Jeffrey Zaslow's The Most-Praised Generation Goes To Work

People change as time moves on. The new generation is overtaking the old generation in the working world. Bringing with them the culture of praise as it worked its way into the adult world. In his essay, The Most-Praised Generation Goes to Work, Jeffrey Zaslow states, “A lot of today’s young adults feel insecure if they’re not regularly complimented.” Although some of his arguments are questionable, I agreed with Zaslow. Many of the young adults consider compliments as beneficial and need it badly in resulting of building their self-esteem, being accept, and ease their ego.
Parents these days seem to over praise their children, seeing that it is their job to building self-esteem. Thus, either influencing a positive or negative impact onto the child. And whatever effect it causes, it defines a child’s self-esteem when he/she is growing up and later

in life. Zaslow argues that “many officeholders are now joining the American’s praise parade to hold on to young workers” (553). Specifically, pointing toward the current generation. That unlike the old generation where they prefer to be praised publicly, the young generation thirst after the self-fulfilling treats. Zaslow also stated that the current generation gets frustrated from working hard and not getting the praised they work for. In my opinion, I said that this is an example of undervaluing the youngsters. Not all young adults, regardless if they are raised in an overpraising environment or not, turn out to be the same. I, myself, like to compliment or praise for the work I have done. Although my parent never really complimented me on my achievements, I know that they feel proud deep inside. Most of us depend and need compliments. Building our self-esteem gives us the strength to boost ourselves when it comes to working and convert disappointment to improve rather than takings criticisms personally.
Acceptance is closely related to praise. We all long to be accept by someone. To know that our actions and contributions help an effort or cause. To be noticed by others and wanting to be someone of significance. Employers are finding ways to adjust to the young adults who are more self-centered than the previous generation. Knowing which praise or compliment to use in which situation benefit to both the employer and the employee. Young adults these days yearn for positive input from superiors due to the heightened pressure to perform in today’s demanding firm. Even if the job they are working are not the job they wanted, having a secure spot on their job is encouraging. In fact, one of the main reason why people are so dissatisfied with their jobs is that they are never thanked or given any recognition for their effort. So one way is to offer genuine thanks. Make them feel more accepted. By establishing that sense of belonging is more importance to adults than anything
We all have an ego.

We all yearn to feel important. Demanding respect, wants of approval, and seeking accomplishment. When our ego is starved, we seek for nourishment for it in any way we can get it. We have to have an affirmation every day that our worth as a human being is still intact and that we are appreciated and notice. So to satisfy our ego, we throw away our voice and instead put effort into completing our work in order to hear those praises or compliment. In result, we turn exactly into what is depicted in Andy Singer’s the cartoon picture, “Quitting Fantasies” (pg. 259). In fantasy, no matter how we wish to voice our opinion to our boss and tell how we feel about them, when it comes to reality we want to feel wanted by our boss. Wanting to be recognize therefore satisfy our need for personal worth. It is, however, essential to enhance our prospect’s ego in some way. Make sure that the praises that we give to people is sincere and genuine, so that everyone will feel welcome. That when presenting oneself, we are not in a manner that would instills the feeling of threats, competition, jealousy, and

mistrust.