Martyrdom is Back in Style – In the Workplace, that is
Posted On January 10, 2018
Want to get away? If you’ve seen its commercials, Southwest Airlines believes the universal answer to that question is “Yes.” But a large segment of Americans aren’t ready for a vacation. The thought of taking paid time off from work makes them feel guilty. They tell themselves they can’t afford to get away from the office, because no one else can fill their role. They feel the need to prove their dedication to the job, to appear indispensable. They’re called work martyrs. Chances are you work with a few. And according to 2016 research from Project Time Off, more than… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Work
Minimalist Office Design Trends
Posted On December 29, 2017
Today we offer a guest blog from Mark Cop on office design trends: There are perks of having a minimalistic office design, which is making it more and more popular. With fewer things to distract you, it’s easier to focus on your task. If you want to convert your office to a minimalistic design, here are some tips that can help you make the transition. They don’t necessarily involve throwing out every piece of furniture you have, but most of them involving throwing out something. Remove the walls Open space is the best choice for most companies these days because… Read More
Categories: Work, Workplace
Millennial Home Ownership on the Rise
Posted On December 18, 2017
When we discuss the differences between generations, between millennials and Generation X and the Baby Boomers and iGen, it’s important to recognize that some traits or trends that may look like characteristics of a generation are really just characteristics of all people of a certain age. For instance, we may look at millennials and consider them impulsive, and there’s certainly data that would back up that assertion. But really, most all young people are impulsive. And so we have found that Baby Boomers switched jobs at an even greater rate than millennials when they were in their 20s. It’s with… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Home Ownership
Come visit! Well, maybe…
Posted On December 14, 2017
America’s Baby Boomers are at the age where they are either retiring or thinking about retiring. Many of them will move south to Florida – a state that has become known as much for its retirement communities as its beaches and theme parks. Others will go west to Arizona, drawn by the warm, dry climate. Increasingly, however, they are venturing outside their homeland. According to Forbes contributor Alexandra Talty, an increasing number of Americans are retiring abroad. The Social Security Administration sent 100,000 more payments per month overseas this year than it did in 2016 – up to 500,000 from… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Retirement
Are Millennials, online shopping taking a bite out of Black Friday?
Posted On November 29, 2017
Is Black Friday fading? It depends on who you ask. Anecdotal evidence around the country seemed to indicate that the traditional Friday-after-Thanksgiving shopping spree wasn’t as big a free-for-all as in past years, but Forbes cited numbers from the National Retail Federation and Prospect Insights & Analytics that showed turnout to be higher than expected. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that online spending on Black Friday was a record $5.03 billion, according to Adobe Systems Inc. — up nearly 17 percent over last year. We didn’t even wait for Cyber Monday. The ease of online shopping has taken a bite out of… Read More
Categories: Advertising, Generation Y / Millennials, Wealth
Entitled generation? If so, millennials aren’t the first.
Posted On October 30, 2017
I have written many times in this space that millennials are not unique in being looked down upon as a generation by their elders. They’ve been labeled as entitled, lazy, self-absorbed. Their grandparents didn’t think much differently about their parents back in the day. Now bbc.com has been so kind as to substantiate this belief with proof – passages from newspapers, magazines and books of past generations filled with similar lamentations about the youth of their day. For instance: “Many were so pampered nowadays that they had forgotten there was such a thing as walking.” A Gen-Xer writing about millennials?… Read More
Categories: Uncategorized
Here’s looking at you, kid: Millennials shun classic films
Posted On October 19, 2017
Frankly my dear, millennials don’t give a damn. Not about classic movies, anyway. The New York Post recently cited an FYE.com survey that found that less than 25 percent of millennials surveyed had watched a movie from the 1940s or ‘50s from start to finish. Thirty percent said they’d never watched a black and white movie all the way through. Not Citizen Kane. Not Casablanca. Not It’s a Wonderful Life. Not even Gone With the Wind, which was actually made in color in 1939. What’s more, 20 percent of the millennials surveyed called such classic and/or black and white films… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials
I Don’t Want to Grow Up, I’m an iGen Kid
Posted On October 6, 2017
So it appears today’s teens are doing less. According to various studies and surveys, fewer of them are driving or working part-time jobs. Are they just lazy? Fewer of them are drinking, having sex or getting pregnant. Are they more responsible than previous generations at that age? In a recent piece for CNN, San Diego State psychology professor Jean Twenge proposes another theory: iGen is just taking longer to grow up. Twenge contends that how quickly teenagers grow up – or take more interest in doing things adults are supposed to do – is dependent upon what’s happening culturally at… Read More
Categories: iGen, Parenting
The good, the bad, and the … stay tuned!
Posted On October 2, 2017
This week the Federal Reserve released the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). The SCF is one of the largest (over 6,000 households were interviewed for the 2016 survey), comprehensive and representative surveys to track patterns of household spending, income, wealth and investment. Conducted every three years since 1989, the SCF provides analysts – including demographics geeks like us – a treasure trove of information. You might have already seen news stories documenting things like educational and geographic differences in income. One of the big questions being asked this time around is whether or not household wealth has recovered to… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation X, Wealth
Get Off My Lawn: Another (Best-Selling) Writer Falls Prey to Millennial Cliche
Posted On September 28, 2017
Another week, another Boomer or Gen Xer writing a column about what’s wrong with millennials. You may recall the Los Angeles Times columnist whose “millennial pledge” drew the ire of younger readers. Or the Birmingham-area judge who vented in an AL.com column about the lack of adversity or sacrifice in millennials’ lives. Ragging on the younger generation seems to be a cottage industry of sorts. Or at least good column fodder. Now, in jumps a bigger fish to this putrid pond. Mitch Albom was already well-known as a longtime Detroit Free Press sports columnist before he gained even greater fame… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Generations