Ok, so in class the other night we talked about millenials. No idea? Well, me either.
A 2007 episode of 60 minutes called The Age of the Millenials discussed the idea that millenials are a tech-savvy generation that realize their value in the workforce and have no loyalties to anyone but themselves.
They are the late teens and twenty somethings born roughly between 1980 – 1995. The gist of the conversation was that bosses in the 2000’s will have to adjust to keep millenials happy, healthy and more importantly employed at their company. Yea, yea we all get it. They want what they want, they want it now and they want it at a very inflated salary. Here is the thing…I am a millennial and frankly, I was not impressed with some of the ideas surrounding this generation. I get that people do not want to pay their dues anymore and they want to be rewarded constantly, even for mediocrity. However, I am not one of the people that want kudos unless I deserve them. I do agree that praise goes a lot farther then reprimand, but did you ever stop to think that if everyone is special…no one is special.
Nowadays, the show stated that all the kids on the sports team get a trophy just for participating. Great! What happens when they get into the real world and think they are amazing just because they exist? It is not realistic. On the flip side, how do we every really know if we deserve the praise we are getting from someone or if it is some sort of obligatory response to our generation.
The video we watched mentioned how these young 20 something guys make a ton of money consulting with millenials. It is pretty simple. Do your job and do not expect to be the boss after a week. Mary Crane mentioned in her consultation that you should cover your tattoos for an interview. I mean really? Are we giving these people jobs? I guess in the end it all seems like common sense to me.
What do you think?
If you manage a millenial or two, you might find this article helpful…
