Marjorie Treu: Millennials in the Workplace–Myths, Characteristics, and Strengths

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Program speaker for the day was Marjorie Treu, a motivational speaker focusing on advice to business managers and human resource officers about communicating across the various generations among their employees.  She opened with questions which located Rotarians in their specific generation:  Baby Boomers, Generation X, Gen Y (or Millennials), or Gen Z.  She focused on communication issues and how Millennials, specifically, differ from earlier generations.  She debunked five myths about them: 1) they are the most self-involved generation, 2) they have tiny attention spans, 3) they want constant attention and are used to all on a team getting trophies, 4) they can’t make a decision without everyone weighing in, and 4) they are most likely to jump ship if expectations are not met.  She then focused on major characteristics of this largest generation in history: they are well-educated with women outpacing men, are technologically savvy, are civic minded, and see themselves as global citizens.  She called on the group to list other characteristics and strengths of Millennials.