Running head: MANAGING MILLENNIALS 1
Managing Millennials
MANAGING MILLENNIALS 2
Abstract
This paper will discuss Millennials by accurately defining their generation and their culture
along with how they work with other generations. It will describe their work ethics such as:
collaboration, accountability and recognition. It will identify what they feel are important factors
of choosing an employer as well. This paper will also elaborate on their motivation factors and
their values pertaining to work-life balance, flexibility and career advancement. It will illustrate
the challenges of managing Millennials and how it differs from other generations. It will dig
deeper into the management styles that are effective amongst Millennials as well the challenges
and difficulties associated with it.
MANAGING MILLENNIALS 3
Managing Millennials
As technology is overtaking the workplace, the Millennials are overtaking the labor pool
from the Traditionalists, Baby Boomer and Generation X who came before them. Due to this
revolution in the workforce environment there is a stronger need to reshape management
strategies to cater to the generation of the Millennials. “Millennials are hailed as “digital natives”
(Prensky, 2001). Millennials have tremendously contributed to the fast growth of technology as
well as being influential and innovative to new technology markets that have changed the world.
“The founders of the following companies have all been millennials: YouTube, Facebook,
Twitter, Groupon, Foursquare, Instagram, and Tumblr” (DeVaney, 2015). As there is a growing
number of millennials entering the workforce, managers need to understand the needs and
working styles of the millennials. In this paper we will be taking a closer look into who the
Millennials are and how they differ from other generations in the workforce, how Millennials
conduct themselves in the workplace, what motivates Millennials and how managers should lead
staff that are from the Millennial Generation.
The Millennial
The Textbook Organizations: Behavior, Structure, Processes features four specific
generations which exist in the workforce: Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials.
Each of these generations have their own style, preferences and core values (Gibson, Ivancevich,
Donnelley, & Konopaske, 2012, p.124) but the youngest of the generations, the Millennials, have
introduced a new type of culture in the workforce. Merging these new mindsets has posed
challenges for current managers.
According to Thompson and Gregory in their article Managing Millennials: A framework
for improving attraction, motivation, and retention, Millennials, also referred to as Generation Y,
MANAGING MILLENNIALS 4
are generally defined as people born between 1980 and the mid-to-late 1990s. Society views
millennials as needy, disloyal, with a sense of entitlement and casual with their approach to work
(Thompson & Gregory, 2012) but it is important to decipher which are misconceptions and
understand the origins of the behavior deemed true. Thompson and Gregory predict Millennials
will account for over half the U.S. workforce by 2022 and proper knowledge will help managers
better attract, engage and retain millennial talent in the workforce. Therefore, managers from
other generations who are having trouble managing millennials should engage in trying to
understand this new and challenging generation.
Some aspects to take into consideration when understanding Millennials are the
educational, economic, social and political contexts in which Millennials came of age
(Thompson & Gregory, 2012). Both journals agree parenting seems to be the root of Millennials’
sense of entitlement. Many Millennials grew up with helicopter parents and in a society which
focused on rewarding children for participation instead of performance (Thompson & Gregory,
2012). Educational institutions also contributed to this as well as the stereotype of being needy.
The need for feedback has rooted back to the No Child Left Behind Act (Thompson &
Gregory, 2012). In the article Millennials and the World of Work: An Organization and
Management Perspective, Hershatter and Epstein state Millennials seek such feedback because it
assures them they are continuing to move in a linear progressive path. This is learned behavior
since as Hershatter and Epstein also point out, high school counselors as well as universities use
similar standards to outline student progress toward their goals. Therefore, Millennial employees
will rely on this same system within their careers and seek the same type of individual attention
and nurturing environment in organizations. Instead of viewing these as weaknesses, Thompson
and Gregory suggest organizations should as a willingness to learn and do a good job.
MANAGING MILLENNIALS 5
It is suggested the attitude behind disloyalty comes from their experience in the recession.
According to Thompson and Gregory Millennials began joining the workforce during a time
where there were many lay-offs. They were witness to older and loyal employees being let go
which in turn, has led the younger workers to believe employers do not care about their people.
The recession also caused a sense of alienation in the recent job market which has influenced this
perception of the workforce. Millennial employees do however, remain loyal to organizations
which ensure ample opportunities, professional development, training, coaching and mentoring
(Hershatter & Epstein, 2010). In other words, employers need to prove their trustworthiness to
Millennials.
The casual approach to work is believed to be in result of the desire for a less formal
