Raju 1

Steven Raju
Melina Probst
Composition 2
October 27, 2015
Millennials and the Workforce

The era people live in today is one that vastly differs from the times previous generations
are accustom to. Values, customs, and beliefs have changed from generation to generation, and
while some aspects of each generation may be similar, it is the small things that make the biggest
difference. A portion of people who live in this new era today are known as millennials, and their
story being told is one that vastly diverges from previous generations. The most common
technical definition of millennials are people who born between the early 1980s and the early
2000s. While this is the technical definition, understanding who millennials truly are come down
to a variety of different reasons. The public perceptions of millennials have garnered extreme
negative backlash, with an article written by Jada A. Graves of usnews.com surmising that
millennials are Entitled, Needy, Self-Centered. Along with these negative attributes,
millennials are also viewed to be disrespectful towards older generations. TV personality Bill
Maher on his show Real Time with Bill Maher went on a huge rant on millennials, ultimately
concluded that American culture has become shallow, and no longer respects the elderly and
that most millennials are entirely too fixated on the human butt. The human butt analogy is key
symbol in dissecting millennials, as Maher is referring to many young people focusing on nonessential things such as the size of a celebrities butt (he references Nicki Minaj in his rant). These
variables have caused people to wonder whether the millennial lifestyle and tendencies can lead
the workforce to eventual prosperity, with most predicting they will lead it to its downfall. While
millennials have surely given many reasons to doubt them, they also have an abundance of skills

Raju 2
and attributes that can help them prosper in the workforce. Millennials are tech-savvy, experts in
social media, and have positive work values. With these attributes, millennials are poised to
debunk the negative perceptions attached to them, and can lead the work with success.
A renowned aspect of millennials is their prowess with technology. Millennials have had
the luxury of being born within a technological era. As opposed to previous generations,
millennials have been instilled with keen knowledge about technology. Coordinator of library
instruction Wendy Holliday and PHD student Qin Li at Utah State found that Most find that
students are heavy users of the World Wide Web for class assignments and that technology is a
significant factor in their education and personal lives (Holliday, Li 357). Holiday and Li are
insisting that millennials are being brought up with technology being a significant factor in their
lives, and have always involved technology with their education. While technology as served as
an important benefit in enhancing education and productivity, previous generations argue that
technology is serving as a detriment to millennials in the workforce. Jennifer Deal and David
Altman at the Center of Creative Leadership, along with Steven Rogelberg at the University of
North Carolina, all point out that there is also evidence from neuroscience research that the
human brain cannot effectively integrate multiple inputs at the same time (Deal, Altman,
Rogelberg 192). The authors insist that the introduction of many different technologies at a rapid
pace may negatively affect a millennials effectiveness in their performance and productivity.
Regardless to whether technology may have this adverse effect, millennials are moving into a
work force that is now becoming affluent and dependent on technology. Growing up in a
technological era better equips millennials adjusting to the new technologies being created,
compared to non-millennials who are not brought up with technology. New technologies being
made are quickly being integrated in workplaces, and thanks to millennials aptitude with

Raju 3
technology, the ever-changing workplaces can be run accordingly and with competence. While
millennials are caught up with modern day technology, they also are accustom to the rise of
social media.
Growing up in a technology era is one benefit millennials have, but growing up in
modern times is arguably the biggest benefit to succeed in the workforce. Living in modern times
entails a variety of things, and millennials have had the luxury to experience and conform to this
modern era. One major aspect of modern times is social media. The arrival of social media has
taken the planet by storm, as most businesses and jobs nowadays advertise their brand through
sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Jaehee Cho, PhD, Dong Jin Park, PhD, and Zoa
Ordonez all detail how critical social media is to the workforce, stating It can hardly be denied
that social media has largely penetrated many aspects of everyday life and that its easily
observed in organizational settings. For instance, social media is considered the most innovative
and influential marketing tool for todays customers (Cho, Park, Ordonez 794). The authors
argue that social media has become a societal norm, one that has become simple and easy to
access for the everyday citizen and a staple to growing workforces. Millennials have taken
advantage of this growing modern day commodity, with Cho, Park and Ordonez detailing that
millennials heavy dependence on social media is one of the most unique characteristics
differentiating them from other generations. Essentially, millennials will place more value on
social media in any circumstance (Cho, Park, Ordonez 795). Millennials expert use of social
media is a crucial skill that is pivotal to the modern-day work force. Their knowledge and
repetition of social media helps millennials in finding careers where the use of social media is a
growing factor. Some argue that social media use is not appropriate for millennials to use in the
workplace, with the company BBC stating It may not be appropriate to share BBC-related

Raju 4
photographs, comments and videos. Offensive comment about BBC colleagues may be deemed a
disciplinary offence (Cho, Park, Ordonez 795). While it is true that some companies will censor
social media to protect company property, most companies still find social media an extremely
effective method, such IBM IBM regards blogs and other forms of online discourse as primarily
a form of communication and relationship among individuals.IBM believes in dialog among
IBMers and with our partners, clients, members of the many communities in which we
participate and the general public (Cho, Park, Ordonez 795). Companies such as IBM are taking
advantage of social media connected their brand around the world, and millennials applying to
these big-name companies are being chosen over previous gen applicants, thanks to their social
media expertise. As millennials use the social media a tool to obtain careers, they also take
advantage expressing their beliefs within the workforce.
The knock against millennials is that previous generations do not find them to have
adequate behavior to succeed in the work force. Previous generations have taken major issues
with how millennials operate within a work place, complaining that Older people today
perceive younger people as using too much slang, having poor communication skills, and being
difficult, entitled, and service focused (Deal, Altman, Rogelberg 192). The authors argue that
previous generations distasteful views of millennials creates doubts that millennials can succeed
in the workforce. While some millennials do live up to the stereotypes of previous generations,
many other millennials display positive qualities to debunk those labels. Caroline Hills at the
University of Newcastle states that millennials are highly committed workers thriving on
challenging work and creative expression, preferring freedom and flexibility in completion of
work tasks, but they expect recognition for success (Hills 268). With this stance, Hills argues
that millennials are up to any challenge and actually thrive in difficult situations. Their need for

Raju 5
creative expression and flexibility helps complete tasks in a variety of ways. Garnering
recognition helps in a competitive work environment where many employees are trying the
hardest to stand out among one another. Ultimately, millennials may never shake off the
stereotypes previous generations have attached to them, but they are slowly proving them wrong
thanks to the attributes they display in the workplace.
In the end, older generations will look at millennials and will always doubt they can be
effective members of the workforce. When it comes to being tech-savvy, experts on social media,
and having workplace values, millennials have inert skills that translate into success within the
modern day workforce. Previous generations look at the world today and are foreigners to the era
people live in now. Millennials, however, are contain the native tongue that speaks the language
required to succeed in todays workforce. For the workforce to eventually reach prosperity, it will
ultimately be on the shoulders of millennials. Knowing the times people live in now, it is a task
only they can handle.

Raju 6

Work Cited
Cho Jahee, Dong Shin Jin, and Zoe Ordonez. "Journal of Managerial Psychology." Future
Employment Selection Methods: Evaluating Social Networking Web Sites: : Vol 24, No 6. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
Deal, Jennifer, David Altman, and Steven Rogelberg. "Millennials At Work: What We Know And
What We Need To Do (If Anything)." Journal Of Business & Psychology 25.2 (2010): 191199. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
Hills, Caroline, et al. "Managing 'Generation Y' Occupational Therapists: Optimising Their
Potential." Australian Occupational Therapy Journal 60.4 (2013): 267-275. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
Holliday, Wendy, and Qin Li. "Reference Services Review." Understanding the Millennials:
Updating Our Knowledge about Students: : Vol 32, No 4. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
Graves, Jada A. "Millennial Workers: Entitled, Needy, Self-Centered?" US News RSS. N.p., 27
June 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
"Bill Maher Rips 'Shallow' American Culture For Allowing 'Ageism' to Impact Politics."
TheWrap. N.p., 08 Nov. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

Raju 7

Work Cited