Millennials are the youngest adults in the U.S. (ages 18-29), are 50 million strong and ready to enter the work force or start their lifelong careers.
A brand-new study from the Pew Research Center reveals that this group is wholly different than any generation before it. They are “confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change.”
Do you know a Millennial? Have a lot of Millennial customers? Maybe one or more of your employees is of this generation. Maybe you are a Millennial. This generation often has a reputation of being spoiled, coddled and over-confident. But this new research might reveal a more in-depth, big picture of this group. And understanding them better could help your business.
Racially, they are more diverse than ever – only 60 percent of this generation is white. They are “on course to become the most educated generation” yet. They respect their parents and their elders, saying that the older generations have better values and work ethics than themselves.
They have a more positive view of their government than their elders. About 40 percent of them have a tattoo. Seventy-five percent have an online social media profile. Like their parents, they place marriage and family above financial and career success, but unlike their parents, they are waiting longer to get married.
Eighty-three percent of them sleep with their cell phone next to their bed. They are more tolerant of other races and non-traditional families. They are more likely than their elders to say technology is their friend – making life easier and helping connect friends and family.
Above all, they are confident and optimistic that, despite coming into the workforce during “The Great Recession,” things will work out and they will be successful: 68 percent believe that now or sometime in the future, they will earn enough money to live the kind of life they want. That is much higher than any other generation’s confidence at their age.
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