“Coming of age during the Great Recession has undoubtedly strengthened millennials’ appetite for a benefit safety net” (Howe, 2014, P. 8). The millennial generation is referred to as the working generation of today; the age group of sixteen to thirty-one. All age groups have similarities and differences in how they perceive working benefits, but recent studies have shown that the younger generations think and care more about benefits that will better their future and protect them from certain risks. This younger generation referred to as millennials, began showing plans for the future much earlier in life than the older generations, early as young children. From K-12 to the workplace, millennials yearn for the “American Dream” and have more …show more content…
Fourteen to fifteen percent more millennials are worried about sudden income loss than boomers. With that being said, millennials are less likely to take risks when investing. Young workers today want offers that provide the most stable situation to help them prepare for the future. Millennials also invest more into their retirement fund and save more vigorously, opposed to bloomers, who are close to retiring. This new trend among the millennials could be due to a law being passed in 2006, allowing 401(k) auto enrollment for employees by their employers. The auto enrollment is not all to blame, since many employees do not realize they have an opt-out option when it comes to their …show more content…
As stated earlier, millennials have shown this drive for security and safety for their future since they were young children. A study that was conducted in 2005 and 2006, shown that millennials ranked good benefits and retirement benefits as a top priority when looking for an employer. While boomers and Gen Xers were young and looking into employers, they were prone to taking risks and not saving for the future. With boomers and Gen Xers being the parents/grandparents to the millennials, millennials were taught not to take risks and take advantage of any opportunities that were offered to them. The risk taking for the older generation even goes as deep as health insurance benefits. “… young adults rarely thought much about health care – and often saved a few bucks by ‘going bare’ and letting their health insurance lapse” (Howe, 2014, p.11, para. 8). Being the parents, boomers and Gen Xers taught their children otherwise from their choices. The millennial generation cares more about their health, even though they are far less likely to suffer severe illnesses, and have less health care services to pay
In the article, “A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much”, Catherine Rampell explains why older generations find millennials to be the laziest generation yet and provides facts that contrast the claim. The generations that came before millennials like Generation X and Baby Boomers have multiple reasons explaining why young people have became less productive over the years. Catherine Rampell provides information regarding how millennials are not as lazy as Generation X has made them out to be.
Millennials are often portrayed as spoiled rich people who still rely heavily on their parents for everything. This makes them seem childish, and Matchar’s questionable usage of these terms nonetheless is an obvious jab at the poster minority. Millennials overall are hard working and put under more stress than their predecessors, and the ridicule they endure for their work is uncalled for. Therefore, the thesis’s major flaw almost entirely overshadows its main
In “Why So Many Minority Millennials Can’t Get Ahead” The Atlantic author Mel Jones expresses that white families provide their children with financial assistance to get a head in life, or by inheritance, unlike the minority Hispanics and blacks who have to continually make sacrifices that set them back. To begin the article, Jones starts building her credibility with a personal fact. Then she provides credible sources, she cites convincing facts and statistics, and successfully uses pathos in applying her emotional appeals. On the other hand, when nearing the end of her paper, her biased opinions begin to weaken her credibility.
In today’s culture, the number of issues that the average person has to face on a daily basis, are astronomical. Millennials, in particular, have been greatly affected by this, so much so that a new phase in the human lifespan has been created just for them! Dubbed “emerging adulthood” by psychologist Jeffrey Arnett, plopped smack dab in the middle of adolescence, and adulthood, this phase captures any, and all doubts that 20-29 year olds are plagued with. From their economic standing, to racial, ethnic, and identity issues, and to disabilities ranging from both mental, and physical, this phase captures every single uncertainty, fear, and qualm that one person can possibly have in a neat little package.
Not So Much”, explains how Generation Y is not necessarily lazy, but rather conforming to fit changing times and a changing system. Her degree in journalism from Princeton, and experience in writing about economics, politics and data-driven journalism, more than qualifies her for writing about such a topic. I was one of those people who believed that today’s generation is too dependent on their parents, always looking for a hand-out and have a sense of entitlement. After reading this, I now have a slightly different opinion about Millennials. Of course, there will always be slackers in every generation whether past, present or future, but there is always more than what meets the eye. Just because someone may not spend their forty-hour work week all in the office, does not mean that they are working any less, but that because of today’s technology they can work from almost anywhere. As for the amount of graduated college students that return to live at home with their parents, it is not necessarily because they are too apathetic to go out and support themselves, but rather the reason being the high unemployment rate among sixteen to twenty-four year olds. After the Great Recession in 2009, many Millennials either lost their jobs, or were simply unable to find one after graduation. While I was raised to believe that if you wanted something, you worked for it, I truly hope that today’s generation is still
Generation Y, more commonly referred to as the “millennials”, is today’s group of young people. Similar to other generations, each cohort is labeled with unique characteristics and inevitably faces adversities while taking its place in society. Many American’s today debate their views on the youngster generation, but none the less all sides can agree the discussion has become a hot topic. Catherin Rampell creates an open discussion in her article, A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much, addressing the main issue: Are millennials a generation of slackers. I feel strongly that my views align with Rampell’s, in believing my generation has already begun to show its capability of doing great things. Through analysis of the text and my own personal experience I am able to dispute the opposition towards my generation as well as, express the positive relationship of millennials in
“We like to tell ourselves that America is the land of opportunity, but the reality doesn’t match the rhetoric - and hasn’t for awhile” (Matthew O’Brien 1). In today’s economic situations, dreaming big may seem unaffordable, but not impossible. To achieve this goal many aspects should be analyzed to understand the American dream, weakened retirement, and smart investments. Megan Cottrell states that “graduate from college. Get married. Buy a house. Have kids. Put in a few decades of hard work, and then it’s time to retire by 65. That’s the American Dream, right?” (1).
The Millennials Gen Y and Baby Boomers Gen X are two different generations. Proponents and Opponents both argue: How are they different? Baby Boomers believe that traditional structure, hard work, monetary success, is an essential way of life. In contrast the Millennials simply don’t agree, nor are they going to comply. The Baby Boomers and Millennials don’t see eye to eye about how the workplace should be run, nor do they agree with the way the world was handed to them to be successful, and how power is in generational numbers.
Throughout the years, the older generations –The Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, and Generation X—have viewed Millennials as the lowest generation. They have illustrated this adverse title of the millennials that the world views to be true, but in late May of 2013, Joel Stein, a product of Generation X, wrote, “The New Greatest Generation: Why Millennials Will Save Us All” towards the older generations to prove them wrong. This article attempts to persuade Stein’s audience to believe that Millennials are not what the world has described them to be. Throughout his article, Stein informs the audience that although statistics portray Millennials to be narcissistic, he has faith that the Millennials are the future. While Stein did use data in
Life for Millennials is not as easy as it has been said to be. According to Taylor Tepper, an editor of Money Magazine, when the Great Recession peaked in 2010, the large mass of Millennials graduating college were more vulnerable being that the unemployment rate among young adults peaked at 14% (Tepper). A Pew Research Center survey came to the conclusion that “Millennials are the first in the modern era to have higher levels of debt, poverty and unemployment, and lower levels of wealth and personal income than their two immediate predecessor generations had at the same time” (Tepper). In addition, David Bass, a Millennial himself and author of “The Millennial Generation Lacks a Strong Work Ethic,” states that the current employment rate for young adults is 55.3%, “the lowest rate since the end of World War Two” (Bass). These numbers do not tell it all, rather “a generation’s greatness is not determined by data; it’s determined by how they react to the challenges that befall them,” challenges that this generation does not fall short of
America’s youth is struggling to find success because they are suffering from an economy that was severely damaged by the previous generation. In many instances older generations insist that the reason young people are struggling to survive and succeed in today's economy is because millennials and those belonging to Generation Z are lazy and do not want to work hard in order to achieve their dream, or it is that those youths feel as if they are entitled to success so they complain when they do not have opportunities and jobs handed to them. In reality, the lack of success for the youngest two generations does not have to do with an attitude problem, but rather with an economy that is struggling to survive due to the actions of previous generations. According to Hardin and lifeboats ethics, there is a large divide between the rich and the poor and there is not a solution to decreasing that divide that would result in the survival
They never grew up through a struggle as a society in whole. They never grew up through any era where it affected them. They were raised believing they’re special and everything revolves around them rather than knowing to fight for what they want. They blame the ones who raised them for their many faults and the way they are but fail to realize they can change. They are considered the worst generation because they are selfish, babied, and lazy. They care for their social life online than interacting with those around them. They don’t take politicians and careers as seriously as they should and this is causing them to be useless and not fully plan for our future and theirs. If millennials upkeep this way of living generations after them will be the exact same or even
Nearly 3.7 million American babies born in 1982 were the first members of the new Generation Y, or more affectionately known as millenials (Thompson, par. 1). Many things play into whether a generation is considered to be faring ‘better’ than another one; job opportunities, the state of the environment, whether the U.S. is at peace or at war, income vs. living expenses, the general happiness of the people, and the list goes on. Millenials are part of a special generation because for decades, “The American Dream” has included the belief that the future generation will fare better than the present one; however, millenials are not projected to fare better than the present generation X for many reasons.
Baby boomers and Millennials-are they oil & water or two peas in a pod? There have been large shifts in society and culture between when the baby boomers were born (1946-1964) and when the millennials were born (1981-1996). Furthermore, there are innumerable factors that have influenced and molded each of these two generations, such as technology, trends, debt and economy. Who exactly are millennials and baby boomers? What is known, emphatically, is that they both have strong opinions of one another. The Baby Boomers were promised the American Dream; they worked through tough situations, and are perceived as greedy and ambitious. “Perhaps the most influential generation in history, this ‘flower power’ generation
“I think the younger generation, the people posed to dominate the workforce, are more socially conscious. They are more demanding in terms of environment and how that environment contributes to their life.” This quote by Helmut Jahn demonstrates the exact hope that we, as Americans, should have towards our future. The young generation is the future of America, and action needs to take place in order to better their future. Millennials are often perceived as inferior, knowledge-wise, to older generations. However, today’s Millennials are about to be the most educated generation ever. Though they’re mostly educated, they’re making a lot less than they should be. Because being well-educated means going to college, a lot of