Generation Y, sometimes referred to as "Millennials"1 or "Net Generation", born 1982-2000, or 1977-1994, depending on the source, grew up in the 1990s and 2000s.2
Cultural and technological definitions of Generation Y begin the generation earlier, and demographic ones later, centering it around the baby boom of the end of the 1980s.
Defined
Starting in 1977, and peaking in 1989–1990, the Echo Boom was a result of the baby boomers and Generation Jonesers born in the late 1940s and 1950s and 1960s settling down and raising kids in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Trends among members
As with previous generations, many trends (and problems) began to surface as the Millennials came of age.3
- Members of this generation are facing higher costs for higher education than previous generations.45
- In the United States, as they begin to enter colleges and universities in large numbers, some of their Baby Boomer and Generation Jones parents are becoming helicopter parents. Many college advisors and administrators worry that this could have a negative effect on the student's social progress, ego, and developing maturity.6
- They represent more than 70 million consumers in the United States. They earn a total annual income of about $211 billion, spend approximately $172 billion per year and strongly influence many adult consumer buying choices. They also face a greater degree of direct corporate marketing than any other generation in history.7
- A 2008 survey by UK recruitment consultancy FreshMinds Talent in partnership with Management Today suggested that Generation Y are generally more ambitious, brand conscious and tend to move jobs more often than previous generations. The survey of over 1,000 people, entitled Work 2.0, also suggests several possible misconceptions about Generation Y, including that they are as loyal as their predecessors and believe that their job says something about them as individuals.8
- There is more experience of family breakdown. The generation has seen high divorce rates, and homes with 2 working parents are much more common. This has greatly changed their relationships at home when compared to their parents and grandparents. This may have led them to be more peer-oriented and this may be a contributing factor to the premium that Gen Y workers place on workplace culture.9
- A May 2008 episode of the American news magazine 60 Minutes entitled The Age Of The Millennials proposed that members of the generation are exceptionally tech-savvy, are especially tuned to their own value in the job market, have limited loyalty to any particular employer, and insist on working in a stimulating job environment.10
- More openness in regards to sexual and romantic life-styles than prior generations. More openness to sexual expression and experimentation.1112
- More Cultural tolerance, to the point that racism is considered almost the worst possible flaws a person can have to many Gen Yers – gay tolerance is also higher.citation needed
These are characteristics and attitudes that were previously attributed to Generation X in works such as the 1999 article "The Hunter-Gatherers of the Knowledge Economy: The Anthropology of Today's Cyberforagers" by David Berreby,13 so these behaviors may be consequences of modern culture or of the modern economy rather than qualities of a particular generation.
They are sometimes described as an "overachieving, overscheduled" generation."14
Perceptions about Gen Y in the Workplace
According to a survey by BusinessWeek of almost 4,000 readers, Generational Tensions ranked in the top 6 issues impacting the workplace. With four generations in the workplace, these issues can grow from tensions to larger generational divides and conflicts. The 2008 Gen Y Perceptions Study15, conducted by the Cal State Fullerton Career Center and Spectrum Knowledge, measured how Gen Y views themselves in the workplace in comparison to how the Boomers and Gen X view Gen Y. Some key findings include the following:
- Gen Y Wants Instant Gratification: Mangers and employers often complain that Gen Y “wants instant gratification” and it seems like Gen Y itself recognizes this, too. 89% of Gen X and Boomers agreed that Gen Y “wants instant gratification,” while 73% of Gen Y agreed with the statement as well.
- Casual and Professional Can Co-Exist: Though almost three-quarters of all survey respondents agreed that Gen Y dresses and behaves casually, the generations agree that professionalism may not necessarily be a “casualty of casual.” Out of all 22 perceptions regarding Gen Y that we provided on our survey, Gen X and Boomer respondents disagreed with the statement that Gen Y “lacks professionalism” the most. Of course, this may not mean that Gen Y is viewed as professional, but the majority disagree with the view that they’re unprofessional.
- Even Many Gen Y Think They Feel Entitled: Two-thirds of Gen X and Boomer respondents agreed that Gen Y feels entitled. Surprisingly, however, almost half of Gen Y respondents also agreed that their generation “feels entitled to job benefits they’ve not yet earned.”
- Willing to Pay Their Dues?: Our study found that almost twice as many Gen X and Boomers agreed with the statement that “Gen Y lacks willingness to pay their dues” compared to how Gen Y participants rated their own generation. In fact, Gen Y was 17 times as likely to strongly disagree with the statement that the generation lacks willingness to pay their dues.
- Masters of Multitasking or Misperception?: We often hear anecdotally that Gen Y is great at multitasking, working in team environments and self-directed learning. Though Gen Y agree that these are some of their strengths, their Gen X and Boomer managers and supervisors don’t agree that they excel at these working styles.
Relationship with technology
Generation Y has a nearly intimate connection to technology. In their 2007 book, Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today's Students, Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa16 found that in a survey of 7,705 college students in the US:
- 97% own a computer
- 97% have downloaded music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
- 94% own a cell phone
- 76% use instant messaging and social networking sites
- 75% of college students have a Facebook profile and most of them check it daily.17
- 60% own some type of portable music and/or video device such as an iPod
- 49% regularly download music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
- 34% use websites as their primary source of news
- 28% author a blog and 44% read blogs
- 15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week
- 14% use online purchasing to buy tobacco related products
- 8% have confessed to having an online gaming addiction at some point in their life
Various Names
Generation Y
The most commonly used term, "Generation Y", alludes to a succession from Generation X, a term popularized by the Canadian fiction writer Douglas Coupland in his 1991 book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture to describe twentysomethings at the time he was writing 1989-1991. "X" is a common term used in algebra for a variable name followed by using letters "Y" and "Z" for something that as yet has no name. As such the first no name variable "X" has had its cohort birth years shift from twentysomethings in 1989 when Coupland wrote in a local Vancouver magazine the story which became his book to twentysomethings all through the 1990s until journalists finally got used to using birth cohort years instead of using the term Gen X to stand for twentysomething which is now Gen Z.
Millennials
One name sometimes used when referring to this group is "Millennials," which was coined by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their 1991 book Generations. 1 This term relates to the generation's young age during the turn of the millennium.
Echo Boomers
The name "Echo Boomers"18 relates to the size of the generation and its relation to the Baby boomer generation.
Trophy Kids
The Generation Y are sometimes called the "Trophy Generation", or "Trophy Kids,"19 a term that reflects the trend in competitive sports (as well as many other aspects of life) where "no one loses" and everyone gets a "Thanks for Participating" trophy. Some employers are concerned that the members of Generation Y have too great expectations from the workplace and desire to shape their jobs to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace.20
External links
References
- ^ a b Shapira, Ian (2008-07-06). "What Comes Next After Generation X?", Education, The Washington Post, pp. C01. Retrieved on 19 July 2008.
- ^ Tovar, Molly (August/September 2007). "Getting it Right: Graduate Schools Respond to the Millenial Challenge". Communicator 40 (7): 1, http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/comm_2007_08.pdf. Retrieved on 29 August 2008.
- ^ Rout, Milanda (2006-10-16). "Junk Food Bans at Schools", Herald Sun. Retrieved on 19 July 2008.
- ^ Males, Michael (March 1996). The Scapegoat Generation: America's War on Adolescents. Common Courage Press. ISBN 1567510809.
- ^ Rothberg, Steven (2007-03-30). "Gen Y: Community Focused or Money Hungry?". College Recruiter. Retrieved on 2008-07-19.
- ^ "(title not known)", The Wall Street Journal (2005-07-28). Retrieved on 19 July 2008.
- ^ Harris Interactive 2003 Youth Pulse(SM) Survey
- ^ "Work 2.0 Survey — My Generation". MT FreshMinds (2008-02-28). Retrieved on 2008-07-19.
- ^ McCrindle, Mark. "The ABC of XYZ: Generational Diversity at Work". McCrindle Research. Retrieved on 2008-07-19.
- ^ "The Age Of The Millenials". 60 Minutes. 2007-11-08.
- ^ Sexual infections rise among Gen Y
- ^ Bed, please, but hold the romance :GENERATION Y: SEX
- ^ Berreby, David (1999). "The Hunter-Gatherers of the Knowledge Economy: The Anthropology of Today's Cyberforagers". Strategy+Business (New York: Booz & Company): 52–64. ISSN 1083-706X, http://www.strategy-business.com/press/16635507/19461?tid=230&pg=all.
- ^ Devine, Miranda (2006-10-19). "Gen Ys Dish it Back, for the Right Reasons", The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 19 July 2008.
- ^ Cal State Fullerton Career Center and Spectrum Knowledge. "The Gen Y Perceptions Study".
- ^ Junco, Reynol; Mastrodicasa, Jeanna (2007-03-29). Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today's Students, 1st, NASPA. ISBN 0-931654-48-3. Retrieved on 2008-07-19.
- ^ Przybyla, Heidi (2007-05-07). "Obama's 'Youth Mojo' Sparks Student Activism, Fueling Campaign", Bloomberg. Retrieved on 19 July 2008.
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2005-11-06-gen-y_x.htm
- ^ Alsop, Ron (October 13, 2008). The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation is Shaking Up the Workplace. Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0470229545.
- ^ Alsop, Ron (2008-10-21). "The Trophy Kids Go to Work", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 24 October 2008.
