Cathy Frost didn't know what to make of the new administrative assistant when she began suggesting ways to improve her staffing company.

"I thought, who is this person trying to tell me how to run my business?" said Frost, president of BennettFrost Personnel Services in Fresno, Calif. "I was offended."

But Frost's icy attitude soon melted as she realized her employee, Eloisa Valdez, 28, was just being herself: confident, articulate and technologically savvy.

And Valdez's ideas were good, including creating an online job application to tap a larger number of potential recruits.

"Sometimes it isn't just about having lots of experience," Valdez said. "It is about having good ideas and having someone listen to you."

Valdez is a millennial, a new generation of young workers. Ranging in age from 21 to 29, they have the potential to create lasting change in the workplace because of the way they live, communicate and view their jobs.

And managing millennials, as Frost learned, can be challenging.

"I had to be open to change and accept criticism of the system we had created," she said. "I also had to look at technology a bit different; it really forced me to see it through her eyes."

A recent study by JWT, a New York-based advertising agency, found that millennials, compared with other generations, place a higher value on work-life balance, expect their employers to adapt to them and are more likely to rank fun and stimulation as one of their top five ideal job requirements.

Ann Mack, director of trend-spotting for JWT, said millennials aren't the type to run out of the office when the clock strikes 5 p.m.

"They are equipped through technology to be on all the time," Mack said. "They can be checking their e-mail and responding to someone in Shanghai as soon as they get up in the morning."

As a result, millennials demand work schedules that provide flexibility.

Trish Moratto, 23, a public-relations professional in Fresno, says she doesn't mind giving her clients access to her personal cell phone and having them call her during her off hours.

At the same time, she appreciates that her boss doesn't ask her where she is every minute of the day.

"The work is always done and the clients are always happy," said Moratto, of Catalano Fenske and Associates. "And that is what is important."

Millennials also like lots of positive strokes, are chronic multitaskers and can be outspoken to a fault, experts say.

Fresno State business management professor Julie Olson-Buchanan said much of millennials' behavior has been shaped by their upbringing. Many have had computers in their homes while growing up and are highly skilled at using technology.

It's also given them an added dose of confidence and contributed to their eagerness to share their opinions in the workplace.

Tate Hill, 29, said millennials enjoy sharing their thoughts on personal Web sites, listservs or blogs.

"Sometimes you don't know if you are communicating with one person or 1,000 people," said Hill, vice president of Central Valley Youth Leadership Institute in Fresno. "And it doesn't always matter. Some people are looking for the opportunity for self-expression."

But millennials don't always know when to keep their opinions to themselves. Openly complaining and over-sharing can create conflict, experts say.

"They have a Wikipedia-like knowledge and can easily put forth their ideas, even debate their superiors," Mack said. "But they also don't know when to step back a little bit and listen and learn from the experience of their elders. They know when to speak up; they just don't always know when to shut up."

At B-K Lighting in Madera, Calif., Angel de la Torre, director of human resources, says she occasionally reminds some of the younger production workers what is appropriate work behavior and what isn't.

"It seems like whatever is in their heads comes out of their mouths," De la Torre said. "And that isn't always a good thing."

As children, millennials grew up during fairly robust economic times, rode in cars with "Baby on Board" signs and believed they were always winners.

"It didn't seem to matter if your Little League team came in ninth place, you still got a trophy," Mack said. "And as adults, millennials are wanting that same type of recognition in the workplace."