Millennial Flexographers & Veteran Flexographers
Millennials are not the only people on Earth (contrary to what they may believe). Though they are entering the workforce at a rate exponentially greater than any other demographic, they are not the sole demographic: There is a large group of veteran workers who once occupied the entry-level positions they are filling, who now occupy management and C-suite roles they hope to one day fill.
So it seemed reasonable to ask both groups: “Rate yourself, and the other guys.”
Given a list of 14 attributes, Millennials and their 35-and-older brethren were asked to select three which they felt applied to them. The options were:
- Hard-working
- Detail-oriented
- Organized
- Innovative thinker
- Loyal to my employer
- Tech-savvy
- Engaged
- Open to change
- People-savvy
- Like challenging work
- Fun-loving
- Unreliable
- Easily bored/distracted
- Self-centered
Among Millennials’ self-critique, no response received less than a 10 percent selection rate and roughly one in five chose each of the top six selections. The three most-commonly chosen attributes were hard-working (28 percent), detail-oriented (25 percent) and organized (22 percent). Notably, Millennials were not shy about trashing themselves: 16 percent describe themselves as unreliable, 15 percent say they are easily bored/distracted and 12 percent admit to being self-centered.
After Completing Your Education, in Which of the Following Areas Would You Be Interested in Pursuing a Career? (Select all that apply)
The 35-and-older group did not view itself nearly as unflatteringly. Those same three negative characteristics were chosen far less: zero percent say they are unreliable, 6 percent say they are easily bored/distracted and 4 percent say they are self-centered. What did that group choose most frequently? Hard-working (46 percent), innovative thinker (35 percent) and open to change (34 percent).
Using the same list of 14 traits, Millennials said veteran employees are, above all else, hard-working (29 percent of responses). That was followed by loyal to their employers (24 percent), detail oriented (21 percent) and organized (20 percent). Fifteen percent said the 35-and-above group is easily bored/distracted, 14 percent said it is unreliable and 13 percent said it is self-centered.
Veteran employees did not have as favorable a view of Millennials. While the veteran group said Millennials are more tech-savvy than anything else (56 percent), the No. 2 response was easily bored/distracted (42 percent). Open to change was third, at 29 percent, but it was tied with self-centered. Fifth and sixth were innovative thinkers (25 percent) and unreliable (21 percent). Coming in dead last, with 5 percent, was loyal to their employers.
The study also separated veteran workers’ responses to the aforementioned question, analyzing those from individuals with a related educational background and those with unrelated schooling. It found Millennials are viewed more favorably by seasoned workers with an industry-related educational background than by those with schooling in another field. Those with a major/area of study in design, packaging or printing tend to describe Millennials as tech-savvy, open to change and innovative thinkers. Those with a different major/area of study also describe Millennials as tech-savvy, but place greater emphasis on being easily bored/distracted (57 percent, vs. 43 percent in the group with related schooling) and unreliable (29 percent to 16 percent).
When trying to attract either group to a networking event, it’s important to focus on the “who” (peers) for Millennials, while older professionals care most about the “how” (in person). Stated plainly, age discrepancy is stymying Millennials’ interest in getting together to talk shop and swap business cards. Twenty-five percent chose in-person networking with professionals who are their age, and 22 percent chose online networking with professionals who are their age, as things which could improve their interest; similarly, 23 percent said in-person networking specific to their positions or experience levels. More convenient meeting locations was also selected by one-quarter.
Professionals who are 35 years or older overwhelmingly chose location as the most dominant factor in deciding whether or not to participate in a networking event: 42 percent said more convenient meeting locations would raise their interest and 41 percent said more frequent and regionally located meetings would. Nearly one-fifth—18 percent—said nothing would make them more interested.