1. Introduction
Not many people fully know the implications of the Millennials entering the workforce, but as more research has been gathered it helps company executives and hiring managers make sense of the changing nature of the workplace. This new generation entering the workforce is known as “Generation Y” for their curiosity and questioning of multiple aspects of their lives. As noted in an article, “By 2025, they will become 75 per cent of the global work force and more are stepping into management positions every day” (Schawbel 1). The millennials will make up a vast majority of the workforce and their entrance combined with the population already in the workplace, who are working longer to support themselves financially after
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For example, Millennials are regarded as being sheltered by their parents, which hinders their ability to get out and do things for themselves. Millennial parents have been described as “helicopter parents” as their parents have always been close by to prevent mistakes that their children could make or make decisions on behalf of their children. Another weakness is that some Millennials experience is the fact that they are not willing to go the extra mile or be hardworking like older generations. In an article written by William Browning spoke with Heather Downs who stated, “But the biggest issues being seen deal with time. Traditionalists and baby boomers tend to believe that the more eight-hour days a person can get in, the better. Workers in their 20s, though, lean more toward the notion that if a person can finish an eight-hour job in four, they can go home early” (1). Instead of working extra hours to get ahead or seek out extra responsibilities to demonstrate their ability, Millennials finish the work that they have been assigned and when finished they feel as if they can leave. Not always, are promotions given out based on an employee’s ability to complete projects in a timely fashion, but given on an employee’s willingness to work for the things that they want and expect a pat on the back for doing what is expected of …show more content…
Millennials are overconfident in categories that they have been questioned about as compared to what surveys of hiring executives say. One topic that has been repeatedly criticized about Millennials is the fact that they do not stay with companies for long periods of time. Baby Boomers and even Generation X’ers for the most part get a job with a company after they have finished college and stay with them until they retire, excluding extreme cases. The moving of locations did not occur due to getting a job with a competitor, but rather relocation to a new region that the company operated in as one advanced their career. Loyalty is something that means a lot to older generations, who feel as if the Millennials are too willing to jump ship when times get tough or they are not satisfied with the ways things are going in their job instead of sticking things through. The idea of instant gratification notes that when Millennials do not get a reward or feel some kind of benefit from the things that they do, they are not satisfied, because they do not see things in the long term, but rather the short term. Surveys showed the disparity in what is thought about company loyalty. “82 per cent of Millennials say they 're loyal to employers - one per cent of HR professionals said Millennials were loyal to
In the article “Why Your Office Needs More Bratty Millennials”, the author Emily Matchar expresses a variety of reasons why the new generation in the workforce (millennials) needs to have their voices heard. She uses different terms to discuss this generation of workers, including Generation Y, another common name for millennials. Matchar’s exposition of why millennials are changing the workplace is broken down into specific points. She references the declining job market and why, due to circumstance, it is hard for millennials to get jobs as it is. Moreover, millennials are now pushing for a “customizable” workplace, such as being able to set their own hours.
Boomer’s see millennial’s as having a short attention span which is not what millennial’s intend. If they don’t see a job working out, they are faster to jump ship than Boomer’s and that fearless attitude actually leverages them more power with their company. Sherry Buffington, co-author of Exciting Oz: How the New American Workforce Is Changing the Face of Business Forever and What Companies Must Do to Thrive, says that they have the upper hand because they are perfectly fine working dozens of different jobs in their lifetime. “In a survey conducted by IdeaPaint of 600 employed Millennials, 49 percent believe that poor management is dragging their company down; 45 percent attribute that to the lack or misuse of technology solutions.” (Avallon) This helps the reader to better understand the mentality of millennial’s. They are typically more tech savvy then their older bosses and feel they could make more of an impact if they were in charge. Millennial’s are hard-wired to think that time really is their most important resource. If they feel they aren’t being treated completely fair then they won’t hesitate about trying to find a new
The millennial generation is made up of people that were born from 1978-1999. People from older generations say the millennial generation people are growing up being unprepared for the real world. In an article titled “The Tethered Generation” written by Kathryn Tyler she talks about why the millennial generation is so different than any other generation. She also explains how they depend heavily on their parents well into adulthood. In this article Tyler allows the reader to see why HR professionals are worried about the millennial generation entering their work force. Using Toulmin’s schema the reader can judge the effectiveness of Tyler’s essay to the audience, and this schema is used to persuade the audience to
Generation Y, more commonly referred to as the “millennials”, is today’s group of young people. Similar to other generations, each cohort is labeled with unique characteristics and inevitably faces adversities while taking its place in society. Many American’s today debate their views on the youngster generation, but none the less all sides can agree the discussion has become a hot topic. Catherin Rampell creates an open discussion in her article, A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much, addressing the main issue: Are millennials a generation of slackers. I feel strongly that my views align with Rampell’s, in believing my generation has already begun to show its capability of doing great things. Through analysis of the text and my own personal experience I am able to dispute the opposition towards my generation as well as, express the positive relationship of millennials in
Millennials are accused of being tough to manage, behaving entitled, unfocused, lazy, narcissistic; however, they seek to have a purpose that they love and make an impact. Yet, the more they receive, they are not happy. Sinek jokingly states that they could be offered “free food and bean bags, because that is what they want, and they will still not be happy.” According to Sinek, there is a missing piece for millennials, furthermore, he goes on to say there are four characteristics that make millennials the way they are, “parenting, technology, impatience, and environment.” (2016).
With the current change in demographics throughout the workforce, organizations are feeling the effects of a larger percentage of baby boomers retiring and a large percentage of millennial new entrants. The words used to describe millennial employees, “spoiled, trophy kids, ambitious”, seem to be as everlasting as the constructive and negative perspectives attached to them. Many can debate on the entitlement of these employees within an organization, how these employees can be groomed and managed to better fit the organization, the positive and negative attributes they bring into the workplace, and how the preceding can benefit or derail the effectiveness of an organization. Nonetheless, a harder debate, comes about in denying that organizations must adjust to and integrate these employees into the workforce.
Microgeneration’s are already rising and horrifying the group right before them, an example needs to be set to show them that it is possible to work through the generational differences (Stein). People have power in numbers and currently the separation between age and features of generations are preventing them from being one workforce, working together to achieve a common goal—the wellbeing of an entire society. All groups can make an effort to close the gap by being more accepting and open minded to change. As Millennials run into setbacks in their advanced methods, previous generations can help and explain the foundational way of operation. While previous generations fall behind in technological advancements, Millennials can share their expertise on technology. Every generation has its flaws and together the holes can be filled, simply with a little optimism and collaborative work. The key to closing this gap is education – knowledge of the past and present. Programs such like Pollak’s initiative to work with companies and help train directors how to manage and market to the Millennial generation of young adults will contribute to a better understanding on how to handle workplace confrontations (qtd. in Dowdy). Lastly, Millennials too have some contributions they can make to close the gap. As understanding as they are, they
By 2025, about 75% of the American workforce will be made up of Generation Y workers, said Emily Matchar, author of “Why Your Office Needs More Bratty Millennials.” Generation Y, also known as millennials, are those who were born within the years 1982 and 1999. Time management has become a persistent issue for people in the United States because of the lack of flexibility in the workforce. Work is taking over people’s lives. The current generation of workers tend not to demand because of the fear of unemployment; jobs are scarce these days. Generation Y workers have shown that they will not accept today’s hierarchical workplace, on the contrary, they will begin to change the workplace to their likings.
Have you ever worked for a company that has a mixed age of workers? The article, “What Happens When Millennials Run The Workplace?” published in The New York Times in March 2016 is about millennials starting a business and running a successful website. According to Dictionary.com, a millennial is, “a person born in the 1980s or 1990s, especially in the U.S.; a member of Generation Y”. The website “Mic” was created about five years ago in New York. It was created to appeal to millennials and to provide a new type of work environment for millennials. “Mic” has one-hundred six people on their staff writing stories like “When Men Draw Vaginas” or “Don’t Ban Muslims, Ban Hoverboards”. Even though this company was created to appeal to millennials,
Upon entering the workforce, this generation worked for organizations that had “clear lines of authority, strict assignment of responsibilities, rank based on seniority, and an implied work contract; they expected to work for the same company until retirement and valued job security and stability” (Fore, 2013). However, because this generation was often absorbed with the past, “technology represented an unpleasant change that required training and adjustment, as it affected both their work and personal lives” (Fore, 2013).
Workers are often pitted against each other in the work place as a form of competition. One division that is commonly seen is gender and race, but there is also a divide concerning age that isn’t discussed as frequently. Baby Boomers are those who was born between 1946-1964, when WWII soldiers came back home, settled down and started the “Baby Boom”. While Millennials are those born around 1981-2000, and have a similar population size as Baby Boomers. In the workplace, Millennials are categorized as being bad workers due to how they were raised in sheltered lifestyles and require a different environment than the previous generation, but that is not accurate. Even though the two generations view work different, sometimes to the point of conflict,
Stereotyped in popular media as whining, self-absorbed, narcissistic, overindulged and tech-addled, the Millennial generation - born 1980 through 2000 - is generally considered to be the epitome of spoiled unreasonableness. Now that Millennials are making strides in the workplace, it is evident that those stereotypes are based more on anecdotes rather than reality. In fact it now appears that they very much echo their Boomer parents, which is why they are often referred to as Echo Boomers. Simply put, where Boomers have an optimistic outlook of the world, Millennials are hopeful; where Boomer work ethic is driven, Millennials are determined; where Boomers have a love / hate relationship with authority, Millennials treat authority with politeness; where Boomers believe in leadership by consensus, Millennials believe in leadership by pulling together; and where personal gratification is the impetus for Boomer relationships, Millennials have no personal motivation for relationships which are inclusive and with no boundaries (Zemke, Raines & Filipczak, 2013).
Klobucher, T 2011, Characteristics of Generation 2020: Generations at Work, The Great Workplace Revolution, accessed 11 November 2013, http://www.thegreatworkplacerevolution.com/characteristics-of-generation-2020-generations-at-work/
In the interview, “Millennials in the Workplace” with Simon Sinek, he implores that millennials should find a balance between social media and their physical life. One of the strategies that Sinek uses is parallel structure, where he states the four reasons why millennials are being very criticized nowadays, “ It can be broken down into 4 pieces actually. 1 Parenting. 2 Technology. 3 Impatience. 4 Environment. The generation that is called the millennials, too many of them grew up subject to “failed parenting strategies.” (2017, 1:44).
They struggle with low self-esteem. They struggle with making independent decisions. They struggle with succeeding in the workforce. However, none of these struggles are their fault. They are the millennials. According to Simon Sinek, millennials are a group of young, ambitious and hardworking individuals currently entering the workforce. Nonetheless, they are encountering hurdles that have been unheard of until now due to several external factors. As there are constant changes in societal expectations as well as personal expectations, millennials often have difficulty finding where they truly belong. Over the course of his discussion, Sinek targets several different factors and how they contribute to the downfall and characteristics of millennials. Therefore, I believe that there is no doubt that Sinek’s depiction of millennials as low self-esteemed and narcissistic