Gen Y Definition & Meaning

The proportion of people in part-time or casual employment contributes to a significant disparity in average overall pay between generations. Born from the early 80s through to the turn of the Millennium, this is a cohort which largely came of age at the outset of a global financial crisis, but also amid a vast acceleration in digital technology. While both millennials and Gen Y are still used to describe this demographic cohort, the Millennials label has gained more popularity and recognition in media, gradually replacing Gen Y within the U.S.

• There has also been a slight increase in the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds who are still living with their parents – this is the case for 14% of millennials UK-wide.
• Children of baby boomers; a distinct demographic with identifiable buying habits.
• And coming up last but not least is Generation Alpha, the name given by social analyst Mark McCrindle to the youngest children on the planet.
• While both millennials and Gen Y are still used to describe this demographic cohort, the Millennials label has gained more popularity and recognition in media, gradually replacing Gen Y within the U.S.

Therefore, we also use the name “digital natives” to refer to the members of generation Z. However, compared to Generation Y, members of Generation Z are not that digitally literate. According to the surveys and researches conducted using people belonging to these generations, there exist some distinct differences between generation Y and generation Z in terms of their aspirations and values. The cohorts born during the cusp years before and after millennials have been identified as «microgenerations» with characteristics of both generations. Names given to these cuspers include Xennials,[73] Generation Catalano,[74] the Oregon Trail Generation;[75] Zennials[76] and Zillennials,[77] respectively. In 2016, Millennials became the largest generation in the workforce, according to Pew Research.

What Age Range Is Millennial?

Millennials in the United States are much more diverse than previous generations and are leading the transition from a majority white nation to a “majority minority” nation. Their birth years during the 1980s and ’90s coincided with an increase in immigration, particularly from Latin America and Asia. This contrasts with earlier generations who were born during an era when immigration was historically low, and the few immigrants who did settle in the United States were white Europeans. Millennials, who have grown up with a far less homogeneous culture than their elders have, tend to have more open and positive attitudes toward diversity. People on zero-hours contracts are still paid the minimum wage, but the number of hours they work can vary to a large degree.

Many early Millennials went through post-secondary education only to find themselves employed in unrelated fields or underemployed and job hopping more frequently than previous generations. Their expectations may have resulted from the very encouraging, involved and almost ever-present group of parents that became known as helicopter parents. The increasing wealth gap has meant that millennials start with less household income.

Meanwhile, other sources list the range as 1980 to 2000 or 1977 to 1995. Companies must implement innovative strategies to give their current benefits packages a major overhaul to stay competitive in 2023. Count on Workest throughout the day for tips, tools, and support along the HR and business management journey.

Dictionary Entries Near Generation Y

Kasasa accounts are available at community financial institutions around the country. Find one near you to get free checking that pays cash rewards each month you qualify, the only loan with Take-Backs™, and more. For Generation X, digital and app services were edged out by in-person support. For Baby Boomers, banking local was more important.4 However, before you write off the importance of your online and mobile banking for these consumers. Each generation label serves as a shorthand to reference nearly 20 years of attitude, motivations, and historical events.

Though viewed as more liberal, some Millennials are bucking the trend. A study published March 31, 2017 by the Council on Contemporary Families found that high school seniors increasingly believe that the man should be the bread-winner in a relationship and a woman should care for the home. «It’s been a steady reversal,» said study co-author Joanna Pepin, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Maryland.

Characteristics of Generation Y

This week, BBC Scotland is looking at the lives of millennials and how they stack up next to the experiences of their parents and grandparents. For information on public support for higher education (for domestic students) in the OECD in 2011, see chart below. The good news is that pay and benefits aren’t the only things that motivate Millennials. Like their Gen X predecessors, Millennials tend to love flexibility, options, and professional-development opportunities. Of course, it’s not only Millennials who will switch jobs if they feel like their careers are stagnating. Any member of any generation may start looking for a new job if they feel like they’re not getting anywhere in their current job.

Many were born into families who endured the profound upheavals of the Great Depression and/or World War II. Perhaps more than other generations, boomers are motivated by title, prestige, retirement benefits, and other traditional perks. Getting things accomplished at work and having those accomplishments recognized and rewarded can go a long way in managing a baby-boomer employee.

Friendships and socialization

In a survey of more than 26,000 American adults, about 15 percent of Millennials between 20 and 24 reported having no sexual partners since the age of 18. Only 6 percent of GenXers (people born in the 1960s) could claim the same. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 also found that teen Millennials were less sexually active that previous generations. The Millennials have shown in survey to have the least faith in the institutions of America. Conversely, they also show the highest support of political independents and protestor-formed governments. Although Millennials have less faith in religious institutions, at the same time the numbers have also risen for those who have absolute faith in the existence of a god.

They’re also subject to maintenance fees that can nibble away at your balance. It’s not terrible to keep a small emergency fund in the bank—after all, it’s still Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured—but the bulk of savings should be elsewhere. The trend has long been for each new generation to adopt digital and mobile banking services more readily. But the COVID-19 pandemic has turned on a new wave of late-adopters who now bank digitally, too. Younger generations have often led older Americans in their adoption and use of technology, and this largely holds true today.

Use of ICT in general

Therefore, millennials may need to make a substantial down payment if they want to purchase a home. Most savings accounts do not provide a high yield on returns, which means you could lose money over time if the interest rates don’t pace with inflation. gen y meaning Of course, some millennials struggle to land full-time positions and are making do with part-time positions, but overall, this group is earning more than other generations. S. Census Bureau, the median income for a millennial household is $71,566.

Millennials witnessed the origin and the elevation of the internet and other digital technologies, including social media, while generation Z  always grew up with technology. Generation Y is considered the first generation that grew up in the Internet age. Therefore, generation Y is recognized for their high usage of the internet, social media platforms and digital and mobile devices. Due to their familiarity with digital devices and platforms, we also call them the “digital natives”.

Do generations bank differently?

Millennials are generally comfortable with the idea of a public Internet life. Privacy, in the Millennial eye, is mostly a concern of functional settings limiting who sees their online shares. This comfort with social media means they are good at self-promotion and fostering connections through online media.

You will probably need a part-time job with a decent salary that allows you to work less and continue saving for the future. You might achieve this goal through freelancing on your schedule or by running or working for a location-independent business that lets you combine work and travel or hobbies. Millennials who invest in the stock market may see a rosier retirement picture. Over the long haul, the stock market has produced return rates hovering in the 10% range, and those who start investing while young benefit from those extra years. Many millennials see themselves working forever, but not because they expect to be forced into that situation by a bad economy or poor financial planning. They envision a lifelong career because of their passion for what they do.

Your long-term saving and investment strategy should be based on whether you want. Do you aspire to a partial retirement plus working forever as a freelancer, or partial retirement now plus a conventional retirement down the road? Some of them used retirement accounts when they lost their jobs during the pandemic, which impacted employment and housing for millions of Americans. Savings accounts cause you to lose money over time because their low-interest rates do not keep pace with inflation.

So, their most popular personal finance priority is to have enough money for day-to-day living expenses. During the recession, some millennials postponed getting higher education or additional degrees due to a sluggish job market. As millennials began to age out of the “youth vote” bracket, they remained politically liberal, breaking with the adage (backed by data) that individuals become more conservative as they grow older. Researchers have found that millennials grew to be by far the least conservative 35-year-olds in recorded history in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Many analysts suggest voters are often shaped by the politics of their early voting years.