The Millennial generation is going to be the next great workforce. Since they are considered job hoppers, organizations are introducing reforms to attract and retain talented Millennial workforce by creating the environment that better fits their needs. When multiple generations are integrated into a single workplace, communication becomes a very important aspect. This thesis explores communication barriers and conflicts in the workplace setting encountered by Millennials in Taiwan and uses quantitative data analysis to understand the causes and solution to the problem. It also provides an insight of the changes organizations are undertaking to compete in the dynamic environment, general perceptions about Millennials, their workplace attitude and what firms are doing to attract, manage and retain them with the evidences from existing researches. Results of the study undertaken in this thesis provide a sketch of communication barriers and conflicts that Millennial employees face and how they think that these problems can be resolved and avoided in the workplace. The results show that unclear goals and rules are the primary cause of communication barriers and conflicts and these can be resolved directly by communication. This study provides the possibilities for further researches in order to better understand and learn about Millennials in Asian countries and communication barriers and conflicts encountered by the workforce.

Abstract … i
Acknowledgment …. ii
Table of Contents … iii
Table of Figures … v
Introduction … 1
Literature Review … 4
Millennials … 4
Stereotypes about Millennials …5
Role of Helicopter Parents … 7
Structural Changes in Organizations … 8
Communication in the Workplace …. 10
Attracting, Managing and Retaining Millennials … 15
Summary … 21
Methodology … 22
Research Design and Data Collection … 22
Participants … 23
Results … 25
Analysis of feedback towards work-life balance and employment priority .… 25
Identifying the causes of communication barriers and conflicts … 28 Understanding the recommendations to resolve and avoid communication barriers and conflicts … 29
Summary … 33
Discussion and Conclusion … 35
Limitations and Directions for Future Study … 35
Practical Implications … 36
Reference … 38
Appendix … 47

Airbnb Newsroom. Official Airbnb Website. Retrieved on May 14, 2018 from https://press.atairbnb.com/fast-facts/.

Airbnb. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on May 14, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb

Alsop, R., Nicholson, P., & Miller, J. (2009). Gen Y in the workforce. Harvard Business Review, 87(2), 43–49.

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th Edition).

Avolio, B. J., & Bass, B. M. (1995). Individual consideration viewed at multiple levels of analysis: A multi-level framework for examining the diffusion of transformational leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 6, 199–218.

Bauerlein, M., & Jeffery, C. (2011). All work and no pay: The great speedup. Mother Jones. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/06/speed-up-american-workers-long-hours.

Beau, E.L. (2010). From conflict to “cohorts”: When young and older workers mix. Workforce Management.

Bergman, S.M., Fearrington, M.E., Davenport, S.W., & Bergman, J.Z. (2011). Millennials, narcissism and social networking: What narcissists do on social networking sites and why. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 706-711.

Buffardi, L. E., & Campbell, W. K. (2008). Narcissism and social networking web sites. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(10), 1303–1314.
39

Burgoon, J. K., Berger, C. R., & Waldron, V. R. (2000). Mindfulness and interpersonal communication. Journal of Social Issues, 56(1), 105–127.
Buss, D. M., & Chiodo, L. M. (1991). Narcissistic acts in everyday life. Journal of Personality, 59 (2), 179–215.

Campbell, W. K., Rudich, E., & Sedikides, C. (2002). Narcissism, self-esteem, and the positivity of self-views: Two portraits of self-love. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 358–368.

Carless, S. A., & Wintle, J. (2007). Applicant attraction: The role of recruiter function, work-life balance policies and career salience. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 15, 394–404.

Center for Creative Leadership (2008, July 15). Developing future leaders for high-growth Indian companies: New perspectives. Greensboro, NC. Retrieved from http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/research/DevelopingFutureLeaders.pdf.

Center for Creative Leadership (2009, September). Developing Chinese leaders in the 21st century. Research overview. Greensboro, NC. Retrieved from http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/research/DevelopingChineseLeaders.pdf.

Chatman, J. A., & Flynn, F. J. (2001). The influence of demographic heterogeneity on the emergence and consequences of cooperative norms in work teams. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 956–974.

Clampitt, P. (2005). Communicating for managerial effectiveness (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Corporate Executive Board (2010, August 14). The Role of Employee Engagement in the Return to Growth. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on May 16, 2018, from
40
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-08-13/the-role-of-employee-engagement-in-the-return-to-growth.

Deal, J. J., Altman, D. G., & Rogelbberg, S. G. (2010). Millennials at work: What we know and what we need to do (if anything). Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 191-199.

Dove, R. (1995). Agile benefits: Viability and leadership. Production, 107(4): 20.

Ellett, J. (2015, December 8). Stella Artois taps into consumer insights to beat competitors. Forbes. Retrieved on May 14, 2018 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnellett/2015/12/08/stella-artois-taps-into-consumer-insights-to-beat-competitors/#19543219608e.

George, L. (2008). Dude, where’s my job? McLeans.Ca. Retrieved from http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/01/14/dudewhere%E2%80%99s-my-job/.

Gill, R. (2002). Change management--or change leadership? Journal of Change Management, 3(4), 307-318.

Goldman, S.L., Nagel, R.N., & Preiss, K. (1995). Agile competitors and virtual organizations. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Gorman, P., Nelson, T., & Glassman, A. (2004). The Millennial generation: A strategic opportunity. Organizational Analysis, 12(3), 255–270.

Graduate Management Admission Council. (2007). Global MBA graduate survey. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/community/media/p/217.aspx.
Gratton, L. (2011). The shift. The future of work is already here. London: Harper Collins.
41

Gursoy, D., Maier, T. A., & Chi, C. G. (2008). Generational differences: An examination of work values and generational gaps in the hospitality workforce. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27, 458–488.

Hatum, A. (2013). The new workforce challenge: How today’s leading companies are adapting to the future (1st Edition).New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Herriot, P. (2002). Selection and self: Selection as a social process. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 11, 385–402.

Hershatter, A., & Epstein, M. (2010). Millennials and the world of work: An organization and management perspective. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 211-223.

Hertel, G., Geister, S., & Konradt, U. (2005). Managing virtual teams: A review of current empirical research. Human Resource Management Review, 15, 69–95.

Hewlett, S. A., Sherbin, L., & Sumberg, K. (2009). How gen Y and boomers will reshape your agenda. Harvard Business Review, 87(7/8), 71–76.

Hill, R. P. (2002). Managing across generations in the 21st century: Important lessons from the ivory trenches. Journal of Management Inquiry, 11(1), 60–66.

Hill, L. A. (2008). Where will we find tomorrow’s leaders? Harvard Business Review, 23, 123–129.

Hofstede Insights. Based on Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory. Retrieved on May 21, 2018, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/)

Hole, D., Zhong, L., Schwarts, J. (2010). Talking about whose generation?. Deloitte Review. Issue 6, pp. 83–97.
42

Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials Rising. New York: Vintage Books.

Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2003). Millennials go to college: Strategies for a new generation on campus: Recruiting and admissions, campus life, and the classroom. Washington, DC: AACRAO.

Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2007). Millennials go to college (2nd Edition). Great Falls, VA: LifeCourse Associates.

Huyler, D., Pierre, Y., Ding, W., Norelus, A. Millennials in the workplace: Positioning companies for future success. Florida International University. USA. Unpublished paper.

Ismail, S., Geest, Y.v., & Malone, M.S. (2014). Exponential Organizations: Why new organizations are ten times better, faster, and cheaper than yours (and what to do about it) (Kindle Location 221-224; 1397-1398, 1427; 1551-1560). Diversion Books. Kindle Edition.

Jablin, F. M., & Krone, K. J. (1994). Task/work relationships: A lifespan perspective. In M. L. Knapp & G. R. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of interpersonal communication (2nd Edition, 621–675). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Jacobson, W. S. (2007). Two’s company, three’s a crowd, and four’s a lot to manage: Supervising in today’s intergenerational workplace. Popular Government, 2007.

Krantz, M., & Hansen, B. (2010). CEO pay soars while workers’ pay stalls. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/story/CEO-pay- 2010/45634384/1.

Kupperschmidt, B. R. (2000). Multigeneration employees: Strategies for effective management. The Health Care Manager, 19, 65-76.
43

Leets, L. (2001). Explaining perceptions of racist speech. Communication Research, 28, 676–706.

Levenson, A. R. (2010). Millennials and the world of work: An economist’s perspective. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 257–264.

Marston, C. (2007). Motivating the ‘‘What’s in it for me?’’ workforce: Manage across the generational divide and increase profits. Hoboken: Wiley.

Marston, C. (2009). Myths about Millennials: Understand the myths to retain Millennials. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/managementtips/a/millennial_myth.htm

Martin, C. A. (2005). From high maintenance to high productivity: What managers need to know about Generation Y. Industrial and Commercial Training, 37, 39–44.

Mayrhofer, W., Nordhaug, O., & Obeso, C. (2011). Younger academics’ expectations about work and future employers. Managing an Age Diverse Workforce. Edited by Parry, E., Tyson, S. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

McGuire, D., By, R. T., & Hutchings, K. (2007). Towards a model of human resource solutions for achieving intergenerational interaction in organizations. Journal of European Industrial Training, 31, 592–608.

McPhee, R. D., & Zaug, P. (2000). The communicative constitution of organizations: A framework for explanation. Electronic Journal of Communication/La Revue Electronique de Communication, 10(1–2).

Millon, T. (1996). Disorders of personality. DSM-IV and beyond (2nd Edition). New York: Wiley-Interscience.
44

Morf, C., & Rhodewalt, F. (2001). Unraveling the paradoxes of narcissism: A dynamic self-regulatory processing model. Psychological Inquiry, 12(4), 177–196.

Myers, K. K. (2009). Workplace relationships. In S. Smith & S. R. Wilson (Eds.), New directions in interpersonal communication (135–156). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Myers, K.K., & Sadaghiani, K. (2010). Millennials in the workplace: A communication perspective on Millennials’ organizational relationships and performance. J Bus Psychol (2010) 25:225-238

Pace, R. W., & Faules, D. (1994). Organizational communication (3rd Edition). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Pew Research Center. (2007). How young people view their lives, futures, and politics: A portrait of ‘‘Generation Next.’’ Retrieved from http://people-press.org/report/300/a-portrait-of-generation-next

Pew Research Center (2010). The Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change. Pew Center Publications. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/02/24/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change/.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers. (2011). Millennials at work Reshaping the workplace. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.de/de/prozessoptimierung/assets/millennials-at-work-2011.pdf.

Rose, D.S. (2014). Angel investing: The gust guide to making money & having fun investing in startups

Sabattini, L., Warren, A., Dinolfo, S., Falk, E., & Castro, M. (2010). Beyond generational differences: Bridging gender and generational diversity at work. Published by CATALYST. www.catalyst.org.
45

Smith, S.D., & Galbraith, Q. (2012). Motivating Millennials: Improving practices in recruiting, retaining, and motivating younger library staff. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 38, Number 3, 135–144

Steelman, L. A., Levy, P. E., & Snell, A. F. (2004). The feedback environment scale (FES): Construct definition, measurement, and validation. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64, 165–184.

Straus, W., & Howe, N. (1991). Generations: The history of America’s future, 1584 to 2069. New York: William Morrow.

Thompson, C., & Gregory, J.B. (2012). Managing Millennials: A framework for improving attraction, motivation, and retention. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 15: 237–246.

Twenge, J.M. (2010). A review of the empirical evidence on generational differences in work attitudes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 201–210.

Universum Global (2018). World’s most attractive employers 2017: Global insights into how students view companies. Retrieved on May 16, 2018, from https://universumglobal.com/worlds-most-attractive-employers-2017/.

Wall Street Journal (2008). The “trophy kids” go to work. Updated October 21, 2008.

Warner, J. (2010, May 28). The why-worry generation. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/magazine/30fob-wwln-t.html?pagewanted=au.

Zemke, R., Raines, C., & Filipczak, B. (2000). Generations at work:Managing the clash of veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in your workplace. New York: AMACOM American Management Association.
46

Zwilling, M. (2009, April 5). Millennials at work: Facebook or faceoff. Retrieved from http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/2009/04/millennials-at-work-facebook-or-faceoff.html.