1. Multigenerational Millennials1
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
WHITE PAPER ON GENERATION Y WORKING EFFECTIVELY IN A
MULTIGENERATIONAL WORK FORCE
Julia Magdelino
December 2, 2013
Introduction
Maintaining a strong cohesive group of employees is highly beneficial to the success of
an organization. In today’s society the retirement age has become older, keeping the values and
perceptions from the 60’s, and their business strategies, alive in the work environment. On the
other hand, the younger generations are wrapping their brains around the latest technological
advances and discovering new strategies to implement in companies around the globe. Many of
these organizations may hang on to their elder generation of employees and assume a
harmonious environment will be shared with the youngest generation and all those in between. It
is vital to understand the differences in the culture which generations bring to the playing field
and how they can impact the success of the business, both in positive and negative lights.
In knowledge of the these differences by managerial staff, they can gain an understanding
of how to manage all cultures, not just those of relation to previous trends of the workplace.
Generational cohorts are not all the same. They are similar in many rights, however, the
differences are impactful and can be potentially hazardous to a business if not maintained with
care. This paper will examine the strategies multigenerational companies can use to enhance the
performance of the up in coming Generation Y, or Millennial Generation, cohort. As well as
keeping older generations satisfied and productive for the company with the addition of this
generational cohort to the working environment.

2. Multigenerational Millennials2
On the level of the Generation Y employees, they can prepare themselves for a swift
entry into any organization. Simple awareness can provide the new generations with the
background knowledge to diversify their teamwork and leadership abilities. Generation Y is at
the forefront of many evolutionary changes in our society. Technology is one of many impacting
issues for the older generations, however, Generation Y was raised with technology at their
finger tips. Understanding their own differences from previous generational cohorts and how
those differences can influence those around them and the businesses in which they enter could
determine the future for not only the Millennial employee, but the entire organization.
Background
Stereotypes
Looking into Generation Y and the attitudes they stereotypically attain to identify what
managers should do about the incoming generation are necessary measures to be taken.
Discovering the Millennial’s traits will aid in the managerial position’s conformity to those traits.
There are four misconceptions regarding Generation Y and the negative stereotypes they hold;
disloyalty, needy, entitled, casual (Thompson & Gregory, 2012). It is not uncommon for
Millennials coming out of college with university degrees to have difficulties finding gainful
employment, which could lead to disloyalty to the job market. Circumstances may be the cause
of this stereotype rather than the individual’s themselves. This stereotype can easily be flipped to
say the job market is disloyal, rather than the employees struggling within it. 60% of employed
Generation Y individuals have changed jobs at least once in their careers (Thompson & Gregory,
2012). Indeed that is a high number, however, it was not stated in the studies gathered whether
other generations display a better percentage in their employment lifetime.

3. Multigenerational Millennials3
In terms of the Generation Y being a needy cohort, it is important to point out the
substance behind their needs. A Millennial may often reach out to their mangers in hopes of
receiving feedback of their performance more often than any other generational cohort. This can
come across to the managerial staff members as unnecessary time consumption and needy on the
employee’s part. Nevertheless, Millennial’s craving for feedback should be viewed as a
willingness to learn and perform better for their company. This desire for feedback also plays
into the Generation Y cohort being stereotypically labeled as entitled, such that they may believe
they deserve the time from their managers for many performance reviews. The Millennial
generation has grown up being rewarded for participation, rather than performance, leading to
the label of “trophy kids” (Thompson & Gregory, 2012). This can be viewed as children growing
up receiving more than they deserve, training them to become entitled. It could be speculated
that Millennial employees will seek feedback from their managerial staff in order to receive
praise at any cost. From the positive view of the Generation Y cohort, this can have developed an
attitude of intense ambition from years of pressure to perform and high expectations. Yet, it still
does not take away from the idea that Millennial’s may be seeking performance appraisals solely
for the ultimate betterment of the company, not their egos.
The last notable stereotype is that Millennial employees favor casualness. It is becoming
more of a norm for work place’s to be a less formal environment. The Generation Y cohort has
latched onto that ideal and they strive to work in businesses that favor the more casual
conditions. In many businesses these days it is not unheard of for employees to be present in an
office at all but instead work from the comfort of their homes. The changing times and the shift
in the ideals of professionalism can be impacting the younger generations. Norms are no longer
traditional and the Generation Y seems to be changing with the times, as to be expected. It is not

4. Multigenerational Millennials4
fair to degrade their perception on the work force when it is the generational cohorts before that
have allowed the changes to become a prevalent aspect of today’s work place.
Millennial employees are different in their own right. However, it is misconstrued that
the differences are so extreme that the face of businesses are being forced into a 180 degree turn.
That said, there are changes present that do deserve attention from managerial leaders. If
organizations are going to succeed, managers need to adopt altered leadership styles that
compliment the work styles of their younger employees. A few moments to take into
consideration the work of younger employees would not be detrimental to the success of the
company. In fact, it may increase the success over time.
Values
Generational differences in the workforce are perceived to be exponential and defining
rather than minimal and blurred. As previously explained, generational cohorts believe they are
more different from one another than they actually are. Each generation assumes another’s
generational values are different than they are in reality. Many personal values from all
generations, in actuality, show to be fairly similar in response. Lester, et. al. (2012) found that
only eight value items (technology, face-to-face communication, e-mail communication, social
media, formal authority, fun-at-work), on a 48 item “value assessment”, taken by 263
participants (M = 40.7), were statistically significant. Regardless of how minimal the separation,
businesses are not as familiar with the workplace needs of Generation Y.
Actual differences between generational cohorts are not as prevalent as we believe as a
society. It is instead what is perceived to be different and how separation occurs between those
who may not be similar to our age demographic, based off those negative perceptions. Lines are
drawn between Generation Y and the older generations because what is different at the surface.

5. Multigenerational Millennials5
Obvious values such as the ability to navigate social media, the desire to have fun, favoring e-
mail over face-to-face communication are being used as excuses to provide an explanation for
the severance between cohorts. However, values below the surface like teamwork, autonomy,
security and professionalism are common across all generational cohorts but are ignored due to
the overwhelming societal norm to believe the Millennials are alien to the work environment.
Furthermore, it is those values which are commonalities that create a strong and cohesive type
workplace.
In a study conducted by Dulin (2005), interviews and questionnaires were administered
to discover the preferences of the Generation Y cohort. Competence, interpersonal skills,
management of others, self-management, and communication emerged as core values. This
generation is looking for very attainable values to be meet by their employers. Overall it seems
the Millennials want to be granted autonomy and the opportunity to experiment with being
leaders in their own right. Allowing the Generation Y the freedom to express their emotions by
providing a framework with structure can be what they need to excel. By being offered to them
what they feel is important in a career can allow them to have faith in the job market and the
careers that follow.
Expectations
Demographic factors and academic performance differences have an effect on what
employees from the Millennial generation may expect out of a career and their priorities within
the business world. With Generation Y being the most educated generation it is not uncalled for
the members of this cohort to expect promotions quickly after hiring. They acknowledge that
they have current theories and methods to apply to businesses which may put them in strong
positions for promotion. From the outside looking in this attitude can easily come across to other

6. Multigenerational Millennials6
generational cohorts and managerial staff as impatience to succeed. It can also be viewed from a
positive perspective that they are eager to apply their knowledge from their studies to the work
environment. If they do it correctly and apply it without complications, it is in their mind they
will make a noticeable impact in the company. Additionally, the starting salary the Millennials
expect to is earn $42,964 (SD = $15,093.54), according to Ng’s, et. al. (2010) study on
undergraduate or university Canadian college students (Median = 22 years old). Generation Y
has an intense expectation for for pay and advancement in a career. Depending on the career path
of the Millennial employee, these expectations can be either attainable or difficult to acquire.
Due to Generation Y employees potentially being blinded by the issues that can arise in
the workplace due to attempting to apply their educational models and methods, these employees
can be expected to struggle. In the likely event of complication, Millennials will have a difficult
time balancing personal and institutional values and defining what may be the best solution to
move forward. It can also be expected that Generation Y employees will be forced to dedicate
time to collaborative group work to aid in long-term relationships for their given company.
Many businesses are beginning to take advantage of collaboration with other companies and it is
vital the Millennials understand it is expected that they have exceptional interpersonal and
communication skills.
Commitment
It is important to understand work place commitment of Generation Y and how it differs
from Baby Boomers. Results can aid to attract and retain Generation Y employees in businesses.
Commitment has three different levels when looking into the work place environment. As
defined by Engelman (2009), continuance commitment is staying with an organization because
you “have” to, normative commitment is staying with an organization because you “ought” to,

7. Multigenerational Millennials7
and affective commitment is staying with an organization because you “want” to. There are just
as many Generation Y employees in the workforce who stay with a company because they feel
that they have to do so as there are for older generations. Feelings of commitment are the same
between generational cohorts when employees feel they are staying with an organization because
they are obligated to and when they feel they want to. The amount of commitment an employee
has for their job or career is not due to the generation the employee originates from, but possibly
from alternative reasons. It is a possibility that these similarities in feelings between
generational cohorts has to do with the state of the economy. Older generations are forced to
work past retirement age and by doing so, causing Generation Y to settle for jobs they may not
be completely satisfied with. The feelings associated with these implications could be the cause
of similar commitment emotions by all generations when thinking of their work experience.
Much negative ideals about the Generation Y cohort revolves around the assumption that
the younger business people have less of a work ethic than previous generations. However, the
Generation Y cohort are not different from Baby Boomers when it comes to the driving force
behind employee behavior, commitment. Although Generation Y has different attitudes and a
mindset on many levels than older generations, many still hone similar commitment to the
organization they work for. Despite the reasons behind their commitment, each generation has
resemblance to each others amount of commitment expressed.
Technology
Technology influences Generation Y leaders methods and reactions to managing the work
place. Hierarchical implications, caused by virtual social relationships, could impact the
company when appointing a Generation Y leader who uses technological methods. Because of
the lack of emersion in technology that older generations have in comparison to the Millennials,

8. Multigenerational Millennials8
older generations can be hesitant to using technology in the work place. With a Generation Y
leader who does not understand the negative effects technology could have on a workplace if the
employees are traditional in their values and leadership styles. Ramirez (2012) found that 60% of
Generation Y future leaders (n = 6) are concerned with older generation employees who are
accustomed to traditional leadership styles and that they are lacking confidence in attaining
virtual social relationships. Although traditional communication may be the style the older
generations are used to, they can be capable of adapting to the changes in society and advance
with their companies forward movement. 30% of the Generation Y cohort (n = 3) perceive that
virtual social relationships rely on openness to new ideas and believe that traditionalism in older
generations will hinder the success if they are not flexible to change (Ramirez, 2012). The
traditional aspect of face-to-face communication and the relationships built are highly valued by
older generations and it is important to understand that they do not have to be lost. The older
generations fear this will be sacrificed with the use virtual social relationships but they have
simply acquired a new way reaching those relationships.
The future leaders stemming from Generation Y are taking on a judgmental stance in
terms of applying technology to a company. Assumptions of the older generations by the
Millennials are affecting the thought processes of technological possibilities by perceiving older
generations in a certain light. Millennials belief that older generations are not ready or willing to
adapt technology is a stereotype they are putting on others. Their perceptions on a
multigenerational workforce are inhibiting to the potential success technology can bring to a
company. The social implications of technology in the workforce on previous generations is
vital for Generation Y to understand as they acquire management positions in businesses.

9. Multigenerational Millennials9
Conclusion
Employers should take the time to review what it is that this generation is looking for in
their leaders to not lose what could be highly beneficial employees. A starting framework should
be developed using the information provided about the Generation Y cohort. According to
multiple members of this generation, they want the opportunity to whole-heartedly commit to a
company which they feel they have a future with and expect they will receive hefty monetary
rewards at a rapid pace from those companies for putting their effort into the business.
Millennials also strive to be appreciated for their values, which are not far off from the values
already present in the workplace. Their similarities to older generations are more than
stereotypically projected and the Generation Y cohort would likely benefit from receiving
positive reinforcement from managerial staff and senior generations. To be labeled as different
from the majority is potentially harmful to the advancements the Millennials can bring to the
world of business. Continuing with differences, Generation Y could potentially have confidence
and trust to be gained in the company if previous generations would prove their willingness to
adapt to technological advances.
Effort to provide workshops and collaborative groups to help erase the self drawn lines
between the many generational cohorts should be provided by companies for upper and lower
management departments. It would be beneficial to help their employees, and themselves,
become aware of the many similarities in values that they share rather than allow company
members to work based off their few differences. Stereotypically, Generation Y is lazy,
demanding, and lacks communication skills, from the standpoint of generations ahead of them.
However, it would be simple for managers to see which few details entail the attitude and values
of the Millennial generation by putting them on a more respectable pedestal and not the

10. Multigenerational Millennials10
stereotypically low one defined by society. Details such as individual desires, positive
reinforcement, and a desire for a strong and genuine relationship with their managers can be
small acts with great outcome for this generation. It is vital for managers to read into and
familiarize themselves with the Generation Y and the differences and commonalities they present
to the work place. This generation is quickly filing into today’s businesses making their values
and perspectives the norm to be.

11. Multigenerational Millennials11
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