New Research on America's Millennials Finds Their Mood 'Eager but Anxious'

Business Wire, Sept 2, 2004

MILWAUKEE -- What is on the minds of the "elder" members of the Millennium Generation, or those in their early to mid-20s, is revealed in the latest series of Northwestern Mutual-commissioned research by Harris Interactive(R).

"At this point in their young lives, we're seeing a generation of Americans who tell us they are -- at once -- eager but anxious," said Harlan Wahrman, Director of Corporate and Market Research for Northwestern Mutual. "They're anxious because they're living in a world of conflict. Still, they're eager to move on with their lives in positive ways."

A 'We' vs. 'Me' Generation

Their eagerness, according to Wahrman, is reflected in what matters to those in their early to mid-twenties most:

--  They are enthusiastic about their friends and family.

    --  Family time is important to Millennials, and less than a third
        of them say they are willing to sacrifice it just to "get
        ahead."

    --  Millennials say they get together face-to-face with family and
        friends frequently or even daily.

--  They view themselves as highly reliable and responsible members of
    society.

    --  Half of them (vs. less than a third among the total adult
        population) believe that children should bear the financial
        costs for caring for parents when they become elderly and
        unable to care for themselves.

--  They are ambitious about careers that provide them an opportunity
    to help others.

    --  Millennials list among their most important job components:
        work that helps others, allows them to impact the world
        surrounding them with idealistic and committed co-workers, and
        requires creativity.

    --  Nearly three-fourths say how they spend their time is more
        important than how much money they make.

    --  About half want to own their own business someday and 3
        percent of the class of 2004 report that they already do.

    --  Less important to Millennials is working for a large
        corporation or global company or having a high-pressure work
        environment.

"By these indications, this is a 'We Generation' and not a 'Me Generation,'" Wahrman said.

World Turned Upside Down

Millennials are anxious, according to Wahrman, because they've seen their world turned upside down virtually overnight.

"Since the Class of 2001 graduated from college three years ago, the members of the Millennium Generation have been witness to a progression of extraordinary events that has collided with their world - the terrorist attacks on America, the harsh realities of a nation at war, an erratic economy and corporate scandals," Wahrman said.

As such, the latest research finds:

--  To nearly half, the need to grow up faster/lack of innocence is
    among the biggest of disadvantages of being a member of this
    generation.

--  The majority are pessimistic about the direction of the country.

    --  62 percent believe the country is headed in the wrong
        direction (likewise, 62 percent of the national population
        feels the same way).

--  Dissatisfaction in the leadership of almost all the nation's high
    profile institutions has increased.

    --  When asked how they would grade the people in charge of
        running such institutions, Millennials gave more D's and F's
        to those in the White House, the news media, organized
        religion, major companies and Congress.

A Well-balanced Mixture of Mind and Heart

"That they're concerned about the state of the world shows that Millennials are clearly in touch with their world," Wahrman said. "This is not a clueless bunch.

"That these concerns are not getting in the way of the other more positive aspects of their lives is even more encouraging," he said. "In fact, we continue to see the well-balanced mixture of mind and heart that was evident when Northwestern Mutual first visited this group in 1997."

Background

The latest research, the fifth of "The Millennium Generation Studies" over the past seven years, specifically looks at this year's college graduating class of 2004 and the college graduating class of 2001, which has been out of school for three years. The first study, conducted in 1997, looked at members of the first graduating class of the Millennium Generation when they were freshmen.

This latest survey provides sweeping snapshots on topics ranging from generational differences, beliefs and values, goals and aspirations, to finances, lifestyles, social and political concerns and healthy living.

The Millennium Generation: The Fifth Study was conducted online by Harris Interactive among 1,016 members of the Class of 2001 and a total of 722 members of the Class of 2004 nationally from March 23 to April 5, 2004. An additional 2,016 interviews were conducted online between April 15 and 19, 2004 with a nationally representative cross section of American adults (aged 18 and over) to provide a point of comparison for certain questions. Figures for gender, race, region and propensity to be online were weighted to adjust them to their actual proportions in the population. In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points (for the Class of 2004 sample), 3.1 percentage points (for the Class of 2001 sample) and 2.1 percentage points for the (general population sample) of what they would be if each of those populations nationwide had been polled with complete accuracy. This online sample was not a probability sample.