you are probably aware of the concept of
Generation Y or Millennials how many of
you have heard of it raise your hand
almost everyone and keep your keep your
hands up and now keep it up if you are a
millennial yourself Thanks
depending on the source Generation Y or
Millennials are the young adults of
today born into 1980s and 90s when I
said Generation Y I bet many of you
instantly formed the picture of a
typical millennial in your head what
does this person look like the
descriptions I see most often are that
Millennials value work-life balance and
meaningful work Millennials are
open-minded and confident or if you ask
someone else entitled narcissists by the
way according to countless books and
consultants Millennials are or were
supposed to change the game completely
as they enter workforce because the
birth of first Millennials is usually
dated to the beginning of the 1980s they
are now nearing 40 where’s the
groundbreaking change here’s the real
untold story of the Millennials the
cohort Millennials or Generation Y
doesn’t exist in this speech I’m gonna
take you through two main arguments to
support my case widely contradictory
empirical evidence and shaky theoretical
ground but because inspirational
speeches have quotes let’s start with
one and it’s a bit long I know plot but
please bear with me there’s a point to
it in recent years many observers have
called attention to an apparent
malays among North American workers
briefly stated members of the labor
force are thought to be less willing
than previously to accept the Protestant
ethic and the necessity of work in
particular attention has focused on
younger workers who afford to hold work
value systems significantly different
from their elders typical Millennials
right except this was written by
scholars Taylor and function in 1976
similar descriptions of the kids these
days are still abundant forty years
later that’s what caught my attention in
the first place I kept encountering this
use of my generation in the media often
contradicting each other definitely
contradicting the millennial reality I
was living in but still they seem to be
widely accepted clearly something wasn’t
right here so I started studying the
subject for my thesis I read over 30
articles and books about Millennials and
found 117 so-called typical
characteristics all of these 117 some
archetypes rise there’s the good
millennial the tolerant cooperative
smart confident and diligent stereotype
on the other hand there’s the bad
millennial who has no work ethic nor
loyalty the narcissistic thinks is old
everything right here right now
stereotype then there’s more of a
neutral millennial who values work-life
balance and continuous development is
international and digital innate so when
someone speaks of Generation Y he has
already free options of what she might
be talking about and these are only
three examples of a wide range of
stereotypes all of which are supposed to
be the picture of a generation in these
archetypes we can already see a problem
rising how can we talk of one generation
why
with this many often contradictory
stereotypes further even if use of
typical Millennials were as many as
commentators I still felt they excluded
a large part of the generation for
instance I have peers who live in the
countryside who lead a traditional
down-to-earth life some of them started
a family in their 20s
how do they fit in this picture another
example is the concern of high youth
unemployment and temporary work when the
finished broadcast illa interviews son
at 28 years old
she doesn’t sound very confident no is
she lacking work ethic no is her main
concern not having enough bean bags or
ping pong tables at the office to her a
steady job instead of bits and pieces
from five different employers might be
just enough for a change still you could
call all these people Millennials so
what’s the common denominator how are
they all alike or second question what
makes these Millennials so different
from people who made similar life
choices 20 years earlier what else than
age makes them two different generations
for researchers doing meta-analysis that
is study of studies putting together
former academic work this problem has
proven impossible to solve they simply
haven’t found solid empirical evidence
to any of the so-called typical
characteristics I repeat no solid
evidence moreover according to these
same studies it’s hard to justify the
idea of generational differences when
the differences within one generation
are larger and stronger than between
generations now we know that the
evidence is lacking it’s hard to form a
consensus of how Millennials are
supposed to be and whatever version we
choose we can’t prove it scientifically
so why is the
so contradictory why can’t I find
systematic statistically significant
generational differences to understand
this and to understand by the mainstream
has got the whole idea of generations so
wrong we have to look into the
underlying theory the hypothesis and
assumptions of the studies and that
theoretical framework the idea of a new
generation starting every 20 years is as
loose as a research sleeve anyone know
this guy he’s definitely not a
millennial you can tell from the pipe
I’ll get to him in a minute
the way I’ve spoken about generations in
the speech and the way for example
Generation Y is generally understood
it’s a cohort a group that includes
everyone born in certain years in a
nutshell the theory is that every period
in time has its own unique combination
of technology economy politics key
events and so on these combined form the
spirit of the times or zeitgeist and
according to this theory growing up in a
specific time leaves a strong mark in
you to rephrase being born in the 80s
predisposes you to certain environment
and key events when you are young which
are also the most important formative
years of your life because the typical
environment of the 90s was different
from that of the 70s those born in a
certain decade have something
fundamental in common that separates
them from those born before and after
them for the rest of their lives and
that’s something to translate to
defining traits and values
I guess the fastest in the audience
already see where I’m going the man on
the screen has to be the researcher who
who first found these cohorts and
they’re defining traits right well he
isn’t neither was there any other
pipe-smoking sociologists no lab coded
scientist who did it
the reason empirical research finds it
so hard to prove generations is that
generations went based on empirical
reasons
search in the first place the origin of
the idea of generational cohorts can be
traced back to two traits first were the
real-life Mad Men in advertising who
just found it convenient to segment
consumers in the different age groups
second is thought experiment work of
non-scientific authors who have used the
idea of surpassing generations as a tool
to understanding historical change
combine these two advertising and
non-scientific offers and she get the
Millennials and baby boomers we know
today reversely nobody made a huge
population study of values and found
that there’s a clear barrier between
those born in the 70s and those born in
the 80s know that the group born between
1980 and 2000 was especially coherent
somebody just made this up and it’s
important enough but these made up
cohorts aren’t questioned and at the end
of the continuum we have business school
academics desperately trying to find
proof of something that wasn’t meant to
be scientifically proven in the first
place
and now back to the man of the screen in
case you were already wondering he
wasn’t included just to improve the
aesthetics of this presentation the man
in the picture is Karl Mannheim the
father of generational theory who every
generational theorist is obliged to
name-drop to legitimize their foundation
I’ll do the same it was him who in 1928
formulated the theory of formative years
defining the future of same age groups
but you know what the funny thing is if
you actually read Manheim’s work not
just cite someone who cites Mannheim he
explicitly advises against seeing
generations as whole age groups cohorts
to him the word generation represented a
much smaller group a fraction of the
cohort that makes itself visible through
mobilizing around some new political
agenda
let’s stop to think for a minute what do
the generational stereotypes in fact
depict they describe social phenomenon
forces of change in society values of
subgroups usually some sort of elites
that stand out from the rest the hippie
movement in the late 1960s was important
but not all youth back then took LSD and
went to Woodstock
thank God someone might add the hippie
lifestyle was a generational movement
that included only a fraction of the
generation the same applies to
Generation Y sure many want an
international career and a lot of
freedom at the workplace but at the same
time we have countless Millennials who
just wish for a steady job to pay their
mortgage and raise their kids just like
the boring generation of their parents
millennial stereotypes don’t reflect
diverse reality and the underlying
theory is based on faulty assumptions is
it then all bad to stereotype not
necessarily stereotypes help us
understand the complex world around us
that’s why our brain is so good at
making them but it should be a one-way
track we can form useful archetypes of
linked values to better understand the
variation of lifestyles around us but we
shouldn’t apply these summed up
stereotypes back to individuals let
alone whole age groups this is a
critical distinction we have to
consciously make because if we run on
autopilot our brain will surely save
some energy and take the short cut from
the wig and nephew and his girlfriend to
vegetarianism being super popular among
all young people in this talk I
presented you the case of why not to
believe in generational stereotypes the
way they are presented as pictures of
whole age groups the empirical evidence
doesn’t exist and the theoretical ground
flimsy at best we can identify
generational movements but even then we
have to be careful not to overestimate
their effect I’ve used evidence from
social sciences to debunk the millennial
myth but what I hope you take with you
from this page is critical thinking next
time when someone repeats a stereotype
everyone knows to be true ask yourself
is there something to counter it to wrap
things up you probably wouldn’t say most
plumbers are alike but in fact to the
socio-economic conditions young and old
plumbers together are probably a more
homogenous group than some 2 billion
Millennials on the planet so why is it
acceptable to say kids these days when
plumbers of all age isn’t I hope you
think of that thank you
[Applause]
Generation Y or Millennials how many of
you have heard of it raise your hand
almost everyone and keep your keep your
hands up and now keep it up if you are a
millennial yourself Thanks
depending on the source Generation Y or
Millennials are the young adults of
today born into 1980s and 90s when I
said Generation Y I bet many of you
instantly formed the picture of a
typical millennial in your head what
does this person look like the
descriptions I see most often are that
Millennials value work-life balance and
meaningful work Millennials are
open-minded and confident or if you ask
someone else entitled narcissists by the
way according to countless books and
consultants Millennials are or were
supposed to change the game completely
as they enter workforce because the
birth of first Millennials is usually
dated to the beginning of the 1980s they
are now nearing 40 where’s the
groundbreaking change here’s the real
untold story of the Millennials the
cohort Millennials or Generation Y
doesn’t exist in this speech I’m gonna
take you through two main arguments to
support my case widely contradictory
empirical evidence and shaky theoretical
ground but because inspirational
speeches have quotes let’s start with
one and it’s a bit long I know plot but
please bear with me there’s a point to
it in recent years many observers have
called attention to an apparent
malays among North American workers
briefly stated members of the labor
force are thought to be less willing
than previously to accept the Protestant
ethic and the necessity of work in
particular attention has focused on
younger workers who afford to hold work
value systems significantly different
from their elders typical Millennials
right except this was written by
scholars Taylor and function in 1976
similar descriptions of the kids these
days are still abundant forty years
later that’s what caught my attention in
the first place I kept encountering this
use of my generation in the media often
contradicting each other definitely
contradicting the millennial reality I
was living in but still they seem to be
widely accepted clearly something wasn’t
right here so I started studying the
subject for my thesis I read over 30
articles and books about Millennials and
found 117 so-called typical
characteristics all of these 117 some
archetypes rise there’s the good
millennial the tolerant cooperative
smart confident and diligent stereotype
on the other hand there’s the bad
millennial who has no work ethic nor
loyalty the narcissistic thinks is old
everything right here right now
stereotype then there’s more of a
neutral millennial who values work-life
balance and continuous development is
international and digital innate so when
someone speaks of Generation Y he has
already free options of what she might
be talking about and these are only
three examples of a wide range of
stereotypes all of which are supposed to
be the picture of a generation in these
archetypes we can already see a problem
rising how can we talk of one generation
why
with this many often contradictory
stereotypes further even if use of
typical Millennials were as many as
commentators I still felt they excluded
a large part of the generation for
instance I have peers who live in the
countryside who lead a traditional
down-to-earth life some of them started
a family in their 20s
how do they fit in this picture another
example is the concern of high youth
unemployment and temporary work when the
finished broadcast illa interviews son
at 28 years old
she doesn’t sound very confident no is
she lacking work ethic no is her main
concern not having enough bean bags or
ping pong tables at the office to her a
steady job instead of bits and pieces
from five different employers might be
just enough for a change still you could
call all these people Millennials so
what’s the common denominator how are
they all alike or second question what
makes these Millennials so different
from people who made similar life
choices 20 years earlier what else than
age makes them two different generations
for researchers doing meta-analysis that
is study of studies putting together
former academic work this problem has
proven impossible to solve they simply
haven’t found solid empirical evidence
to any of the so-called typical
characteristics I repeat no solid
evidence moreover according to these
same studies it’s hard to justify the
idea of generational differences when
the differences within one generation
are larger and stronger than between
generations now we know that the
evidence is lacking it’s hard to form a
consensus of how Millennials are
supposed to be and whatever version we
choose we can’t prove it scientifically
so why is the
so contradictory why can’t I find
systematic statistically significant
generational differences to understand
this and to understand by the mainstream
has got the whole idea of generations so
wrong we have to look into the
underlying theory the hypothesis and
assumptions of the studies and that
theoretical framework the idea of a new
generation starting every 20 years is as
loose as a research sleeve anyone know
this guy he’s definitely not a
millennial you can tell from the pipe
I’ll get to him in a minute
the way I’ve spoken about generations in
the speech and the way for example
Generation Y is generally understood
it’s a cohort a group that includes
everyone born in certain years in a
nutshell the theory is that every period
in time has its own unique combination
of technology economy politics key
events and so on these combined form the
spirit of the times or zeitgeist and
according to this theory growing up in a
specific time leaves a strong mark in
you to rephrase being born in the 80s
predisposes you to certain environment
and key events when you are young which
are also the most important formative
years of your life because the typical
environment of the 90s was different
from that of the 70s those born in a
certain decade have something
fundamental in common that separates
them from those born before and after
them for the rest of their lives and
that’s something to translate to
defining traits and values
I guess the fastest in the audience
already see where I’m going the man on
the screen has to be the researcher who
who first found these cohorts and
they’re defining traits right well he
isn’t neither was there any other
pipe-smoking sociologists no lab coded
scientist who did it
the reason empirical research finds it
so hard to prove generations is that
generations went based on empirical
reasons
search in the first place the origin of
the idea of generational cohorts can be
traced back to two traits first were the
real-life Mad Men in advertising who
just found it convenient to segment
consumers in the different age groups
second is thought experiment work of
non-scientific authors who have used the
idea of surpassing generations as a tool
to understanding historical change
combine these two advertising and
non-scientific offers and she get the
Millennials and baby boomers we know
today reversely nobody made a huge
population study of values and found
that there’s a clear barrier between
those born in the 70s and those born in
the 80s know that the group born between
1980 and 2000 was especially coherent
somebody just made this up and it’s
important enough but these made up
cohorts aren’t questioned and at the end
of the continuum we have business school
academics desperately trying to find
proof of something that wasn’t meant to
be scientifically proven in the first
place
and now back to the man of the screen in
case you were already wondering he
wasn’t included just to improve the
aesthetics of this presentation the man
in the picture is Karl Mannheim the
father of generational theory who every
generational theorist is obliged to
name-drop to legitimize their foundation
I’ll do the same it was him who in 1928
formulated the theory of formative years
defining the future of same age groups
but you know what the funny thing is if
you actually read Manheim’s work not
just cite someone who cites Mannheim he
explicitly advises against seeing
generations as whole age groups cohorts
to him the word generation represented a
much smaller group a fraction of the
cohort that makes itself visible through
mobilizing around some new political
agenda
let’s stop to think for a minute what do
the generational stereotypes in fact
depict they describe social phenomenon
forces of change in society values of
subgroups usually some sort of elites
that stand out from the rest the hippie
movement in the late 1960s was important
but not all youth back then took LSD and
went to Woodstock
thank God someone might add the hippie
lifestyle was a generational movement
that included only a fraction of the
generation the same applies to
Generation Y sure many want an
international career and a lot of
freedom at the workplace but at the same
time we have countless Millennials who
just wish for a steady job to pay their
mortgage and raise their kids just like
the boring generation of their parents
millennial stereotypes don’t reflect
diverse reality and the underlying
theory is based on faulty assumptions is
it then all bad to stereotype not
necessarily stereotypes help us
understand the complex world around us
that’s why our brain is so good at
making them but it should be a one-way
track we can form useful archetypes of
linked values to better understand the
variation of lifestyles around us but we
shouldn’t apply these summed up
stereotypes back to individuals let
alone whole age groups this is a
critical distinction we have to
consciously make because if we run on
autopilot our brain will surely save
some energy and take the short cut from
the wig and nephew and his girlfriend to
vegetarianism being super popular among
all young people in this talk I
presented you the case of why not to
believe in generational stereotypes the
way they are presented as pictures of
whole age groups the empirical evidence
doesn’t exist and the theoretical ground
flimsy at best we can identify
generational movements but even then we
have to be careful not to overestimate
their effect I’ve used evidence from
social sciences to debunk the millennial
myth but what I hope you take with you
from this page is critical thinking next
time when someone repeats a stereotype
everyone knows to be true ask yourself
is there something to counter it to wrap
things up you probably wouldn’t say most
plumbers are alike but in fact to the
socio-economic conditions young and old
plumbers together are probably a more
homogenous group than some 2 billion
Millennials on the planet so why is it
acceptable to say kids these days when
plumbers of all age isn’t I hope you
think of that thank you
[Applause]
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