Stereotype or reality?: a genuine review of millennials’ career perspectives

Purpose – This paper aims to review existing research on the career attitudes, values and behaviors of the Millennial generation (born approximately between 1981 and 1996) to differentiate how research evidence confirms or contradicts the stereotypes of Millennials based on their coverage in the popular press. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted an integrative literature review comprising 102 studies published between 2004 and 2025 that were published in peer-reviewed journals of sufficiently high quality. Findings – The authors present out findings based on five main themes: career success; career development, patterns and progressions; work-life interface; career-relevant individual differences; and contextual influences on Millennials’ careers, including the global financial crisis of 2008 and the Covid19 pandemic. What is found largely questions the stereotype of Millennials as being lazy, self-interested job-hoppers. Instead, the authors find that they are committed to work but with a strong sense of work-life balance. Practical implications – Millennials represent three-quarters of the global workforce in 2025 and are increasingly in leadership positions. Understanding their careers helps others working with them as employees and/or managers. Generational stereotypes have staying power and can contribute to intergenerational conflict; having a perspective based on research evidence provides a more nuanced perspective. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first literature review of research on Millennials that specifically focuses on understanding their careers attitudes, values and behaviors. This study complements existing reviews on Millennials at work.