The western world loves to stick a label on groups of people who we believe to be like-minded, in particular generational groups such as millennials and the baby boomers. We effectively over-generalise people who share something in common and assume that their common interest must make them like-minded. We assume that they all must think in a similar way and this then gives us some comfort because we think it is easier for us to work with and market to these groups.

In parts, this is probably true (depending what you are marketing of course), but in many respects, we have taken the stereotype too far.

What do you picture when we say ‘millennial’? Probably someone young, fresh out of university or college with a short attention span, high expectations, a larger-than-life ego and a smart phone permanently strapped their hands, right? Something similar?

In contrast to the assumptions made in the previous paragraph, a millennial is quite simply someone born between 1982 and 2004. At the time of writing, that means anybody between 36 and 14 – a total age span of 22 years.

When you think about it, that probably means that the majority of millennials do not fit the stereotype we gave above and could be married with children, working their way up the ladder in a job they’ve held for a few years, or in contrast, they might not have even finished their school years yet. Quite a stark difference in one group of “demographically similar” people, wouldn’t you say?

If you speak to a millennial, you’ll probably find that they aren’t particularly fond of being labelled that way and you won’t very often hear a millennial refer to themselves that way! This negativity around the phrase seems in contrast to the Baby Boomer generation (1946 – 1964) who almost seem proud to be labelled as such.

The assumptions we make about the Millennial generation are not particularly appealing and we more-often-than-not see people defending themselves to avoid being negatively stereotyped as a millennial.

Effectively, its another form of ageism – assume someone is disinterested, disloyal and switched off just because they are a certain age (spanning 22 years remember!).

This can also lead to negative stereotyping when it comes to recruitment and selection – are people at risk of losing out on job opportunities because of the generalisations about their age?

In reality, the millennial age group is so vast and so difficult to define that it doesn’t really exist. We could probably break this generation down into two or three groups which would work better for demographers and marketers. It would be fairer when it came to recruitment and selection, and understanding what support an employee might need to succeed.

We may well have a evolutionary difference with the younger end of the generation who have grown up with advanced technology and smart phones, and so could have a more developed attitude towards the importance of technology in our lives. After all, research has shown that the influence of smart phones and social media HAS had an impact on the over-all mental health of this age group. But is this all? Are we really just dealing with a combination of ageism and a big technological shift?

Millennials are thought of as a generation that prioritises meaningful work, who job-hop more than other generations and who prefer gig-economy jobs rather than full-time employment. This is all probably true, but it is also true for every generation! Advanced technology may make it easier for millennials to fulfil these goals but every generation enjoys meaningful employment and there is actually a similar proportion of millennials in full-time employment than any other generation.

Quite simply, we can stop over-generalising and start treating people in the way that they individually need to be treated. People can be like-minded on so many different levels; workplaces, family, social circles, political views, religious views, age, personal interests and so on.

If we start recruiting, training and marketing to people on much more targeted common interests like this, perhaps we have a better chance of getting it right the first time and treating people with the individualisation they deserve. Millennials don’t all want to be labelled a millennial and if you treat them in such a way, you may just get it so wrong that you drive them further away.