Millennials want money to leave home
The mystery known as Millennials can now be solved with two new research reports. Yes, we’ve been told that members of this cohort are idealistic, entrepreneurial and more interested in life-work balance than their Baby Boomer parents. And yet while that may have been true, it seems that some may be taking a different view as the realities of adulthood set in.
According to a new study by Toptal, a network of freelance software engineers and designers, what really drives recent grads is M-O-N-E-Y. In fact, 62 percent put salary as the number one factor when looking for a job out of school. That compares to:
- 46 percent desiring a flexible work schedule;
- 31 percent wanting to travel;
- 24 percent looking to quickly gain experience.
Perhaps the biggest reason Millennials value salary above other factors – analysis my own – is that so many live with their parents and wish they didn’t.
According to a new Pew Research Center report, the percentage of young adults living at home with their parents is at the highest level since such records have been kept. While it is widely proffered that the Great Recession exacerbated this situation, Pew’s study found it actually began in 2007 before the financial collapse.
This common living arrangement has been brought about by a combination of high levels of debt from college loans along with a lack of available well-paying positions.
Jobs, a lack of the good kind, are at the heart of Millennials’ problems. In this regard, young males have found the going very tough. In 2014, 71 percent of males between 18 and 34 were employed. That compares to 84 percent of males in the same age group who had jobs in 1960, according to Pew.
- Toptal Survey: Recent Grads Care More About Money than Using their Degree—or Job Flexibility – Toptal
- For First Time in Modern Era, Living With Parents Edges Out Other Living Arrangements for 18- to 34-Year-Olds – Pew Research Center
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Should retailers be concerned about a class of consumers (Millennials) that may never climb, figuratively speaking, out of their parents’ basements? With so many opposed to government intervention, is it time for retail and other industries to find ways to assist Millennials in helping to lift themselves up?
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16 Comments on "Millennials want money to leave home"
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President, Max Goldberg & Associates
Manufacturers and retailers should be concerned about a class of consumers that has less money to spend. This is one reason why paying a living wage has become so important. The middle class in America has taking a big hit, while the top 1 percent has seen its compensation soar, a fact that does not bode well for political, social or economic stability.
Government intervention is probably what put the Millennials in their parents’ homes. Making student loans in large amounts available sent the message not to work, kick back and take a college vacation. ACA extended health care to age 26 which sent the message not to rush to get a good job after college or just don’t rush to get out of college. As for those who have chosen to be a human cartoon with tattoos, colored hair and gauged ears, they have made a personal lifestyle choice to be unacceptable to many employers. Good well-paying jobs are always and everywhere all the time for good people. There are plenty of Millennials that have taken advantage of the labor shortage and have found good well-paying jobs. Every generation has produced a class of people who might be educated but never achieve economically. Income is a personal decision. Attitudes toward salary, flexible work schedule and appearance need to be adjusted on both sides. The supply and and demand in the labor market will be the arbitrator.
Senior Vice President, Dechert-Hampe (retired)
I think there is a deeper sociological factor at work in this trend than just money and jobs. Boomer generation parents are not making it “desirable to leave” their homes.
Think about why you were so anxious to be on your own when you were 20-something, or even sooner. Staying at home meant living by the family rules for most of us. And that meant curfews, and no drinking in the house and no girlfriends staying over. Not so much anymore. At least, not from what I see.
I once asked my grandfather why he had not added more bedrooms to the two bedroom farmhouse where he raised my mother and four boys. He replied simply — “so they’d leave.”
Global Managing Director, Prosper Business Development
Advisor, MyAlerts
It’s also worth noting all the media given to the concept that Millennials want experiences, not stuff. The Toptal data supports that. Sure they want good paying jobs (so they can afford more travel and experiences), but they are likely more patient in waiting to find that job because they’re not hungering to buy more and more gadgets and stuff. So retail’s challenge is not just in waiting for the “lift-up” but also in the fact that their merchandise might not even be that attractive when these young people achieve more disposable income.
Owner, Tony O's Supermarket and Catering
VP of Strategy, Aptos
Nikki and Tony make excellent points. I was on the mainland recently in Seattle. A city full of large modern technology corporations. A progressive city that is probably 10 years ahead of the rest of the U.S. I believe they have a $15 a hour minimum wage. Yet retailers cannot find people suitable for work. There is an adequate amount of people without jobs. Many are homeless and standing outside those supermarkets who are begging for people to come work. Businesses are forbidden to admit they discriminate on personal appearance, age, minor amounts of narcotics in the blood, credit, or if you are living with your parents. However I believe they do discriminate. Business owners want to hire people with similar values to their own. It could be short-sighted but it is human nature.
Retail and Customer Experience Expert
The research shows they need money to move out for the experience, not to buy stuff. Hence the challenge to retailers’ traditional approach of “shopping for gratification and social status and to be liked by everyone.” It is not working for this audience who prefer experiences (i.e., finding the latest food-porn more than owning the latest thing). The economy and social pressure is the only thing that can assist Millennials to leave their parents’ homes, not government policy.
Global Retail & CPG Sales Strategist, IBM
I agree with Ben Ball’s comments completely! Baby Boomers have made it too comfortable for their Millennial children and their attention spans are collectively shorter — so long-term goals, like building a career, buying a house, etc., are more difficult for them to materialize.
Can/should retailers address this? Well, retail has always been a tough industry to attract educated people (otherwise stated, “They’re too smart to work this hard!”). Today that is no different, so they should emphasize short-term benefits that can lead to long-term potential for educated employee candidates. Simple, but not an easy task to accomplish.
Principal, The Feedback Group
While on one hand, finding a full-time job after college can be a challenge, Millennials need to realize that it isn’t an instant gratification game. Most likely it means doing your time and working up the ladder. On the other hand, the realities of student loans, Boomers that haven’t yet retired, entry level wages and the need to build relevant experience, coupled with changing parental attitudes, all play a role in keeping the younger Millennials at home. As another panelist pointed out, the older Millennials are much less likely to be at home relative to the younger Millennials.
CEO, L Squared Digital Signage
Would be really nice to see the ethnicity of the Millennials staying at home. We’re far more diverse now than in the 60s and staying at home for Asians and Indians is culturally accepted. Money has been a primary motivator for the majority for a long time; this is not really surprising to me.
CFO, Weisner Steel
“The fall in young men’s employment and earnings since 1970 has likely made living independently more difficult for them, which in turn helps account for the rise in the share of young adults living with their parent(s).”
Forget the preoccupation with where people live, the first 19 words here are the issue. And for those who are “opposed to government intervention” — however one may interpret that — I would ask how people are supposed to “lift themselves up” when a whole generation of them don’t make enough to live on.
Director, SaaS Marketing, Zebra Technologies
What should a retailer do to help Millennials? Create a retail business that is highly profitable by creatively fulfilling a customer need, expanding wisely, paying taxes, and hiring and fairly compensating good workers, some of whom that are, hopefully, Millennials. With that they have done their part to help every generation. A job in retail is a great workforce entry opportunity for people of any generational label. Lots of great skills areas are enhanced with a retail position including software training, customer interaction, management, and many others.
VP Marketing & Business Development, Estrella Brands
Of course retailers should be concerned about Millennial consumers … but not more than Generation X or Boomers. The focus has to be on the core consumer target not on the generational target groups.
Don’t overemphasize Millennial consumers, they are not a monolithic group and the differences between the older Millennials and the younger segment are vast.
I strongly recommend retailers to identify their core consumer target and then determine which segments of the various groups belong to it (the core consumer).
The characteristics and values of the generational groups are not important. What’s important are the characteristics and values of the core consumer, the common threads among the group — the consumer insight, that unites them all.
President, Protonik