Ideas

We've seen the rise of babyboomers and yuppies, then of the former slackers known as Generation X. This newest generational label (aka Generation Y or the Echo Boomers) refers to youngsters born between 1981 and 1999. Their coming of age has spawned a slew of articles in both specialist journals and popular media. Commentators detail how they differ from predecessors in their collective attitudes, and describe how to manage them in the workplace. What's provable is that millennials are the most ethnically diverse, digitally aware and empowered group yet to emerge. On their other characteristics, though, opinions differ sharply. In the UK some employers have castigated them as workshy, semiliterate, needy and narcissistic while US behavioural 'experts' laud their ability to multitask, their skill in balancing work and leisure, their respect for elders and leaders and their trust in institutions and allegiance to teams.

Send buzzwords, jargon and new and exotic usages to tony.thorne@kcl.ac.uk.

• Tweet