Here come the Millennials: is that good or bad?

• Author: Wiesner, Pat
• Position: [on] MANAGEMENT - Viewpoint essay

Millennials are people who came of age around and just before the year 2000. That would put them somewhere in their teens to mid-20s. That would make them our up-and comers. These are the ones who will someday be the managers in our companies.

I was told by someone familiar with the matter (as they say in the Wall Street Journal), that they don't care much about the bosses. They grew up in families where they were always told they were perfect. They were assured both in school and at home that whatever they decided to do was fine, and they would be successful.

The problem is that if you tell them that what they are doing is not up to par, they may very well decide not to work for you at all.

Supposedly, Millennials don't take correction very well, don't have much loyalty to companies or businesses, and they don't respond the way you or I the ancients, would respond.

Millennials like to be told how well they are doing, they are loyal to family rather than businesses, and they will quit at the drop of a better offer.

Also, from a Pew research report on the topic, most only have one phone (a cell and no landline), they largely don't read the newspaper, getting most of their news from the Internet and TV. And they text like crazy, play more video games, and many have a penchant for tattoos.

And as with most other groups like this, GenX, etc., they are not likely to change as they age. I've done my own little survey, and they seem not to wear wristwatches because they have the time on their cell phones.

You really can't blame them too much for their attitudes toward business after seeing their dad laid off after 30 years and then losing his retirement benefits because of the company's inability to pay forward and backward. And his or her mother had to go back to work while dad was having to work at Wal-Mart to make Social Security stretch.

The Millennials are probably going to be the first generation since the end of WWII where the children haven't made more money than their fathers made.

Every day we see stories about how China is growing and our exports are diminishing. Many truly...