IntroductionThe Millennial generation makes up the largest segmentof the United States labor workforce, outnumberingcurrent Generation Xers and Baby Boomers. TheMillennial workforce will continue to increase whilemillions of older workers slowly retire over the nextdecade.

The public perception of the Millennial generation hasbecome increasingly negative in nature. The termMillennial has become synonymous with words like“entitled, overly-sensitive, snowflakes”. With such asignificant penetration within the U.S. labor workforce, itis important to understand if and how the generalnegative public opinion of the generation translates toworkplace experiences.

Methods

Results r Conclusions

Elena Sixtos, Master of Arts CandidateHuman Dimensions of Organizations, The University of Texas at Austin

Literature Cited

Further Information

How Millennial Workplace Experiences Are Impacted by Perceptions of the Millennial Generation

The Millennial generation makes up the largest segment of the U.S. labor workforce and will continue to increase while millions of older workers retire over the next decade.

Public perception of the generation has become increasingly negative in nature. With such a significant penetration within the U.S. workforce, it is important to understand if/how the negative public opinion translates to the Millennial workplace experiences.

This study provides insights directly from Millennials and contributes to understanding the unique workplace experience of this generational cohort as it relates to the negative public perception.

Literature review of existing literature and studies pertaining to the Millennial generation, to include intergenerational studies.

Quantitative Research conducted via electronic surveys to capture insights of working Millennials.

Qualitative Research conducted through one-on-one interviews with working Millennials.

Elena Sixtos elena.sixtos@utexas.edu

Thank you to the HDO staff and faculty for their support throughout my graduate school journey. Special thank you to Dr. John Traphagan and Dr. Elizabeth Keating for dedicating time to my research project. I am also grateful to the HDO classmates who helped make this an unforgettable experience.

• Fry, R. (2018, April 11). Millennials are largest generation in the U.S. labor force. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/

• Lastner, M., and Taylor, E. (2015). “The Snowflake State: An Investigation into Entitlement as a State Construct.” Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings 2015 (1): 1. doi:10.5465/AMBPP.2015.201.

• U.S Chamber of Commerce. (2017, March 15). The Millennial Generation Research Review. Retrieved from https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/reports/millennial-generation-research-review.

• Sorenson, S. Garman, K. (2013). There’s a Generation Gap in Your Workplace. Gallup Business Journal. https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/163466/generation-gap-workplace.aspx

Millennial Generation Ages 23 – 38

“Younger” Millennials Ages 23 - 30

“Older” Millennials Ages 31 - 38

65% of Millennials

surveyed indicated

negativeworkplace impact

50/50 split amongst youngerand older cohort

members who identify as

“Millennial”

Study found that profession/field of

work does not contribute to

workplace experience.

*Data presented is from survey sample of 79 participants.

This research project contributed to the existing literature regarding the Millennial generation and workplace experiences.

Research may be leveraged by organizational leaders to raise awareness regarding: • Millennial employee impacts by the negative

perception of their generation. • Awareness that “older” Millennials may still associate

to the generational term.

Acknowledgements