As millennials begin to turn 40 in 2021, CNBC Make It has launched Middle-Aged Millennials, a series exploring how the oldest members of this generation have grown into adulthood amidst the backdrop of the Great Recession and the Covid-19 pandemic, student loans, stagnant wages and rising costs of living.
Millennials have gotten a bad rap since they started entering the workforce. They have been stereotyped as lazy and entitled employees who will trade company loyalty for the ability to leapfrog into a management position they haven’t earned; they want to work for a values-driven company with a casual dress code.
But the reality is that many millennials went to college at a time when education costs soared and graduated into a financial recession that gave them limited career opportunities to pay off their student loans, let alone save for other financial milestones.
Then, companies began to eliminate middle management jobs — the ones millennials were working toward — as the job market tanked during the financial crisis. Senior leaders who weren’t pushed out of work delayed their retirement. At the very top, CEOs got older, stayed longer and got a lot richer.
Now, millennials are the largest generation in the workforce, and the oldest among them turn 40 this year. This comes as the number of management roles held by people younger than 45 is about the same as for those above that age, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But many millennials are now rethinking whether climbing the corporate ladder is really worth it after spending their early careers burning out on limited opportunities.......