DATE: Sunday, November 9, 1997              TAG: 9711080251

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LORRAINE EATON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  114 lines

THE MILLENNIUM GENERATION

They may be young, but what has officially been tagged the ``Millennium Generation'' will soon be a work force to be reckoned with.

Two of the country's top trend trackers warn that businesses should prepare for a generation of independent, cautious, demanding and socially conscious workers who will insist on a balance between work and home life.

``This is going to be a group of revolutionaries,'' predicted Gerald Celente, author of ``Trends 2000, How to Prepare for and Profit from Changes of the 21st Century,'' published this year by Warner Books.

The predictions are based on ongoing national surveys of young people about their values and shared experiences. Celente's company also analyzes newspapers, trade journals and popular magazines and follows 300 separately defined trends on a daily basis.

The newly-named Millennium Generation is comprised of people born after 1978. At 72 million strong they make up the largest force of young workers to hit the job market since the Baby Boomers, said J. Walker Smith, managing partner of Yankelovich Partners, a Norwalk, Conn., research firm.

The researchers predict that this generation will demand that workplace changes sparked by Boomers and fanned by Generation X - such as paid vacations and health care benefits - remain in place or be strengthened. It will expect employers to have a social conscience, to provide flexible work schedules, job sharing and the ability to telecommute. And as the Millenniums mature into leaders, they will also develop a new philosophy of leadership emphasizing individual development and creativity, while keeping an eye on the collective good.

The first thing that employers might notice as Millennium members first enter the workplace is their independence.

``I feel like I get more done by myself than with a group of people,'' said Angie Zollars, 16, a Western Branch junior who has been working at a Chesapeake Dairy Queen since July. During the week, Angie takes orders, makes change and assembles food trays. On busy weekends, she keys in orders while another employee bags the burgers. She'd rather do it alone because it will be done right.

This preference for working alone is actually a Gen X legacy.

``They want to do things on their own, almost as salaried, independent contractors,'' Walker said. ``It's remarkable,'' he added, that corporate America has moved toward organizing workers into teams when ``we've got 45 million (Gen X) workers who have a different sense of how you get things accomplished.''

The independent streak will be stronger in Millenniums, and with it will come a shift away from corporate America.

``They've heard the horror stories about working for corporations,'' Celente said. ``Working for corporations for them is synonymous with working for the master. . . . Their parents were overworked, underappreciated and fearful of losing their jobs. We'll see a blossoming of the entrepreneurial spirit. They'll do anything they can not to work for any corporation of today.''

Laura Neff, 17, a Lake Taylor High senior, has plenty of friends who don't really know their overworked parents. While she plans to work hard, possibly for a large media company, she doesn't believe that 12-hour days are healthy. ``If you have a problem, it's not going to be your company that is there for you,'' she said. ``It's your family.''

Many of the Millennium Generation will be self-employed, Celente predicts. Leaders of this generation will be leaders in a period of rich intellectual achievement. Under their leadership, the United States will be the world's artistic leader, but will also continue as the leader in hardware and software development.

Bearing witness to so many work-related problems in the 20th Century has also resulted in a generation of children concerned with employment at very early ages. When Yankelovich recently surveyed children 9- to 11-years-old, a top concern was getting a good job.

Another characteristic that will emerge early on is the urge to express individuality on the job. John Kirchmier Jr., who owns two restaurants in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., and employs several teens, has already experienced that aspect.

``Every night I have to say, `Please take that nose ring out,' '' he said. ``It's not that they are trying to do wrong, they just forget. It's like it's part of them.''

The researchers also predict that the generation will gravitate toward employers with good environmental and social records.

Take, for example, The Gap. The company pays employees for up to five hours a month of volunteer time. Last year, teams in 40 cities raised $250,000 for AIDS-related causes. Locally, at the Lynnhaven Mall store, employees regularly work at the Seton House, a runaway shelter in Virginia Beach.

``It makes the company look great, and it makes me feel good about myself,'' said Yolanda Lococo, who has worked at the store for more than a year.

At 21, Yolanda is not a Millennium member, but corporate spokesperson Debbie Gardner said that so many young people are asking about social issues when they apply for jobs that the company produced a brochure outlining its charitable activities.

Local students who are just entering the job market also say that a company's social conscience is important. But right now they don't have the luxury of making it a top priority as they vie for their first jobs. That will become more important later, they said.

``I'm a big environmentalist, but it would depend more on how much I need the money'' said Laurie Carpenter, 15, a sophomore at Kempsville High.

``Most people,'' added Nick Savides, 16, a Western Branch junior, ``are just happy to have a job.''

There are other signs that corporate America is aware of this new generation of workers. Celente recently spoke to a group of executives from Warner-Lambert, an $8 billion drug company. Before he took the stage, the chief operating officer told the ranks that the company planned to be the employer of choice, that it would stand tall ethically and would value integrity, honesty, responsibility, passion and compassion.

Celente was dumbstruck. Never had he heard such talk from the head of a large corporation.

``Is it BS, or is it real? We can't judge that yet,'' Celente said. ``But the change is in the air, there's no question about it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot

Angie Zollars, 16, a junior at Western Branch High School...

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