How Do Millennials Work?

Each generation works differently. Often older generations worked for the sake of working and and its intrinsic value. Millennials are a mystery to many supervisors.

This article by Claire Raines outlines some of the differences between working with Millennials and older generations.

For example, Raines believes that Millennials are characterized by the following:

Confidence
Hope
Goal and Achievement Oriented
Civic-mindedness
Inclusiveness

But she also maintains that Millennials need leaders, fun, and flexibility in the workplace – less than standard aspects of the average workplace.

The Great Technological Divide

One of the most easily spotted differences between Millennials and other generations is the way they use technology to make decisions.

Millennials are the first generation to be weaned on computers. While Gen-Xers aren’t necessarily far behind, computer skills were something they acquired later in life.

iMedia Connection’s Jim Meskauskas wrote that “What makes Gen Y people different is the way they are consuming media. Not only are teens spending more time with the Internet than TV, but that they also use the Internet as the hub of their media activity. The Internet is the medium from which all other media decisions get made, and that’s a powerful tool for marketers.”

Growing up bombarded by media and messages nearly 24 hours a day has made Millennials wise to slick ads and commercial messages. Many companies are now approaching Millennials to make them part of an experience – not just sell them a product.

Coca-Cola created a presence in SecondLife, a popular online community, where teens and other users can hang out, chat, and create customizable Coke vending machines. This encourages participation and allows users to have a voice in how the company markets its product to them.

As today’s teens and young adults age, brands that are well-established with Baby Boomers will need to change how they communicate with customers in order to capture the next wave of potential clients.

Millennials. Who are they?

There is a new generation of Americans emerging: they number more than two for every baby boomer (73 million at last count), spend $150 billion a year, influence another $50 billion in family purchases – making the total $200 billion, and they grew up on MTV and the internet.

Millennials, or Generation Y, were born between 1977 and 1997. This generation is already a huge market force with a power that will only grow as today’s teenagers become adults.

Why is this important?

In order to communicate with Millennials, many of us will need to learn a new language.

In the next few posts, we will explore some of the differences between Millennials and the generations before them. Including: differences in technology and values.

Stay tuned.