The Millennials are coming, the Millennials are coming. OK…actually they are here. In this series we will explore how Millennials interact with graduate education and strategies to develop a multi-generational classroom. Here is a snapshot of who we are currently seeing in the Division of Management classrooms:
Who are these Millennials? The Millennial Generation (or Gen Y) follows Gen X in the United States, with members being born between 1981 and 2005. From an early age, they have been scheduled, protected, and praised. They are technologically savvy but have low thresholds for frustration. Feedback is appreciated and expected.
Before we delve too deeply into this specific generation, let’s review who’s currently in our classroom and workplaces. While Millennials are relatively new to the workplace, they are preceded by Generation X whose members are taking up leadership reins as the Boomers begin to retire. The Silent Generation still plays a significant role in the workplace but is less likely to be seen in our classrooms.
Silent
|
Baby Boomers
|
Gen X
|
Millennials
(Gen Y) | |
Born
|
1922-1944
|
1945-1964
|
1965-1980
|
1981-2005
|
Family Structure
|
Traditional, nuclear family
|
Disintegrating
|
Divorce, latch-key kids
|
Blended families
|
Methods of Communicating
|
Rotary phones
One-on-one
Written
|
Touch-tone phones
Call me anytime
|
Cell Phones
Call me only at work
|
Internet
e-mail
blended work/personal life
|
Attitudes toward work
|
Work hard
Respect authority
Duty
Follow rules
|
Workaholic
Social awareness
Question authority
Work efficiencies
|
Self-reliant
Like structure
Skeptical
Work-Life balance
|
Mutlitasking
Entrepreneurial
Goal oriented
Team work
|
Wants feedback
|
No news is good news
|
Annual review
|
Informal check-ins
|
Consistently, along each step, immediate
|
What is seen as a reward
|
Satisfaction is a job well done
|
Promotion (title, salary)
|
Freedom (time off, flexible schedule, own way of doing things)
|
Meaningful work
|
Generations flow from one to the next, often a reaction to the one previous. Let’s take two examples: family structure and performance feedback at work. As a cautionary note: These are trends. There are always exceptions and those who seem to be of another generation. Moreover, this research pertains mainly to the U.S.
As we move from the Silent Generation with the traditional, nuclear family , the family structure begins to morph as women enter the workforce, the Civil Rights movement comes into full-swing, and both Korea and Vietnam Wars are waged (Boomers), divorce rates rise along with the need to have both parents working, leaving kids fending for themselves (latch-key kids; Gen X). The Millennials find themselves part of blended families with step- and half-siblings. The parents, probably both working, may not be married and are highly involved in their children’s lives.
In the workplace, performance feedback is always a tricky subject. The Silent Generation assumed no news was good news. While the Boomers aren’t always fond of feedback, they do accept the annual review (moving toward structured reviews but not a lot of feedback outside of that yearly event). Gen X, in their more laid-back style, seek feedback on a more casual basis to make adjustments. This can be aggravating for a Boomer who might assume feedback is desired (and therefore prepare for it) only once per year. Well, get ready, because the Millennials seek feedback continually, and prefer it to start with praise. This desire for feedback is true in the classroom as well.
Here are two interesting articles that delve more into the different generations:
So, are you wondering how millennial you are? Take the Pew Research Center’s quiz to find out.
In the next installment of this series, we’ll examine Millennials in the classroom and strategies to teach this generation effectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment