Baby boomers, they're just like us. Or, rather, we're just like them. And by "we," I mean millennials. The inevitable march of time often means turning into your parents, no matter how much you swore you wouldn't. Millennials (and, to be fair, many Gen Xers) are no exception — now that the electricity bill is on you, you get why your dad was always admonishing you to turn the lights off.

Millennials — people born from 1981 to 1996 — have long had a "forever young" air to them. Obviously, they're not going to be young forever, and plenty of them are pushing 40 or already there, but the generation has been marked by a sense of arrested development. The stereotypical millennial is a 33-year-old still living in his parent's basement, lamenting he'll be a forever renter with no hope of retiring.

But the reality of many millennials is starting to more closely mirror their parents'. They're catching up on earnings and wealth, and while they're still behind on homeownership, they're not screwed. It may have taken them awhile to settle down, but they're getting around to it and heading to the suburbs. In short, millennials are looking increasingly boomer-esque, and in some areas, they're doing better than their parents.

Since his father died in 2022, William has spent a lot of time reflecting on how much he's turned into his old man. He followed his career path and became a lawyer. At 31, he's married, like his dad was when he was his age. He doesn't own a home yet, but he plans to buy a place someday soon in his hometown of Philadelphia. And while he's catching up to his dad in many ways, William, who asked for his last name to be withheld to protect his privacy, recognizes he's surpassed him in other areas. For one thing, he's more financially literate than his parents were, thanks to the "whole democratization of finance thing," he said. Not that he's doing anything weird on the stock market, but he knows how to buy an exchange-traded fund. Qualitatively, he's noticed similarities, too, in how he talks, his sense of humor, and how he sees the world.

"You realize that they are much more in you than you were maybe comfortable with, and you see some of the same strengths and flaws that your parents had," he said. "Everyone wants to be their own person, but statistically, I'm doing a version of the same job as both of my parents. It's like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, to be cliché."

Plenty of millennial apples are looking pretty treelike nowadays. While many weren't dealt the best hand at the start of their independent economic lives, they've done quite a bit of catching up.

The median weekly earnings of full-time workers ages 25 to 34 were $1,045 ($54,340 annually) in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up 4% from $1,004 in 1979 ($52,208), adjusted for inflation. For the 35-to-44 crowd, wages are up by 13%, to $1,250 ($65,000) from $1,102 ($57,304).

The oldest baby boomers reached 30 in 1976, while the youngest reached that mark in 1994. They hit 40 between 1986 and 2004. Elder millennials hit 30 in 2001, and the last batch will get there in 2026. Their 40th birthdays started coming in 2021 and will stop in 2036.

Wealthwise, millennials are also doing decently, if not even better than their parents. The Survey of Consumer Finances found that people ages 35 to 44 had a median net worth of $130,380 in 1989, adjusted for inflation. In 2022, that number was slightly higher, at $135,300. Those under 35 are doing better, too, with a net worth of $39,040 in 2022, compared with $18,740 in 1989.

Like William, other millennials are more invested in the stock market than their parents. This may be in part out of necessity — the shift from pensions to 401(k)s means retirement saving requires them to play the markets on their own. The Survey of Consumer Finances found that 63.6% of Americans ages 35 to 44 had stock holdings in 2022, compared with 39.2% in 1989. That number jumped to 54.4% from 22.7% for those under 35.

Even beyond the more passive investing of 401(k)s, 20.6% of people ages 35 to 44 invested in stocks directly as of 2022, compared with 16.5% in 1989. Direct stock ownership for people under 35 hit a record 23.1% in the latest reading, well above the 10.9% of young people who owned shares in 1989. This data seems to back up the sense among some millennials that investing was one area where their parents fell short.

That's the case for Faith Bergman, a 28-year-old who works in fintech and lives in New York. She's got plenty of similarities with her mother — she uses some of the same phrases (they're both particularly fond of "six in one, half a dozen in the other"), is overly enthusiastic about keeping her apartment clean, and attributes some of her outgoing personality traits to her upbringing. But she and her sister are more focused on investing and their financial well-being in the long term than their mom was.

"Investing, especially investing as a woman, has not always been a common theme or practice," Bergman said. "I think it's more of just a lack of awareness."

Rob Williams, a managing director of financial planning at Charles Schwab, said millennials have more access to information and ways to invest than their baby boomer counterparts. A recent survey from Schwab found that millennials started investing at 25 on average, compared with 35 for boomers. (Gen Z is getting into the game even sooner, at 19.) Despite the head start, millennials still bear the scars of their early years. They're slightly less confident than baby boomers in their investing strategies, and they're less assured about reaching their financial goals compared with older generations.

Sure, millennials may have built up a decent nest egg for themselves, but if there's one trope that defines the avocado-toast generation, it's that they will never, ever own a home. It's certainly true that the 2008 crash and the pandemic-era frenzy put many members of the generation behind the eight ball: The homeownership rate for people under 35 is lower for millennials than it was for boomers and Gen Xers at the same age, noted Jessica Lautz, the deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, citing Census Bureau data. But the situation is also more complicated. The tough early road put millennials behind baby boomers in terms of homeownership, but some are getting to where they want to be. Millennials aren't so much nonmovers as they are slow movers.

As of 2022, over half of millennials were homeowners. Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist at Redfin, told me millennials are pretty close to where Gen X was at their age, and they're closing the gap with boomers, too, even if they're still behind by five to 10 years.

"The baby boomer homeownership rate started to plateau when baby boomers reached the age of late 40s, early 50s. So I think that by the time the oldest millennials are in their late 40s, early 50s, that's probably when they're going to be much closer to baby boomers," Fairweather said. Boomers have been slow to downsize and give up their homes, but that will shift, too, she added, meaning more inventory on the market for younger generations.

It's not necessarily a question of no buying — it's a question of postponed buying. The median age of first-time homebuyers has reached a record high of 38 years old, the NAR says. Back in the '80s, people were buying their first homes in their late 20s. Millennials aren't locked out of the housing market forever; they're just not getting there until middle age.

I know what you might be thinking, or, at least, what I was thinking while going through a lot of this data: Not all millennials are floating through life hunky-dory, on track to catch up with their parents. As with many things in American society, the experiences of millennials are profoundly unequal, said Rob Gruijters, a sociologist at the University of Bristol who has studied the wealth gap among US millennials. Looking at medians and averages can paper over significant divisions within the generation. While wealthy millennials are doing better than their boomer parents, poorer millennials are doing worse.

"There's huge variation in wealth within generations, far more than there is between generations," he said. "Overall distribution of wealth has become more unequal within generations and also across the board."

Much like our quirks and go-to phrases, a lot of the disparity between millennials is influenced by how our boomer parents did, wealth- and incomewise. There's a high correlation between your wealth and occupation and those of your parents, Gruijters said, and in the case of wealth, it's often a matter of direct transmission in the forms of gifts and inheritance. "If your parents are wealthy, he said, "then you're also quite likely to be wealthy." Aging into your parents may be good, in that Mom and Dad have a house and inheritance to pass on to you, or bad, in that they basically tell you, "You're on your own, good luck."

On housing, Redfin's Fairweather told me that where your parents live and who they are have a big effect on millennials' experiences. Housing prices in coastal cities are a lot higher than they are in the middle of the country, thanks to differences in land costs, population density, and availability. So millennials attempting to keep up with their parents who tried their hands in larger urban areas may have a harder time keeping pace. If you're a 30-something making $150,000 a year, buying a home in San Francisco probably feels a lot more out of reach than it does in, say, Janesville, Wisconsin.

"There is a big trade-off millennials have to face," Fairweather said. "Can they really make it in the city or go somewhere more affordable and not have that city lifestyle?"

In other words, it may not be that all the millennials headed to the suburbs want to be there, but in some cases, they feel like they have no choice but to exit urban centers and swallow a longer commute in the process.

"The plurality are moving to the suburbs, but that's where the housing stock is," Lautz said. Some of it has to do with having school-age kids, for example, but a lot has to do with affordability and availability.

Redfin says Black millennials are half as likely to own a home as white millennials, which tracks with the experience of their boomer parents. But while the older generation has since caught up somewhat, it's not clear whether millennials will make the same (still short) strides. It's a case of one generation's wealth seeding the next generation in a country where a significant racial wealth gap exists.

"With homeownership becoming so unaffordable, it's widening that inequality gap by race and, obviously, by wealth as well," Fairweather said.

People buying their first homes have "substantially higher" incomes nowadays than in the past, Lautz said. "We also know that they're more likely to use stocks, they're more likely to use 401(k)s or cryptocurrency for their down payments," she said. "So that would indicate not only a higher income but a wealthier first-time homebuyer who can get into the market."

There are a lot of awkward parts to aging. You lose your cool factor. Your body starts to show more wear and tear. You realize the adult in the room is supposed to be you. It also means you start to think about your parents differently — what they achieved, what they didn't, what they were right (and wrong) about all along.

It can be uncomfortable to admit that you see more of your parents in yourself than you'd like. As much as millennials were supposed to be minimalists, they're loading up on stuff just as much as their stuff-loving predecessors. Politically, just like generations past, many are moving to the right as they age. They may have been reluctant to get married and have kids, but they're still hitting those milestones eventually.

Victoria Lamson, a 37-year-old who works in public relations and lives in San Francisco, acknowledges she was set up for success, generationally — her parents own a business, and they've instilled in her a lot of their traditional values around getting married and buying a home. Like many millennials, she wants to parent her children differently. She and her husband are also trying to travel more now instead of saving all their money for when they retire. Still, she knows her lifestyle isn't really a departure. When her children ask questions, she tries not to give the "because I said so" her parents gave her, but sometimes, she just can't stop herself. "There are definitely the moments that I have said that," she said.

While a lot of millennials may be turning into their boomer parents — just look at those Progressive commercials about it — it is, perhaps, hitting different. In modern history, younger generations have outdone their predecessors, the proverbial idea that you'd end up better off than your parents. But if they bought a home young, went to college, and had solid careers, it's hard to outdo that. Even matching it may feel like falling short.

Millennials are also weighed down by a pervasive sense of precarity. They remember 9/11, and they saw the economic bottom fall out during the Great Recession. They're also facing an uncertain future for government programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and the real winners in the economy are increasingly concentrated at the top.

"Even if they were in some ways keeping up with where they should have been had nothing changed in the economy, the massive fiscal gap that the country's facing is going to land on their heads as they reach retirement," Laurence Kotlikoff, a professor of economics at Boston University, said.

Maybe it will get figured out. Maybe it won't. Millennials' experience tells them to have some concerns.

The good news for millennials, on average, is that they are generally turning out OK, despite the headlines a decade ago proclaiming that lattes would doom them to eternal squalor. The bad news is that OK does not always feel great, especially in a culture where the expectation is you're constantly striving to do more and better.

For many people, there is something at least a bit charming in recognizing their parents in themselves. Millennials' kids are now rolling their eyes when songs from the 2000s come on in the car, just as millennials did when the boomers played their '70s hits. They understand why Mom was always turning the heat down, or why Dad insisted it was very important they know how to change a tire. As much as they complain about boomers being hoarders, they're now staring down their own stack of two-decade-old high school yearbooks.

Millennials aren't the lost generation after all. They're boomers 2.0, with a side of avocado toast.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• Babies born from January 1st will be part of Generation Beta, the newest generational label.
• Emerging technology, especially AI, will likely have a profound effect on their lives.
• The new generation replaces Gen Alpha, which included those born between 2010 and 2024.

Gen Alpha is about to have some competition.

Babies born from January 1st are part of Generation Beta, a label for those born from 2025 to 2039.

The research firm McCrindle said in a blog post that Gen Beta will make up 16% of the global population by 2035, and that many Gen Beta children will live to see the 22nd century.

The firm was founded by the social researcher Mark McCrindle, who coined the term Gen Alpha.

Here is a rundown of the generational buckets commonly used for those born in the last 100 years:

Gen Beta: 2025-2039

Gen Alpha: 2010-2024

Gen Z: 1997-2009

Millennials: 1981-1996

Generation X: 1965-1980

Boomers: 1946-1964

The Silent Generation: 1928-1945

Gen Beta is also expected to be heavily shaped by technology, just like their Gen Alpha forebears who have occasionally been nicknamed "iPad kids" due to their perceived reliance on tech.

McCrindle wrote that Gen Beta lives would be defined by AI and automation — and that they will face major societal challenges such as the climate crisis and global population shifts.

Parents of Gen Alpha kids are increasingly grappling with how to manage their children's relationship with technology and AI tools, which have become widespread since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

A study by the Pew Research Center released in November 2023 found that one in five students who had heard of ChatGPT used it to help with their schoolwork.

Parenting commentators previously told Business Insider that Gen Alpha parents should seek to keep their children off social media for as long as possible, citing the harmful impact it can have on mental health.

The validity of using generational tags has been questioned in the past.

Pew Research Center president Michael Dimock cautioned in 2019 that it was best to view the categories as a lens to think about societal change, rather than a label with which to oversimplify differences between groups.

• I left the workforce years ago because I struggled to connect with baby boomers in the workplace.
• As a Gen Xer, I now work with millennials and love it.
• Millennial bosses understand that personal issues come up and work can't always come first.

In my early 40s, I did something revolutionary: I got a full-time job.

I'd been self-employed for over a decade, but the siren song of paid benefits was too strong to ignore. Within hours of starting in my new position, it became clear that I was an anomaly. I was one of only two members of my team over the age of 30, and there was an age gap of 10 to 18 years between me and my other seven coworkers.

Much to my relief, every member of that team was happy to teach me the ins and outs of the new job — including the loads of technology I needed to know. They didn't roll their eyes or make under-their-breath comments about old people and computers. They happily showed me the way.

As a Gen Xer, I have worked closely with millennials for over 15 years and with younger bosses for at least half that time. While they have been burdened with a lot of slander, I love working with millennials. They're collaborative and recognize that in helping their coworkers, they're helping achieve communal goals.

I struggled to work with older generations

I realize that no generation is a monolith, and it can be irresponsible to group people together. But we are all shaped by the events that transpire over our lifetimes, particularly those in the forefront during our formative years. So yeah, we have a lot in common with other people born around the same time.

I felt the rift between generations early on in my career. Honestly, it was the success-at-any-cost attitude of the baby boomers that pushed me out of the traditional workforce.

For example, I had one manager who couldn't understand why I didn't want to apply for a promotion. When I told him I needed all my bandwidth to be present for my children, he openly judged me, which affected my career trajectory.

I learned millennials are different

When they were young, millennials were often described as entitled. They were seen as doted on by hyper-involved parents.

But after working closely with them for years, I know that isn't the case. To me, it seems many millennials believe they can create lives they love.

Every younger boss I've had has encouraged me to stay home when I'm not feeling well, to prioritize my family, and to have fun at work. They recognize that my job is not my life but that while I'm in the building, I should be encouraged to do my best and enjoy myself as much as possible.

I once asked one of my favorite millennial bosses about filling out my timesheet. I'd had to miss work because my dog needed emergency vet care. I asked if I should call it a personal day or use vacation time.

"That was a sick day!" she said. "Anything that impacts your health or wellness counts as sick time."

She was the one who told me that volunteering at my children's school would benefit our team; we were working on creating volunteer opportunities for kids, after all. As far as she was concerned, whatever was going on in my life was relevant to work, and anything that interfered with work was a reason to take time off.

The workplace is about to shift again

It's about time we realize, as a culture, that young people are smart and savvy and have a lot to teach the rest of us.

It's funny to watch the rivalry between millennials and Gen Z play out via social media memes; each generation revels in being the young, cool disruptor and eventually has to reckon with being the old, staid boss who's responsible for keeping the machinery running.

This can lead to bitterness and resignation, or it can result in leaders who remember that life is supposed to be enjoyable and work is just work. I think the millennials are in the latter camp, and I'm happy to keep working for them until Gen Z becomes the boss of everything.

• Jamie Lynch, an operations manager, has noticed key differences in her employees of different ages.
• Gen Z values work-life balance, unlike older generations who prioritize job commitment.
• COVID-19 influenced Gen Z's approach to work, emphasizing health over climbing the ladder.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jamie Lynch, a 34-year-old operations manager and content creator in Ontario, Canada. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've been an operations manager for eight years at various companies, including my latest role at a real-estate media company.

I now also run Simply Jamie, where I create content focused on conversations with my Gen Z employees on social media.

As a manager who has worked with people of all ages, I've noticed differences between employees of different generations.

They aren't necessarily bad, but they're eye-opening differences in how we work. Here are four of the biggest ones I've noticed.

1. To call out or not to call out

For the most part, boomers won't call off work. Instead, they might come to work and say, "My car broke down. I had to borrow my neighbor's car to arrive on time," — but they still made it in.

Millennials can be that way, too. When I worked at a restaurant in high school, my manager still expected me to come to work if I was sick — there wasn't an option or a second thought about not working.

Gen Z, on the other hand, might say, "Well, my car is broken," or "I'm sick, so I can't come in." They don't feel an overwhelming guilt about calling in sick when needed.

I think some of this feeling stems from the COVID-19 pandemic. For three years, we told everyone not to leave their houses if they felt sick, and the younger generation has carried that message into the workplace.

I know some employees in the older generation dislike the younger generation for it, but I respect them, and I wish I had a bit more of their work-life balance.

2. To make small talk or to just not

Boomers and millennials are more known for 'water cooler' talk — or small talk conversations in the office. Before technology took over, that's what everyone did. You'd talk about the weather; we weren't all holding phones to entertain us.

Now, Gen Z doesn't feel the need to have those awkward conversations at work. They've grown up with a new form of distraction that previous generations did not have.

COVID-19 also occurred at a critical juncture in the lives of many members of the younger generation, causing them to miss experiences like proms and face the challenge of attending college from home because they had nothing else. Due to this, they keep to themselves.

I don't blame Gen Z, but older generations judge younger ones for being less social.

3. What they know and what they don't

Gen Z is tech-savvy. I consider myself low-tech and often ask my younger employees for help with my phone. They can also grasp new things quickly.

I've noticed that Gen Z sometimes doesn't know how to do other important things, like writing a check, driving without a GPS, or mailing a letter — that's a big one. To be fair, why would they? It's rare for people to send letters anymore.

Boomers can do these things as they grew up doing them, but technology is often new and harder for them since they spent most of their lives without it. Learning how to sign in and out of apps, for instance, can be a bit more difficult.

4. What they care about

The older generations seem to be more worried about job security. They believe in working hard because that's what you're supposed to do: you go to work and you work.

They're also more willing to deal with difficult bosses. I remember my mom would say, "You just can't let people get to you. All your bosses are going to suck," and that was the widely held belief.

Gen Z, however, has a different mindset. They're not as focused on getting promoted or constantly moving up. They need money and want a job, but they're not necessarily aiming to climb the ladder.

Gen Z also sets stronger boundaries around things like criticism. I don't think it's bad — if your job isn't your whole life and personality, why should you worry about losing it?

Gen Z does seem to care about social issues, like saving the planet. For example, reusable cups are important to them.

Every generation brings something different to the workplace, a whole new set of strengths and weaknesses. Understanding and using them as advantages is the key to harmoniously working together.

• A mother uses holiday traditions to connect her children with their family history.
• She shares stories, photos, and heirlooms to keep memories of past generations alive.
• Family gatherings, food, and music help bridge the gap between past and present.

The holidays have always been important to me and my family. Growing up, my grandparents and foster mother made sure that November and December were filled with parties and events that both exhausted our family and filled us with joy. I still think fondly of these times and draw on them for inspiration as I'm working to create new memories with my kids, ages 19, 18, 13, and 11.

In addition to being fun, passing along old traditions and sharing memories has helped me as I've grieved the shrinking of the family I grew up with. Telling cherished stories helps keep memories alive.

For example, my foster mother, Esther, and her three biological children, who I came to know as my sisters and brother, had a fake cardboard fireplace we'd line with stockings every year. I now relay this story to my kids in front of our real fireplace as we decorate our tree. It helps them to get to know a bit about my humble beginnings and about the creativity of a woman they never had the chance to meet.

Here are other ways I help keep holiday traditions and the spirit of the past alive each year.

Curating a home full of history

I decorate our home with many holiday items my grandmother passed down to me. There are the marshmallow-white snowball people, a favorite of hers, that I now display on my bookshelf. My Christmas tree is covered with ornaments from the 1960s through today. When my children and I unwrap these mementos each year, I recall moments from when I was a kid and share those stories with them.

Now, I buy each of my children their own special ornament each year to remind them of our family and this time we're spending together. One day, they will have their own collection of ornaments and stories to pass down.

Photos help keep memories top-of-mind

The holidays have always been about family. But many of the people who made my holiday celebrations so magical are gone now. To remember them, I share pictures with my kids. I have five albums filled with memories of Christmases past, and we look at them every year.

One favorite snapshot shows our family singing along with Mitch Miller, the famous composer we listened to every Christmas on the old record player. This annual gathering was organized by my aunt, who dressed in silly holiday hats and sweaters. Another image shows one of the last Christmases we'd celebrate with Gram and Gramps. There are also pictures of me visiting Santa at the mall.

I share these images to connect my children to people they knew briefly or not at all. These people are a part of who I am and are woven into the fabric of who my children will become.

Coming together over food is a favorite pastime

My Italian family treasured food, and the time we shared creating meals — especially around the holidays. I fondly recall my aunts and grandmother gathered in the kitchen and exchanging stories, while preparing our favorite dishes.

For big holidays, we now set the dining room table, which I inherited from my grandparents, with the Noritake china my grandmother also passed down to me. The delicate flowers dancing along the dishes' edges remind me of holiday dinners with her. Even more of her cherished trinkets decorate the dining room, helping to make it feel like she is there with us as we eat our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

In the kitchen on Christmas Eve, we have a tradition of baking Italian cookies like the ones my great-grandmother used to make. They never taste exactly like Grams. But what they lack in authenticity, they make up for with the memories they bring.

A party brings it all together

For years we have hosted our own Christmas party, a homage to the parties of my youth. Now, they have become a tradition I've created with and for my family. We invite friends and family — sometimes as many as 100 people. We cook too much food and have even welcomed special visitors like Santa through the years. I play music by Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, and Johnny Mathis, making sure my kids know these classic carols were my grandmother's favorites.

Sharing these traditions allows me to give my kids a glimpse of my past. I have transitioned from one family to another, but I still remember where I came from and make sure my kids will do the same one day. I have fostered relationships that would have otherwise disappeared, making the holidays a time we look forward to each year and reminding my kids that the true meaning of these special days is family.