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Imagine a case where an employee is terminated from a job after 30 years of employment. The company claims he was let go because of downsizing; the plaintiff claims he was let go because he no longer fit the company image. How might jurors of different generations view this case? By and large, members of the Traditionalist generation (those born between 1925 and 1945) are dedicated and loyal employees. Contrarily, Millennials (those born between 1980 and 2000) tend to “job hop” throughout their careers, searching for stimulating work environments and a sense that they are making a difference. In the case described above, members of the Traditionalist generation would likely be critical of the company for terminating a long-time employee. In contrast, Millennials tend to view jobs as temporary stepping stones and may not view employment termination with the same trepidation that an older juror might. Nor would they be as empathetic to the older worker’s sense of loss. Even in the current economy, Millenials are more likely to view unemployment optimistically as a time to pursue hobbies or studies – especially since they typically do not have the same financial baggage of mortgages and families as members of the older generations.
Researchers have studied certain generations and the attributes of their members in order to tailor products and services to their needs. These findings also can be applied to the field of jury research. A person’s attitudes and experiences tend to be strong predictors of what type of juror they will be. Therefore, the generation a juror belongs to could affect the way he or she views the world, as members of the same generation are likely to share some core beliefs and values. For example, Millennial jurors have lived through the AIDS crisis, enforcement of seatbelt laws and no smoking campaigns. Always having been protected via such initiatives, as well as having “helicopters parents” who hover over their children and are very involved in their lives, members of this generation tend to feel they are important and special.
| Who are Millennials?
There are over 82 million members of the Millennial generation, a number that challenges that of the largest group, the Baby Boomers (born 1946 -1964). Millennials are populating our jury pools more and more, so it is vital that we consider the mindset they bring to their role as jurors. Research indicates that Millennials:
- Do not see the value of “paying their dues” when securing a job. Instead, they tend to hold entitlement attitudes. For instance, they expect to lateral into a job;
- Will sacrifice pay and title, as long as they are “making a difference” in their jobs;
- Are team-oriented and like to work in groups rather than independently;
- Appreciate structure and step-by-step instructions based on their highly structured childhoods of play dates, sports, activities, school, etc.;
- Value community service;
- Value a work-life balance;
- Are effective at multi-tasking, particularly with internet and mobile technology;
- Are impatient – Millennials enjoy a networked world with information at their fingertips 24/7;
- Place high value on education – they seek knowledge, but expect it to be presented as an appealing multimedia experience;
- Value sharing intellectual property differently than other generations, believing it should be freely disseminated (e.g., Napster, Facebook, YouTube); and
- Are the most racially diverse – in 2007, about 39% of the Millennials were members of ethnic minorities, but they are less likely to have experienced explicit racial discrimination as previous generations have. For the younger generation, racial and gender bias has not disappeared, but it has taken a different form than in the past (e.g., implicit bias, shades of skin color within the same racial groups, etc.).
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Millennial Jurors: