Are Millennials Good For Businesses?

After watching this video about a CEO believing that millennials are good for businesses by seeking high quality products and transparency in the creation of their products, I was thinking about millennials in the work place and how they affect business. The CEO in the video goes on to say that millennials are wanting to work for something bigger than themselves that have a social impact, implying they are good employees.

What do you guys think of millennials in the work place? I think that every generation has its share of hardworking and skilled employees, but millennials get a bad reputation for some reason.

 
Best Response

People don't like millennials because most think that millennials think they're entitled. Well, I can tell you right now that every older/more experienced person has a strong sense of entitlement towards thinking you're supposed to learn from them and that they're going to teach you stuff. But, millennials are more connected to everything because of the literal connection that is given through technology. So, I think this simply scares most of the older generation, because they're not used to politics, policy, economics, etc., being driven in the way that it's happening now. If you expand that to look at the generational divide as a whole, in terms of how we do things, there's some obvious disconnect when it comes to expectations.

Millennials have a lot of power in shaping our world through the use of sharing and making a collective public opinion about products or policy, for example. And as the boomers start to hit retirement, who btw is the generation of "what is the internet," and move out of the workforce, millennials will have even more influence with their purchasing power, which puts more pressure on companies to respond, whether its in hiring or in their product. So, I think millennials have a lot of good influence that is simply touching up against the influence that is in power now.

 
iBankedUp:

People don't like millennials because most think that millennials think they're entitled. Well, I can tell you right now that every older/more experienced person has a strong sense of entitlement towards thinking you're supposed to learn from them and that they're going to teach you stuff. But, millennials are more connected to everything because of the literal connection that is given through technology. So, I think this simply scares most of the older generation, because they're not used to politics, policy, economics, etc., being driven in the way that it's happening now. If you expand that to look at the generational divide as a whole, in terms of how we do things, there's some obvious disconnect when it comes to expectations.

Millennials have a lot of power in shaping our world through the use of sharing and making a collective public opinion about products or policy, for example. And as the boomers start to hit retirement, who btw is the generation of "what is the internet," and move out of the workforce, millennials will have even more influence with their purchasing power, which puts more pressure on companies to respond, whether its in hiring or in their product. So, I think millennials have a lot of good influence that is simply touching up against the influence that is in power now.

Everyone knows the baby boomers are a bunch of hippie-flower-child pussies.

 

Millennials are very easy to manipulate. You can make a completely shitty product, price it well above market price and then just say you are going to donate a product to the needy for every one sold. The loss you take on the donation is tax deductible, the increase in price far exceeds the production cost, you bank the above average returns.

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

Are millennials really easier to manipulate?

By comparison you can make a completely shitty product, price it well above market price, and then just say you are going to donate a product to a labor union for every one sold. The method and the target demographics are different but the end result is the same.

If the rise of the internet has proven anything it is that people will look for sources of information that agree with their point of view no matter how fringe the idea. This is how otherwise educated consumers develop brand loyalty to otherwise bad products.

Before the internet you could control public opinion by developing influence across a select few highly integrated forms of media; radio, tv, and print. Today you can just publish fake news and develop a false narrative on an obscure website which will still reach untold numbers of rabid followers who have already self selected themselves. How is it any different?

Millennials are simply prone to being manipulated differently from previous generations.

To answer the original question above: I'd have to say that millennials are no different in value to businesses than any other generation.

 
heister:

Millennials are very easy to manipulate. You can make a completely shitty product, price it well above market price and then just say you are going to donate a product to the needy for every one sold. The loss you take on the donation is tax deductible, the increase in price far exceeds the production cost, you bank the above average returns.

Old people are even easier to manipulate. Thankfully I called my parents while they happened to be car shopping one day. They were about to overpay by a wide margin on a used car. I knew this because I googled the car they were looking at. They thought talking to the salesperson all day was "doing research."

Not knowing how to internet makes you a very uninformed shopper.

 

I had this discussion with a lot of the retirees when I was younger (Vietnam War vets), and they basically said that today's world is more unforgiving then back in the day. Education was cheaper too, one of the guy worked picking up trash to pay for his college tuition costs.

My old tennis coach had a side business getting cars out of ditches for cash, and that paid for his expenses, tuition, marriage, honeymoon, AND a down payment for a house.

covers face

Now we are in debt, drowning in debt, explosion of startups, anyone else want to add to this?

Oh, it was a lot easier to make a living too.

 

We have more social safety nets, but we also have much, much more competition on pretty much everything. When I was 16 years old, I could walk into a supermarket and ask for a job. I'd get a time and date to meet up. Today, if my younger sibling wants to do the same, they'll have to fight against 500 other applicants.

Also, even though I'm 30 and grew up during great economic times, the only thing younger millennials know, and has known for the past 10 years, is recession. From they were 10 to 20, it's been tough times and "bad job market". They work much, much harder than I did on pretty much everything.

My only gripe with them is that they do not seem to know real life from fantasy social media life. Instagram can be fun, but kids today are bombarded with perfect lives and perfect ideals. They can't spot paid product placement, and they think that a perfectly orchestrated Instagram picture is achievable in real life. If you want to be a snake oil salesman on social media, you're living in the golden age.

And finally: One thing we all seem to share, is more emphasis on leisure time and self-fulfillment. Kids are choosing away prestigious jobs, if it means that they can do something enjoyable. Even if it means that they'll have to work 10 more years, or spend 10 extra years paying down the mortgage. All my peers value traveling far, far more than a yearly bonus or new car.

So, I don't think we're entitled. Young kids are working extremely hard because of high competition. But they are also easily manipulated, especially on social media platforms.

 

I agree with the points made about social media. Twitter is just a place for people to vent and complain when they likely wouldn't in real life. A podcast I was listening to said that while people send death threats to him, that he has never once had anyone come up and say something negative to him. And these weird movements and hashtags are pointless and just let other people know that you're PC and love to support all these movements, without actually doing anything positive for the cause.

I think millennials are too into what their lives "look like" on social media vs. how they actually are in real life. Recently went on vacation and my friends were all confused why I didn't take photos, and apparently saying I just didn't want to have my phone with me and be distracted the whole time, was unfathomable to them.

 

Didn't read other people's responses but the reason people shit on millennials is because if you look at the MAJORITY of millennials, they are all a bunch of facebook/selfie/snapchat/instagram addicted morons that want to everything the easy way. It's the minority of millennials that this ceo is probably talking about: hard working, passionate, don't want to be limited, always strive to improve and grow.

 

Just like any other race, gender, ethnicity, age or whatever it is people just love categorizing others and this will not be changing. Most people doing these associations (media) only want see, hear and/or show those individuals that are within the "hypocratic" boundaries.

Being a millennial is basically being categorized as a Snowflake....

And working in this industry... snowflakes will not surviving past a SA position... their ass will be too damn hurt about every little conversation or thing that didn't go their way....

 

I would be curious to know if in prior generations there had been such a large divide between work attitudes between junior and senior employees. I think junior people are hardworking, but demand (justifiably) to know the rationale behind said work and don't like to spin their wheels. They see work as tasks to be completed, rather than an amorphous "client service" goal to grind on until the very last second of the deadline. It is a staggering difference to what the senior employees in finance remember. However, to be fair, junior employees at financial services firms have never been so tightly regulated and tightly compensated.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

As a whole, I think millennials in the workplace are a net negative. I am a millennial (current undergrad), working for a tech group out in silicon valley. I have been providing pretty ordinary work product in a timely fashion, but they continuously shower me with praise. I spoke to someone at the company about it and I was told that in the past they had millennials work for them that performed SO BAD that my average work looks like I spent sleepless nights putting it together. Happy to capitalize on the rest of my generations being shitheads.

 

I fail to see how one can make generalizations about an entire generation from a small sample. There have been some secular shifts in society and in the workplace which explain some of the perceptions. Baby boomers proceeded on the assumption that their careers would be like those of their parents. If you worked hard and took care of the company business, then the company would take care of you. That all went to shit in the '80s and '90s. So if a kid today is interested in what's in it for him or her in a particular job, can you criticize him for it? What's wrong with looking for work-life balance? You have only one life, and most corporations treat employees like expendable interchangeable pieces of crap anyway. You have to look out for yourself, because nobody else will do it for you. Regarding entitled snowflakes, etc., every generation has its share of morons, sheep, and lazy-ass bastards. There are also hard-working, creative, and ethical people in every generation. Our major failing these days is consider everyone as a member of a group, rather than as an individual.

No Surprises!
 

I don't understand the whole obsession with millennials. Millennials aren't different, we're just young.

The whole 'me' generation has referred to boomers, Gen X, and now Gen Y as well... we might have grown up differently but I think a lot of the attributes (impatience, entitlement, narcissism, etc.) can be attributed to youth, not just a generational shift.

 

I think it is just a way for the press to try and make money. Baby boomers, gen x, millennial and greatest generation - all phrases to sell an article. Obviously, there are going to be differences across generations, but if you were to take your grandparents and put them in your shoes who is to say that they would be any different.

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 
MonopolyMoney:

The only difference between Millennials and Boomers is that we actually know how to use a computer.

This. My MD is in his 60s and he thinks a few changes takes 5 minutes, when it really takes hours. Old people think computers are essentially magic.

 

This is an obsession that needs to go away. At the end of the day, we're smarter than our parents, and we can do things they can't. Plus, if wages were rising, businesses were easier to start, and old people would retire, our expectations for the work we put in would actually be more aligned with realities. That's older people's faults, not ours. I'll take my trap music, my Google, and my iPhone, because we have the generation of awesome, period.

 

FinDroid I'll avoid making wisecrack remarks and make an attempt at answering your questions. Yes this debate about Millennials vs Insert Other Groups is tiring but valid in some respects.

For me it boils down to the environment Millennials grew up in versus that of Baby Boomers. We live in a society where its no longer taboo to be gay, see black men marry white women, see Muslims walking down the street with a beard dressed in traditional attire, etc.

Millennials also grew up with and live their lives mostly through technology. They seem to be restless and want to break down the stiff conservative work cultures that exist in corporate America and elsewhere.

We also live in a world that is changing rapidly where yesterdays news is often forgotten and ancient history by the next day. We also live in a world where its rare, if not impossible for people to be born, live, work, and die in the same city or town.

In short, the above mentioned often causes a clash between different age groups (not physical in any sense) because of the differences in time periods they grew up in and also because Baby Boomers are viewed as more conservative than Millennials.

I'm sure a few age groups down Millennials may become viewed as today's equivalent of Baby Boomers and we'll surely see a repeat of this age old debate.

This is very general and not tied to the hedge fund industry but I think it still holds true...

 

"About a third of millennials value social media freedom as more important than salary when considering a job."

That sounds insane man, so your saying a third of us y gens would take a job that allows them access to facebook vs a better salary.. thats retarded lol

 

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