The Challenges Of Managing Millennials and Living With The Never Retiring Baby Boomers

In USA Today’s Ask The Expert column, “Baby Boomer” Steve Strauss tackles the challenges of managing Millennials. In short, Strauss says Millennials may have a bad reputation in the business world for being exceedingly demanding, but managers need not shy away from this generation. He also gives small-business owners tips to effectively manage their younger employees, starting with treating them as the adults they are.

Millennials are typically defined as the age cohort born from 1980 through the early 2000s and have been called everything from Gen Y to Echo Boomers. These are basically the kids of the late Baby Boomers (born between 1955 and 1964) and it is quite amusing hearing Boomers bemoan and counsel others on the intricacies of managing their kids. Granted, this should be a group that they know a lot about.

The late boomers have been particularly hit hard by the terrible stock market and don’t have as much time as us Gen X’ers to make up for their lost 401(k) balances. So you can expect Boomers to be working for many more years trying to replenish their retirement funds, and no doubt counseling the rest of us on the challenges of managing their children.