Yelp Employee Not A Millennial
The words, evidence based, are popular in many scientific and healthcare oriented fields. I believe the several day old viral outbreak (story) about the Yelp employee getting fired and the slightly older millennial who gave her a piece of her mind is yet another example of the emerging identity crisis in our most recent workforce generations.
Experts continue to help develop and fine tune the definitions of the framework that establishes the basis for birth year groupings. The real headline of this story should probably be about the generation 9/11 (Gen Z, iGen) employee who got fired, not the millennial. My belief, which is compatible with many other workforce generation experts, is that the emerging fifth generation, which is different from the millennials, actually starts with birth years around 1990 or 1991. This of course places the Yelp employee close to, or even within the generation 9/11 (Gen Z, iGen) category.
There are many factors that shape the framework for workforce generations, but some of the most common I discussed in my book, Forgotten Respect (Sept 2015) and more recently in a blog post. Millennial may be a good buzz word, but I believe its use is becoming a wildly popular scapegoat expression for anyone in their mid-30’s or younger. Its overuse ignites anger (rightfully so) and is perhaps disrespectful to a large segment of our workforce population who were born between the late 1970’s and the early 1990’s.
Each generation has its share of characteristics, some considered good, some not so good, but I’m hopeful that we’ll soon start to get the definitions for the generations correct. Society, technology, and perhaps even our current political campaigns are fueling the fires of every generation. I’m hopeful for a pivot, a pivot to embrace the positive characteristics about every generation.
– DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker, and coach that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is the author of the newly released book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
