Millennials in the Workplace: Generation Y and Z

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Millennials in the Workplace: Generation Y and Z
Introduction
The definition of generations and exploring their unique characteristics has been a subject that has attracted economic and political controversies. Within the context of the workplace, the recent generational shift has become an area of special interest that has seen the generation as “native speakers” of technological changes (Pyoria et al 1). Cultural commentators and experts have always labeled the current generation as the Millennials or Generation Y, and the generation after as Generation Z. in their analyses, scholars have identified what they believe to be the common values, experiences, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs and which define every individual in this generation. The present research presents a critical analysis on the topic of Millennials in the workplace. To achieve this objective, the paper provides a general definition of Generation Y and how they are presented in popular culture, the validity of the generic definition of the Millennials, the role of social media in the lives of the generation, a comparison of Millennials with previous generations, and the ignored aspects that need to be included when defining the Millennials.
General Definition of Generation Y
Millennials represent a generation that has been mislabeled and misunderstood with an almost never-ending negative attitude (Gale 1). David Foot was the first to coin the phrase “Baby Boom Echo” in describing a generation that was born from 1980 until 1995. This generation of Boomers comprises 76 million in the United States and 6.9 million in Canada (Ng & Schweitzer 281). This population has been labeled as Generation Y, Nexters, Nexus Generation, or Millennials owing to their characteristics and evens defining their lives such as rapid technological advancements, globalization, and increasing diversity in their demography (282). A review of literature has shown that the Millennial generation belongs to individuals that “want it all and now” based on their rapid advancement, good pay, and benefits, interesting and work challenge, work/life balance, and giving back to society. However, the general definition of generation Y specifies individuals born between the 1980s and 1990s and comprises of children born to baby boomers and are characterized by their familiarity with electronic and digital technology (Deal, Altman, and Rogelberg 194). Understanding this generation requires an analysis of how they are represented in popular culture.
Representation of Generation Z in Popular Culture
Popular culture, including peer-reviewed articles and blog articles, has represented a contradictory image of the Millennials. For instance, while popular press tends to reflect a generational difference in attitudes about work among the Millennials, empirical research shows a few to modest differences in work centrality and no evidence in terms of altruistic work values (Deal, Altman and Rogelberg 192). Ng and Schweitzer (282) have reported that pop culture often refers to the Millennial generation as individuals who “want it all” and “want it now” when it comes to better pay and benefits, work/life balance, rapid advancements, becoming a change in society, and the demand for not only interesting but challenging work. Research by Ng and Schweitzer (290) has sought to investigate if the generation confirms the commonly displayed popular stereotypes in terms of expectations, goals, and priorities. Zentner (1) has also provided a popular culture definition of the Millennials as the poorest and most burdened generation financially in modern times. This definition stems from the fact that most graduated into the worst labor markets in the United States since history with heavy student loan debts to offset. Results of the study show that the Millennial generation has great expectations in terms of their careers such as career advancement and realistic expectations after college graduation.
Validity of the General Definition of the Millennials
Ng and Schweitzer (290) have validated the general definition of Millennials as presented in popular culture and peer-reviewed research. For instance, the authors have identified that Millennials have great expectations in terms of their careers. The generation demands career advancement and even though they harbor their prospects for speedy promotions and better pay at the workplace, they display realistic expectations in terms of their first job placement after college. Millennials also want to work with good people so that they can nurture their talents as a reflection of how they have been raised in their homes and taught in schools to work as teams (Ng and Schweitzer 290). However, the authors refute the fact that only the Millennials value the aspect of work/life balance. Therefore, future research needs to analyze the generation’s career expectations and forge ways of adjusting to their needs based on the labor market and economic conditions. Zentner (1) also justifies the claim that the Millennials are mostly poor because starting a career underemployed potentially depresses thei...