In the business world, millennials have quite a bad rap. According to Monster.com, perceptions of millennials in the workplace include:
- “They’re entitled.”
- “They want a trophy for showing up.”
- “They’re easily sidetracked by technology.”
- “They’re job hoppers.”
- “They want special privileges.”
Sound familiar to any of you? As I recall, there were similar criticisms of Generation X (my generation) when we were just starting out in the workplace. Check out this article from a 1990 issue of Time Magazine if you don’t believe me. Here are a few choice excerpts:
- “They crave entertainment, but their attention span is as short as one zap of a TV dial.”
- “Companies are discovering that to win the best talent, they must cater to a young work force that is considered overly sensitive at best and lazy at worst.”
- “These youngsters are starting to use their bargaining power to get more of what they feel is coming to them.”
- “… young adults are flighty if they find their workplace harsh or inflexible.”
- “Marketers are confounded as they try to reach a generation so rootless and noncommittal.”
Déjà vu. It seems that these sorts of perceptions don’t describe a certain generation, but rather young people in general. Why do we expect today’s recent graduates to choose a career path and stick with it right after college? Shouldn’t they experiment so they can figure out what it is exactly that they want to do? And is it so bad that they seek flexible, positive workplace environments? That’s a completely reasonable wish.
I should also point out that I work with many millennials, none of whom displays laziness or a sense of entitlement. They’re hard workers and committed to their careers. Nor do I feel that there is much of a generation gap between us beyond, perhaps, different comfort levels with distractions. But even if there were such a gap, it would certainly narrow in the coming years. That’s when we’ll band together to complain about the kids now attending nursery school who will eventually be tagged with their own generational moniker, and, soon enough, drive us all crazy.