As a millennial myself we’ve heard it all before: we are the entitled, spoiled and self-serving generation. Gen-Y is the youngsters typically born between 1982-1999.
But could we also be the workplace savior? Maybe so says Emily Matcher. She is a freelance writer for the Washington Post.
She’s written an article outlining how this “pampered” generation might actually be the workplace savior. She told me on the DorobekINSIDER what makes a millennial.
“Millennials are a bit jaded, they’ve seen their parents betrayed by jobs, grown up in a bad economy and are unwilling to tolerate what older workers take as par for the course,” said Matcher.
Millennials are asking?
- Why should I work a 9-5 schedule when those aren’t the hours when I am most productive?
- Why should I fly across the country when we could do the meeting via Skype?
- Why do I need to defer to an older person, when I have a great idea that should be listened to?
Millennial Myth: “It’s a myth that millennials are lazy,” said Matcher, “they are willing to work very very hard as long as the project they are woking on is interesting, has a purpose, they can see the ultimate goal and they have their opinions taken seriously.
What Millennials Want: “They want to be mentored,” said Matcher, “they are a generation that wants and is willing to listen and learn from feedback as long as it’s presented in a constructive manner.”
Millennial Mistakes: “Sometimes is takes awhile to be inspired on the job,” said Matcher, “Millennials need to do a better job of sticking with a project.”
As a supervisor, it is almost impossible to only give someone “interesting” work. I am looking for people who can EXCEL at the task at hand, interesting or not. And have enough self awareness to understand the difference between “my idea” and a “great idea”.
I am borderline Boomer/GenX, just to disclose my generational bais.
Creating employee engagement is an art and a science, at any age, and it is important to know an individual and what inspires each person. Of course a lot of work is not the “it” project. It’s filing, doing mileage forms, addressing thank you cards, whatever. The supervisor’s job is to help all team members understand the bigger picture and the value to the greater good. It’s to teach and train and build confidence. Millenials are mission oriented, and when it comes right down to it, as an Xer, so am I. I want and need these things too. I want to know that even the little stuff I do every day is contributing towards the great good and the goals we’ve set together. Focusing on each team member as an individual, just like we do with our external customers, goes a long way towards engaging any worker at any age. If you take care of your people, your people will take care of your customers.
“Why should I work a 9-5 schedule when those aren’t the hours when I am most productive?”
I get this. I really do. What confuses me is when people take a 9-5 job and then complain that they are expected to work 8 hours a day 5 days a week. You took an hourly job… if you want to change the system, work to change it, and if you want a salaried job, look for one – but all this angst about Government supervisors who expect 40 hours a week (out of hourly employees) seems a little strange.
As a millennial, I appreciate the tip about being patient. I sometimes need to remind myself of this.
Our generation has grown up accustomed to information, products, and potential experiences being just a click away. The daily access to abundant information and instant gratification has enabled us to autonomously discover and learn more than before, but it also may set unrealistic expectations when joining the workforce. With that said, Gen-Y is very comfortable with change and innovation, which can be really healthy in a workforce.