Myths about a younger workforce
In conversation this weekend, two people mentioned to me how much trouble they were having with the younger people in their office. I think it really boiled down to these younger people being lazy and trying to take (stupid) short cuts. And wow, they DID have some good stories to tell! I was amazed!
But I asked how young these people were that they were having issues with – 24.
I’m 25.
Hee hee. So I mentioned that in my office, we have a large workforce of “trainees” – younger people in the 20s age group that are actually doing a lot of hard work. The Trainee Program is a two or three year program in which you have a coach and mentor, and actually get to do different “rotations” in the office to see what area of work best suits you, and to help you become a more diverse employee.*
We had a “Trainee Forum” in August. It was a lot of seminars, but also networking between the trainees. I was amazed to find out a lot of the people I work with are trainees. I assumed that because of their professionalism, they had already made it through the Trainee Program.
Anyway, the things they were complaining about wasn’t actually news to me. I’ve heard these statistics about the younger workforce – they’re more lazy, they have less dedication and bad attitudes, there’s no work loyalty, etc. And I’ve definitely witnessed it! I guess it just made me realize how lucky, and proud I should be to work for a company where this is not the case in the younger workers.
Have you witnessed any of these myths of younger workforce? Are they myths at all?
Correction on yesterday’s post: Steven did not bribe the kids with cookies to get out of the street. He asked them to get out of the street, then offered them fresh cookies, so he wouldn’t seem mean (I think? I wasn’t there).
*I realize I am very lucky to have been given this opportunity.
Themocracy
I hate to say this but I fully believe that the younger workforce fits most of those myths most of the time. I don’t want to use absolutes because there are amazing younger workers just the same as there are lazy older workers but in general? Yes, the 20-something generation has much less of a work ethic than my generation does (I am 38).
I think though that the way my generation was brought up in general was much more strict than this current generation and that may have a lot to do with it.
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As someone who employs young workers, it’s a mixed bag. There are those who don’t seem to want to put forth much effort, and there are those who are smart and efficient, and work circles around the rest of us. I’m really fortunate right now to have two of the latter working for me. Some days, it’s hard for me to keep ahead of them.
I agree that it can be a mixed bag; I began my current job at 24. They took a huge risk hiring me at a high admin level with very little experience. But I think they saw it me someone who is wiser and more mature than the number on her license. And not to brag, but I am. Even now, I find it hard to relate with people my own age. Some of the people I work with, up to 5 years older than me, are more dramatic that the kids in the actual school. So while I do think the younger generation is by nature more lazy, I think that it depends much less on your age and much more on maturity.
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Well…I work in a place where I am in the minority. I am a “young” one – and I’m 29!
However, I have worked before in situations where the “young” workers get a bad reputation. Sometimes it’s earned, sometimes it’s not…but people can surprise you! We had a high school intern last year and she was SUCH a hard worker. I guess this is all just one reason it’s not too bad getting older. 🙂
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Kim, that doesn’t really fit the profile for any of the things I’ve read about Millennials in the workforce. Millennials are supposed to be very hard working, tech savvy, community-minded, and prefer working in groups. On the downside, they can be very demanding as far as wanting lots of challenges, flexibility in the workplace, and opportunities for being heard and moving ahead quickly. I have to say I agree with the latter – I often see younger people in my organization come in to professional positions without any concept of paying their dues and learning from more experienced people. There is a sense of entitlement that I just wouldn’t have had starting off in my career.
That being said, I have supervised loads of staff and interns in their 20s and early 30s and they were virtually all hard-working, creative, and a total pleasure to work with.
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To be honest, I think every generation thinks the generation that comes after them is lazy, doesn’t work as hard, gets more freebies, etc. It’s no surprise you’re hearing it about your generation. Just wait until you start saying it about the next one. =)
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In my job, you can’t really cut corners or be lazy…you won’t last long, no matter how old you are! I think that every job is lazy compared to mine (I’m being a terrible person), but anyone who can sit on gchat on all day amazes me. I’ve never had a job where I could talk to people all day or sit and chat, and I would imagine that productivity is very different with the use of gchat/AIM. While there are people who are very hard-working and everything, I sometimes wonder just how “hard working” you can be if you’re constantly searching the internet and everything.
I think I just made many generalizations.
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i wonder if chezjulie has hit the nail on the head- i’ve heard a lot about this new generation entering the work force feeling more “entitled” than others.. like, their (our?) parents raised them (us?) to think they (ok this is getting annoying) “deserve” to have success – whether they earn it or not. so i haven’t seen it so much in the laziness aspect, more in the “i shouldn’t have to do grunt work for 10 years to get ahead” aspect. one year of grunt work should suffice, right? 🙂
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I hate to even mention this to you because you don’t seem to fit any of these stereotypes. However, my 22-year-old daughter and most of her friends certainly do.
The 25-year-old Web editor at my office is the biggest baby I’ve ever met in my life. He complains about everything, especially inter-office conversations. (“It’s too loud! It’s too loud!”) He only speaks to the boss and one other co-worker. He walks out of the room anytime anyone else encounters him.
BTW, I don’t care if he reads this or not. He’s more than welcome to step into the ring and take a shot at the title anytime he wants. It would be my pleasure. 🙂
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I teach those 20 somethings right before they hit the workforce, and I do think lots of them feel like they deserve effort points just for showing up—I can’t help think they are still that way at work.
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I am constantly noticing the increasing laziness of new/younger employees.
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I have also witnessed this, but I thought it was a combination of age and money. The area we used to live (Hoboken NJ ) was very affluent and most of the people joining the workforce had NEVER had a job before…they came to work feeling entitled. It was very frustrating and they had very little sense of responsibilty or professionalism….I tended to think it really had more to do with their upbringing then just their age….
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Well, it’s sort of funny because the youngest person in our department is also the hardest working and very clearly the smartest!
But I think…there is a generational thing to having unlimited options and a sense of entitlement. I see this sometimes just in interpersonal interactions with people in their early to mid twenties. But, like everything it’s just a generalization. I certainly don’t see it with you!
I’ve never really witnessed this because I’ve always been one of the youngest people wherever I’ve worked. I do think that younger people have to work harder to prove themselves, though.
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You are the exception. I think you work very hard. And I work with a few people in their mid 20s that work really hard, but that is not the rule. I see a lot of 20 somethings that feel they are entitled to lots of money (with no work experience), they rarely want to work more than 40 hrs per week. The want to be promoted almost immediately (and want to have constant conversations about when they will be promoted) without ever having done anything to deserve a promotion. Most move on to a competitor within two years just to make more money–there is no loyalty. I have one guy that works for me (for just over a year). He is extremely disappointed that he doesn’t have more responsibility. When I tell him that his actions have shown me that he isn’t ready for more responsibility, he is gets upset with me. He is arrogant enough to think he is doing a stellar job. I actually had a 25 year old woman that works for me wag the paper with the job description of her new position in my face on more than one occasion informing me that the task I just assigned her “wasn’t on the job description,” and could I get someone else to do it? Are you kidding me? All our interns do is network within the company and they wonder then why we don’t hire them full-time. Be proud! You are a credit to your generation! It’s the other 90% that are giving you a bad name!
Meh, I’m sure there are lazy, pathetic people in this generation, but at the same time, I think there were lazy, pathetic people in the generations preceding us. Every generation thinks the one that follow them are lazy, entitled, morally corrupt, etc. I’ll deal with it now and then probably talk shit about younger people later.
Also, if this generation is so “entitled”, whose fault is that? People aren’t born with a great sense of entitlement. It probably comes from the society we grew up in, i.e. the one the baby-boomers messed up. Hmph.
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I realized that my last comment kind of makes me sound like a member of this terrible Generation: Entitled. I don’t think all the blame should be placed on the preceding generations, obviously. Nor do I think that the baby boomers “messed up” our society. However, in creating a comfortable, easy-to-live-in society, I think that my parents’ generation inadvertently created a social climate where it is too easy to fall into the trap of being entitled without repercussion. (Except that all the older generations continue to hate us.)
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I am the youngest at my school. I’m 24 and began there when I was 22…everyone is 5+ years older than me! I work as hard, and harder than some of the people in my work environment…but I’m always surprised to find how many people really seem to be lazy bums- very sad!
I found this post really interesting! Being only twenty myself, I have little experience in the workforce. However, I did have an internship this summer and I work part time at my schools library, so I get to see what you’re talking about a little. I wouldn’t consider myself lazy, but at the same time, as I begin applying to full-time jobs out of college, work/life balance is very important to me. I think this may change though once I get out on my own and have to support myself. I think maturity has a lot to do with it.
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