Generations: Our Students,
Our Employees, Our Donors
Donor2 Insight 2009
Terri Manning
Bobbie Frye
Cheryl Roberts
A Study Funded by the Workforce Development Board
It May Take a Village to Raise
a Child, but it Takes a Society
to Raise a Generation
Economic Conditions
Societal Norms
Political Events
Major Crises
Each Generation
• Consists of approximately a 20-year span (not
all demographers and generation researchers
agree on the exact start/stop dates)
• Has a unique set of values
• Reacts to the generation before them
• Looks at their generation as the standard of
comparison
• Looks at the next generation skeptically “these
kids today…”
• They are either idealistic, reactive, civic or
adaptive
Business Today…
• Lives in a world created
by generations who are
(mostly, 95%) no longer
working.
• They were influenced by the military and
created a workplace reflecting a hierarchy
with a clear chain of command.
• Employees worked hard to receive raises,
bonuses and higher ranks. Higher rank (with
the higher salary) was valued and envied by
employees on their way up and held in high
esteem by those at the top.
• Let’s look at the generations……
Veterans Still Active
(1,000 die every day)
Boomer Activity
(7,198 turned 60 every day in 2006)
Gen X Activity
Millennial Activity
(Oldest 25-6, youngest 5-6)
Who Has the Money
• Age: 20-29 Median Net Worth: $7,900
Top 25%: $36,000 - Top 10%: $119,300
• Age: 30-39 Median Net Worth: $44,200
Top 25%: $128,100 - Top 10%: $317,800
• Age: 40-49 - Median Net Worth: $117,800
Top 25%: $338,100 - Top 10%: $719,800
• Age: 50-59 - Median Net Worth: $182,300
Top 25%: $563,800 - Top 10%: $1,187,600
• Age: 60-69 - Median Net Worth: $209,200
Top 25%: $647,200 - Top 10%: $1,429,500
Oldest and Youngest Generations
• GIs (1900-1924)
– Virtually none still working
– Represent 1.7% of total population
• Generation Z (2003-2023ish)
– Oldest is 5
– Represent 6.7% of the population
The Veterans (Silent Generation or
Greatest Generation) 1925–1942
(adaptive)
• Raised by the GI Generation (civic)
• Large families (3-5 children)
• Strong sense of extended family
(same town or home)
• Grandparents in the home
• Average 10-year-old spent 4-6
hours daily with a significant adult
role model
• Rural society
• Apprenticeship businesses and
farming
• Perception of the world as “safe”
Core Values
Dedication
Hard Work
Conformity
Law and Order
Patience
Delayed Reward
Duty before Pleasure
Adherence to Rules
Honor
The Veterans
• Children of the Great Depression and WWII,
this generation decided not to attack the
institutions created by the generation before
them, but instead, as global thinkers, they
chose to focus on improving and refining
them so that they could be good for
everyone, not just a select few.
• The overall goal was not to change the
system, but to work within it.
• While economically very successful, they were
also the inventors of "the midlife crises"
probably because they didn't get a chance to
enjoy the freedoms of their youth.
As philanthropists…
• … they are the largest generation of donors
• When dealing with members of this generation, Neil
Howe suggests bringing in the whole family for any
meetings since this generation is not known for taking
charge. Instead, members of this generation will help
facilitate a group decision since they are known for
their affinity toward other generations.
• Interestingly, we have no U.S. Presidents from this
generation, but we have seen 14 Chiefs of Staff thus
far.
• In regard to funding sources,
the money came from this
generation….. their families
and successful businesses.
Values of Faculty/Staff in this Age
Group
• Loyal to employer (company man) and expect
the same in return
• Believe they should be rewarded for tenure
• Work ethic = efficiency and hard work
• Stable, thorough and detail oriented
• Don’t buck the system but work within it
• Uncomfortable with conflict and
disagreements
• Not change oriented
• Motivated by respecting their
experience and perserverence
Veterans Came Home from
World War II
• And gave birth to the next generation
• The Baby Boomers 1943–1964 (the largest
generation, idealist)
The Baby Boomers 1943–1964
(the largest generation, idealist)
• Divorce reached a low in 1960 of 9%
• Families moved due to GI Bill, GI housing
and industrialization
• First generation to live miles from
Core Values
extended family
Optimism
• Family size smaller (2-3 children)
Team Orientation
Personal Gratification
• Few grandparents in the home
Health and Wellness
• Moms stayed home, dads carpooled
Personal Growth
Youth
• Children spent significant time with
Work
adult role models
Involvement
• Perception of the world as “safe”
As philanthropists…
• … you should respect their individualism
and focus on civic participation.
• This is a generation of "visions and
values."
• They don't need any help, especially
not from institutions.
Boomer Faculty/Staff Values
• Value stability and respect
• Like to see their successes (babyboomer wall of fame)
• Tend to workaholism and have difficulty
balancing their lives
• Are competitive
• See themselves as the
standard of comparison
Boomers at Work
• Ethic = long hours show commitment
• Team oriented and relationship builders
(don’t like conflict – can’t we all just get
along)
• Not budget minded
• Sensitive to feedback
• Motivated by making
them think they make an
important and unique contribution (we
get along without you.)
The Late Veterans and Early
Boomers Gave Birth to the Next
Generation
• The Gen Xers 1965–1982
(41 million)
• A Lost Generation…
A Nomadic Generation…..
• Half the Size of the Baby
Boom (reactive)
Generation X
• This is the conscientious, extremely
pragmatic, self-sufficient generation that
has a ruthless focus on the bottom-line.
• Born and raised at a time when children
were at the bottom of our social
priorities, Gen Xers learned that they
could only count on one thing themselves. As a result, they are very
"me" oriented.
• They are not active voters, nor are they
deeply involved in politics in general.
The Gen X Childhood
• Divorce reached an all-time high
• Single-parent families became the Core Values
norm
Dedication
• Latch-key kids were a major issue
Hard Work
of the time
Conformity
• Children not as valued – looked at
Law and Order
as a hardship
Patience
• Families spread out (miles apart)
Delayed reward
• Family size = 1.7 children (many
only-children)
Duty before
• Perception of the world as “unsafe”
pleasure
• Average 10 year old spent 14 ½
Adherence to
minutes a day with a significant
rules
adult role model
Honor
• Parents looked around and said –
we need to do this better
As philanthropists…
• … they focus on practicality and locality.
• This generation is not inclined to give to
an institution who will do the work for
them, rather they want something hands
on; they want to be intimately involved
in the charitable endeavor. Do not ask
this generation to give to United Way.
This is the generation of
Habitat for Humanity.
Gen Xers as Faculty/Staff
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cynical and pessimistic (not happy in corporate structure)
Think globally and seek independence
Like technology and want an informal work environment
Don’t want the boomers’ work ethic
Communication is important and talk to adults as
friends/peers (not impressed with authority)
Believe reward should be based on productivity not hours
worked
Want control of self, time and future (work/life balance)
Loyalty to people not a company
Impatient with poorer people skills
Motivated by letting them do it their way, giving them
freedom and not a lot of rules
Generation Next (civic)
The Echo Boom/Millennials…
 The Millennials are almost as large as the baby boom-some say
larger - depending on how you measure them (approx. 81M).
 The Millennials are the children born between 1982 and 2002
(peaked in 1990), a cohort called by various names:
Echo Boom
Generation Y
Millennials
Net Generation
Things Began to Change for This
Generation
• Abortion rates peaked in 1980 and began a slow decline.
• Poverty rate for children peaked in 1983 and began a slow
decline (Medicaid began).
• US divorce rate peaked in 1981 and began a decline.
• Homicide rate against children peaked in 1982 and began a
decline.
• They were born into a better world, a more optimistic world
than the generation before them.
Millennials
• This generation is civic-minded, much like the
previous GI Generation.
• They are collectively optimistic, long-term
planners, high achievers with lower rates of
violent crime, teen pregnancy, smoking and
alcohol use than ever before.
• This generation believes that they have the
potential to be great and they probably do.
We are looking to them to provide us with a
new definition of citizenship.
Demographic Trends
 The Baby Boomers chose to become older
parents in the 1980s while Gen X moms
reverted back to the earlier birth-age norm,
which meant that two generations were
having babies.
 In 1989, 29 percent of the 4.4 million live
births were to women aged 30 and older.
 Millennials have older largely Baby Boomer
parents: Average age of mothers at birth at an
all time high of 27 in 1997.
Demographic Trends, cont.
 Smaller families born to
older parents.
ch
 More parental education: 1
in 4 has at least one parent
with a college degree.
 Kids born in the late ‘90s are the first in
American history whose mothers are better
educated than their fathers by a small margin.
Demographic Trends – Changing
Diversity
 Increase in Latino immigration Latino women tend to have a
higher fertility rates than nonLatino women.
 Nearly 35% of Millennials are
nonwhite or Latino.
 Twenty percent of this generation
has at least one parent who is an
immigrant.
 Millennials have become the most
racially and ethnically diverse
generation in US History.
Safety Issues
The Safest Generation
• This generation was buckled up
in car seats, wore bike helmets,
elbow and knee pads when skating, and were the
inspiration for “Baby on Board” signs.
The Well-Being of U.S. Teens
• Mortality Rate for US teens aged 15–19 declined from
1960 to 1997.
-Teens are having fewer accidents than Boomers
Major Influencing
Factors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Their parents
The self-esteem movement
The customer service movement
Gaming and technology
Casual communication
Parenting Millennials
• This generation is being parented by welleducated, over-involved adults who
participate in “deliberate
parenting.” They have
outcomes in mind.
• Boomers were the first
generation to be thrown
out in to an unsafe world
as adolescents.
• The 60’s and 70’s were very scary and many
of us felt unprepared for it.
• We were naïve and didn’t have enough tools
in our tool box to deal with it.
Baby Boomers as Parents
• Boomers rebelled against the parenting
practices of their parents.
• Strict discipline was the order
of the day for boomers.
• They made conscious decisions
not to say “because I told you
so” or “because I’m the parent
and you’re the child.”
• Boomers became more
“friendly” with their children.
They wanted to have open lines of
communication and a relationship with them.
Baby Boomers as Parents
• They explained things to their children, (actions,
consequences, options, etc.) – they wanted them to
learn to make informed decisions.
• They allowed their children to have input into family
decisions, educational options and
discipline issues.
• We told them “just because it is on
television doesn’t mean it’s true”
or “you can’t believe everything
you read.”
• We wanted them to question
authority.
The Result
• Millennials have become
“a master set of
negotiators” who are
capable of rational thought
and decision-making skills at
young ages.
• They will negotiate with anyone
including their parents, teachers
and school administrators.
• Some call this “arguing.”
Helicopter Parents
• Helicopter Parent (n) A
parent who hovers over his
or her children.
• Or Snowplow parent: Parents who clear
the way for their children
• ……these (echo) boomers are confident,
achievement-oriented and used to hovering
"helicopter" parents keeping tabs on their
every move. (Anthony DeBarros, "New baby
boom swamps colleges," USA Today, January
2, 2003)
Baby Boomer Parents have been
their Biggest Cheerleaders
• Millennials expect and
need praise.
• Will mistake silence for
disapproval.
• Millennials expect
feedback.
Focus on Self-esteem
• This generation was the center
of the “self-esteem” movement.
• 9,068 books were written about
self-esteem and children during
the 80s and 90s (there were 485 in the 70s).
• The state of California spent millions studying
the construct and published a document
entitled “Toward a State of Self-esteem.”
• Yet they can’t escape the angst of adolescence
– they still feel disconnected, question their
existence, purpose and the meaning of life.
They want to feel valued and cared about.
Focus on Customer Service
• Expect access (24/7)
• Expect things to work like
they are supposed to
• If they don’t “that is your
problem”
• They want what they have paid for
• Everything comes with a toll-free
number or web address
• Want “Gateway Go Back”
in classes
Add the Impact of Gaming
• Gaming has impacted children
– The game endings changed based
on the decisions children made
(Role Playing Games [Legend of
Zelda, Final Fantasy, Chronotrigger])
impacting locus of control.
– Involves a complex set of decisionmaking skills.
– Teaches them to take multiple
pieces of data and make decisions
quickly.
– Learning more closely resembles
Nintendo, a trial and error approach to
solving problems.
We navigated our way through…..
They navigated their way through…..
Characteristics of Today’s Children
• 76% want to learn more about the world
(much smaller for them).
• 28% of high school students
access foreign news sources
via the Internet.
• 90% percent of children
between ages 5 and 17
use computers.
• Teens spend more time online using the
Internet than watching television.
From: A Nation on the Move, http://www.ed.gov
Characteristics of Today’s Children
• 94% of online teens use the Internet for
school-related research.
• 24% have created their own web pages.
• 16% of teens are shareholders in the stock
market.
• Teens and college students combined spend
nearly $400 billion a year.
• The largest group of new users of the
Internet from 2000-2002 were 2-5 year
olds.34
From: A Nation on the Move, http://www.ed.gov
By age 21…..
• It is estimated that the
average child will have:
–
–
–
–
–
Spent 10,000 hours playing video games
Sent 200,000 emails
Spent 20,000 hours watching TV
Spent 10,000 hours on their cell phone
Spent under 5,000 hours reading
• Students have never known life without the
computer. It is an assumed part of life.
• Doing is more important than knowing.
• There is zero tolerance for delays.
Cell Phone Technology
• They all have cell phones and expect
to be in contact 24/7.
• Not a phone – a lifestyle management tool
• Staying “connected” is essential.
• Communication is a safety issue for
parents.
• Communication has become
casual for students (IM, email
and cell phones.
What About 1st Generation
Students?
• Not all students will be proficient; first-generation and
students from low income or working class families may
have less experience.
• Their experience with technology has been minimal in
school (poorer districts.)
• They have not had the exposure to educational uses of
technology – software that does WORK for them.
• We need another placement test – remedial
keyboarding and technology.
• Huge digital divide between the “haves” and the “have
nots” based on income levels (class).
In School
• They need to understand why
they are doing what they are
doing – objectives of classroom
activities and projects.
• They want to have input into
their educational processes.
• They want to be involved in meaningful
activities, not mundane work.
• They think it is cool to be smart.
• They will respond well to programs like
“learning communities and service learning.”
Millennial Expectations
• They have grown up in an outcomes-based
world – have the attitude “what’s in it for
me?”
• Clear expectations, explicit syllabi, and well
structured assignments.
• They expect detailed instructions and
guidelines for completing assignments.
• They have come from K-12 systems where
students are actively involved in learning and
classroom activities change often.
• Teachers are helpers/facilitators of learning.
Ambitions
Most popular college majors:
•
•
•
Medicine
Education/teaching
Business and marketing
•
•
•
Engineering
Law and politics
Computer science
 Most
sought after qualities in
careers:
•
•
•
Responsibility
Independence
Creativity
•
Idealistic and
committed co-workers
Most common job trends :
•
•
Source: Industry Week, March, 1998.
Multi-taskers
Change Careers
•
•
Seek security & benefits
Stay with company that
offers a challenge
Difference in Values
• They have witnessed their
baby boomer parents coming
home from stressed jobs,
exhausted, falling asleep at
the dinner table; and don’t
want that for themselves.
• They are a generation who is
interested in a life with value
and meaning – they do not
aspire to what the “boomers”
aspire to – they want
something different.
True Multi-taskers
• Millennials have lived programmed
lives and are already quite capable
of learning several jobs
simultaneously and performing
them admirably.
• Millennials will change careers
many times.
• Retooling and recycling their
skills and talents will become
common.
• To retain them, smart employers
will encourage Millennials to try out different careers
within the same company.
2004 Research Study
• Central Piedmont Community College’s
Center for Applied Research was
contracted to do this study by the
Workforce Development Board.
– Focus Groups were conducted.
– An Online Survey was administered.
– Data collected January–March 2004 from the
University of NC at Charlotte, Central
Piedmont Community College and Johnson C.
Smith University.
Characteristics They Look for in
Teachers
• At least 50% said:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Enthusiastic about the course/teaching
Are fun to be around
Provide intellectual challenges
Have flexible class policies
Are sensitive to your needs/feelings
Emphasize preparing for future career
Salary Expectations
• Realistically, what do you expect your starting
salary will be when you begin working?
–
–
–
–
–
–
$15-20K
$21-30K
$31-40K
$41-50K
$50K+
Not sure
Millennials
7.7%
29.3%
27.0%
15.9%
7.0%
12.5%
Approximately 65% felt they would learn $40K or less
Importance of Career Components
• Elements thought to be very important
Respected on the Job
Opportunity for Professional Development
Ability to Have an Impact on the World
Importance of Job Benefits
• Benefits thought to be very important
Health Insurance
Salary Growth
Plans like 401K
Life Insurance
Bonuses
Employer-paid Retirement
• Benefits thought to be unimportant
Stock Options
Profit Sharing
Jobs in Lifetime
• How many jobs do you
think you will hold in
your lifetime?
– 1-3
35.7%
– 4-6
41.5%
– 7-10
16.5%
– Over 10
6.2%
64% expect to have 4 or more jobs
Future Odds
• The following % felt it was very likely that they
would someday:
Work for themselves/own business
Have lifestyle they grew up with
21%
63%
• 79% felt a two income household would be
somewhat to very important in reaching their
lifestyle goals?
Quality of Life?
Rank order of items that contribute
to a good quality of life
(% ranking item in top 3
on a scale of 1-8)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Having a secure future for my family
Time to enjoy family/children
Having family/children
Having a great job
Having good friends
Having plenty of money
Having plenty of free time
71.5%
68.7%
63.2%
60.4%
55.2%
45.5%
40.2%
Your Generation in the Future
• Someday, your generation will be raising
kids, running corporations and occupying
high political office. When that day comes,
which areas of American life will be better,
the same or worse than today because of
your generation?
– 3 = better
– 2 = same
– 1 = worse
Areas they felt they would do better:
Technology
Race Relations
Areas they felt they would do about the
same:
Economy
Schools
Arts/Culture
Foreign Affairs
Areas they felt they
couldn’t improve on:
Government
Family Life
Religion
Crime/Public Order
Millennials as Employees
• Want a boss who will mentor them (expect feedback).
• Expect 21st Century policies and procedures.
• Will expect independence in the workforce (can work
from anywhere).
• Won’t respect time-honored traditions.
• Want to work with idealistic and committed coworkers
doing important work.
• Not interested in “paying their dues.”
• Will work in to their 70’s – why start now.
• Want work/life balance and their time is as important
to them as money.
• Trust individuals not companies.
• Motivated by respecting individualism and mentoring.
One Final Word
• In case you're worried about what's
going to become of the younger
generation, it's going to grow up and
start worrying about the younger
generation. (Roger Allen)
For a copy of this presentation:
http//www1.cpcc.edu/millennial
Click on: “presentations and workshops”
Contact:
terri.manning@cpcc.edu