Difference Between Baby Boomers And Millennials

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Oil & Water or Two Peas In A Pod? 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 Baby Boomers are extremely hardworking, competitive and workaholics, working 50+ hours a week. They made sacrifices to achieve professional accomplishments and further their careers. At work Millennials have a sense of empowerment, are ambitious and feel somewhat entitled. After all, that is how they grew up. They are entrepreneurial and have strong multitasking skills. Some might say they are more efficient and have the mindset of working smarter not harder. Both generations have important attributes to contribute: the Baby Boomers have the experience and the Millennials are the tech-savvy gurus. One concept is for sure: both generations have valuable input to the growth of any organization. “Millennials have recently inched past the other generations to corner the largest share of the labor market (they make up 32.0 percent of the labor force and 30.6 percent for Boomers)” (Buckley). It is safe to say that it’s possible to teach an old dog new tricks as well as a new dog old Like helicopters, they hovered in the background, ready to sweep down, solve crises and offer new destinations (Setooodeh). The Millennial generation is referred to as the “me, me, me” generation. They grew up making the rules because their parents were not authoritative. Their lives are dictated by their smart gadgets and they are living at home longer. In conclusion, when it comes to finances, Boomers are certainly more into spending and owning, while Millennials are more into saving before spending. They already have debt and don’t want anymore. While working, Boomers prefer structure with a time clock; Millennials prefer flexibility with time off and breaks. While both generations didn’t prioritize fitness in the beginning, both have found ways to be active and healthy in their differing lifestyles. Millennials are certainly more tech savvy than Boomers, but the Boomers have caught onto tech recently and are attempting to learn how to use it in a world that all but requires tech knowledge. Finally the outlooks on education between these two generations differ very much. Millennials are almost required to attain higher education while boomers grew up having more of an option to attend higher education. Both generations have had their challenges, but Baby boomers have solid opinions that not much will change, Saying ‘kids these days’.

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