Send to KindleI sometimes wonder what the next two or three generations will be like. The question comes to me when I look at the Millennial Generation which seems, in many ways to be a combination of all the four generations that preceded them.
The Millennial Generation, born 1980 – 2000, is the largest in history at 83 million members. They are also the very epitome of the concept of generational diversity. They have been raised in many different situations and come from many different backgrounds making it very difficult to define them.
That doesn’t mean we don’t try. But, not all Millennials are computer geeks, or are covered in tattoos. Many of them actually can form complete sentences, and not all of them are constantly looking for a new job.
Yes they tend to be a little rebellious but no more so, and probably actually less so than Boomers were.
What is a little different is that during their formative years, society as a whole decided not to instill some basic skills that are common in the workplace. I can’t explain that, but it does mean that in the workplace, Millennials may need a little help. At the same time, somehow Millennials as a group developed a need to acquire new knowledge and develop new skills. That’s something any boss should love.
I’ve briefly discussed the five generations that influence today’s workplace. I hope you’ve noticed something: generations are actually a collection of people and those people are unique. So, to be most successful, get to know the people, not just the generation.
