they should be allowed to wear whatever they want? Because that’s what [they have] been told all of [their] lives."
 * 16) "It would seem that one of the biggest issues at hand is the desire to be appreciated, and that is understandable. But it is the way in which newcomers to the workforce are requesting such wishes that is resulting in low employment numbers for Generation Y, and an overall bad taste in the mouth of more experienced workers for this entitled Trophy Generation."
 * 17) These are just some notable trends of a group, but each individual is different.
 * 18) Forbes' study called "Gimme Gimme Gimme". Millennials in the workplace, and the psychology behind them.
 * 19) What to do about 'Praise Junkies'. In an attempt to motivate employees, managers commonly use excessive praise. Everything is supposed to be a good job or great or super! This is part of the fake happiness phenomenon that has taken hold in the U.S. Some praise is fine when personnel do something really impressive. However, praise is used so much that it actually leads to people who cannot be motivated without it... Praise Junkies!
 * 20) Millennials the most depressed generation at work. "One in five millennials said they have been depressed on the job, the most of any age group, a new survey found. That’s compared with 16% of Baby Boomers and 16% of Gen Xers, according to Mashable."
 * 21) Millennials’ Problem? Depression & Few Skills in Conflict Negotiation. "Their bigger challenge is conflict negotiation, and they often are unable to think for themselves. The over-involvement of helicopter parents prevents children from learning how to grapple with disappointments on their own. If parents are navigating every minor situation for their kids, kids never learn to deal with conflict on their own. Helicopter parenting has caused these kids to crash-land."

Misc

 * 1) Why people under 35 are so unhappy. TLDR: their expectations are totally unrealistic.
 * 2) The problem isn't that life is unfair, it's your broken idea of fairness. You don't get everything you want just because you are nice. That's not how the rules work.