Understanding the divide between millennials and baby boomers

The great divide between Baby Boomers and Millennials comes down to the lack of understanding. The truth is that the realities in which both the generations grew up and work in are vastly different.

The unstable economy, high turnover rates and competitive business environment. Not to forget that the traditional workplace, as well as the work in the various industries, have almost completely changed. In addition, the availability of talented and educated professionals from poorer economies, willing to take up jobs at cheaper rates — more so due to remote working platforms such as Upwork — mean tougher market conditions. It’s no longer about the longer you stay at a company the more you’ll get rewarded. That expectation has been long forgotten and does not exist in the reality of millennials.

If may come as a shock, but due to the factors mentioned above, millennials know that it is inevitable that tougher times will come, that they may be laid off, made redundant or find themselves without job prospects. Hence, their focus is on developing skills that will help them increase their job prospects. It’s more about knowing what they will achieve from working at a company than expecting that there might be a reward for working hard for years on end. They want to know what they are in for, rather than leaving it to luck.

Read more about the disconnect between the generations here.