Millennials and conflict in the workplace: understand the unique traits of the now generation

Table of Contents


Chapter 1. The Millennial Majority

What’s in a Name?

The Sizable Millennial Cohort

Millennials Enter the Workforce

The Research

The Questions

Chapter 2. Meet the Millennials

Who Are the Millennials?

Understanding Generations in the United States

Events That Shaped Millennials

Helicopter Parents

What We Know about Generational Differences

Chapter 3. How Millennials Deal with Conflict

Millennials in the Workplace: What We Hear from Employees

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument Data

Dominant Conflict Styles of Millennials, Generation Xers, and Baby Boomers

Changes over Time

Same-Age Analysis: Millennials versus Generation Xers

Chapter 4. Millennials Are Born to Scram: How to Keep Them Satisfied

Get What I Want or Leave

High Expectations

Value-Added Work

A Learning Environment

Want to Know Why

Tell Me How I’m Doing

Do Millennials Really Like Working in Teams?

Cut Me Some Slack

Are Millennials Killing Industries?

Millennials Want Flexibility

Pandemic Spurs Change

Are Millennials Driving the Great Resignation?

Chapter 5. Gender and Conflict Styles

Gender in the Workplace

Male-to-Female Conflict Styles: Aggregated 13-Year Comparison

Same-Gender Conflict Styles: Aggregated 13-Year Comparison

Changes over Time

Same-Age Gender Analysis: Millennials and Generation Xers

What We Learned about Gender Differences

Chapter 6. Support Networks: Millennials and Social Media

Technological Skills Surpass Interpersonal Skills

Online Support Group

Social Media Use

Memes and the Media

The Medium Is the Massage

Technology and Activism

Chapter 7. A Higher Purpose: Social, Political, and Economic Issues

What We Heard in Our Interviews and Focus Groups: Issues That Matter

A Millennial-Led Future: Politics, Diversity, Inclusion, and Racial Justice

Conflict between Rich and Poor

Chapter 8. What We Learned about Millennials

The Research: Interviews, Focus Groups, and Conflict Styles Analysis

Consolidated Research Findings

Politics, Diversity, and Social Media Use

Final Thoughts

This book unravels the mysteries and confusion surrounding Millennials. They are now the largest group in the labor force and their presence redefines the workplace for many organizations. Many older workers, who struggle to understand Millennials, often define them by stereotypes rather than their actual attributes. The historical and social events that occurred when Millennials were growing up are reviewed, which can result in traits and values specific to this cohort. The research behind this book explores the conflict styles of Millennials compared to Generation Xers and Baby Boomers – the unique strategies they are likely to use to address conflict in the workplace. This book shares the results of interviews and focus groups providing first-hand accounts from Millennials and non-Millennials about their work interactions. And the results from approximately 11,000 test-takers of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument provide fascinating findings about generational differences in conflict styles. Millennials grew up with technology at their fingertips and tend to avoid conflict and seek advice from their online support groups. The book will also dig into Millennials’ powerful use of social media and how they use it to further their causes. They have a strong desire to know what’s happening now and find it difficult to “turn off.” This book explores generational differences and finds an increase in unassertive styles in Millennial males. This work shares what Millennials want and value in a workplace and what employers can do to recruit and retain this valuable cohort. Millennials’ diversity, political and social engagement, and the implications for the broader society are explored. This research fills an important gap in the research on generational cohorts and conflict management and provides valuable information to scholars and practitioners alike.