Millennials Don't Give a Shit About Swearing at Work

As millennials are the most over-analyzed, scrutinized, and scapegoated generation since humans evolved from microbes, it’s probably no surprise that as a demographic, millennials curse with reckless abandon.

How do we know this? A study conducted by the work management platform Wrike surveyed 1,500 Americans to see how often they use swear words at work. Unsurprisingly, compared with the Listerine-washed mouth of your older, hiring manager from the cast of Happy Days, millennials curse a fuckton.

When asked if swearing at work was a big deal, 45% of millennials said no, perhaps while muttering an obscenity and checking Instagram. Additionally, 66% of millennials confessed to cursing at work, while their baby-boomer counterparts do so at a less staggering clip of 54%. One-third of millennials believe that swearing can help strengthen a team, and 36% agree that profanity is indicative of passion -- the latter of which makes perfect sense if you’ve ever seen Glenngary Glenn Ross.

Millennial women are more prone to cursing in the office than men -- 75% of female managers admit to swearing on the job --  while 58% of Gen Xers and Boomers in similar positions use expletives on the clock.

The results aren’t so surprising really. When the term “millennial” is basically shorthand for “entitled-selfie-snapping-basement-dwelling-cry-baby," it's no wonder our cohort is so damn vulgar.  

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Sam Blum is a News Staff Writer for Thrillist. He's also a martial arts and music nerd who appreciates a fine sandwich and cute dogs. Find his clips in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club and Vice. He's on Twitter @Blumnessmonster.