Is it really the kid’s fault? Being a young adult myself at the age of 21, I can remember one instance at a youth football practice several years ago in which I first heard that question being asked. As we were doing our practice warm-up drills, our teammate and his mother, were running late, frantically approached the coach and expressed that her son wasn’t ready in time and that is why they were late. This was a common occurrence for this individual and his mother. After about a week or so my coach, without any hesitation, politely said to the mom, “Is it really the kid’s fault?” This phrase and its message has stuck with me for quite some time, but only being brought to my attention again recently. The comparison comes with Millennials in the workforce. This has become a very controversial topic as this large generation begins to overtake the workforce.
In professions such as Police Forces, Real Estate, and High-Tech companies there are as many as 70-80% Millennial employees. This number is continually growing and in an interview with Forbes.com, Dan Negroni stated, “In the next ten years, 75% of the workplace will be Millennials no matter where you are”. Unfortunately, early Millennials have left a bad taste in the mouths of most GenXers and Baby Boomers in the workplace now. Just maybe, it’s not totally our fault! Sure, we have made some bad choices along the way with who we place as our role models (teenagers and young adults deemed as “cool” by the lowest of standards), and maybe we act a bit entitled sometimes, but I think if we all take a step back and look at some of the reasoning behind our actions, us Millennials can show our older colleagues, managers, and CEOs who run the corporate world, that we have so much to offer and we are willing to work for the opportunity to prove it.
Generation after generation has complained about the ones to come after them. I myself joke about how my niece and nephews between the ages of two and eight will burn our world to the ground. Complaining won’t help, and it only discourages Millennials more when we hear stereotypes that only pertain to a miniscule portion of us. The technology boom that we grew up in, has set us up with both an advantage and disadvantage. Millennials are taking the IT Industry by storm because for most of us, technology is all we know. I often find myself having to explain certain technology features to my parents, their friends, and even bosses. On the flip side, we are also known to have our head in our phones which has created a lack of confidence and the ability to maneuver social situations. This may be true, but Millennials have been at the forefront of several of these innovations that streamline processes, save time, and provide better efficiency.
With a topic that has gained this much attention, and at the rate in which Millennials are entering the workforce, the rumors that generalize our entire demographic are only based on a small, selective, group of people. Some rumors state we are lazy, they say we don’t want or know how to work for what we want, others say we want “Casual Friday” every day. We’ve all heard the one about Millennials constantly needing to be rewarded and my all-time favorite, the ‘Participation Trophy.’ I agree completely; some Millennials do need the constant praise and the unearned reward, but again, these generalizations are directed towards a selective group and is not accurate for the majority. This has left much of the Millennial population feeling disheartened and unsure how to navigate their way through professional organizations. Many feel they enter professional situations at a disadvantage based on the generalizations made based solely on the year they were born.
Millennials overall are a headstrong and competitive group of workers. A major problem we face is that we want too much responsibility and respect before it has been rightfully earned. Personally, it can be very frustrating when someone assumes I do not know what they are talking about just because of my age. On the contrary, I have caught myself saying that I fully understand something when I have questions, in fear that I will not be given the opportunity to prove myself and gain respect. There is no fault to be had on either party in the situation, it all comes down to lack of communication and avoidance of the subject.
Looking deeper into the situation, someone who wants the chance to prove themselves can be the greatest asset to your company. Someone who wants to be pushed and craves more responsibility is every boss’ dream and with the right guidance, Millennials combined with the technological advances, can take the workforce to a new and improved level. Not every company is going to be Millennial driven, where you throw on a t-shirt and jeans, go to the office for five hours with a two-hour lunch break, throwing the Frisbee with the guys on the lawn. Millennials and our predecessors need to work on communication, giving respect that goes both ways, and learning to use each individual’s strengths to drive efficiency and success. Millennials are going to run the world very soon. It is crucial that we get over our differences no matter how great they may be, and work on improving relationships for the sake of a better, smarter future.