The Millennial Generation: Born into a Nonlinear World

It is clear that the millennial generation operates with different values than those held by preceding generations. The so-called millennial generation, born between 1978 and 1999, also called Generation Y or the Net Generation, is the first generation to use e-mail, instant messaging (IM), and cell phones and to have access since childhood or adolescence to a world without boundaries or hierarchy that transcends space and time: the Internet.

In the United States alone, millennials number eighty million people. As many millennials have entered the workforce and have come to represent an important share of the market, it is necessary to integrate what motivates them both as customers and employees in marketing and HR strategies. According to experts, these are six of the main characteristics of millennials: