Welcome back to the Future Image Group’s exploratory series on understanding the five vastly different generations in the workplace. So far, we have delved into the cultures, customs, and expectations of Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, and Gen X , and how they affect each’s ability to build relationships professionally and personally. Next up, a hot topic - Millennials.
Ah yes, Millennials! The word alone sparks intense reactions both from within and without this particular generation, and I’ve heard most of them (going forward, I’ll refer to them as Gen Y, as the term “Millennial” has become so offensive and comes with so many connotations for this generation).
The cover of Time Magazine, summed up the general perceptions of Gen Y in 2013: “Millennials are Lazy Entitled Narcissists Who Still Live withTheir Parents”. Ouch.
We’ve all heard the complaints: “Those G** D*****ed Millennials! Always on their phones, always texting, always on social media! They don’t talk! They don’t do “it” right! They are entitled! They want special accommodations for their time at work - scheduling, flex-time, work-life balance, don’t they know this is “work?” They don’t respect hierarchy, they expect to run the business after 6 months of employment!’” The list goes on - you get the general idea.
OK, let’s stand down for a minute, quit vilifying this generation, look at the actual facts and sociological circumstances this group grew up in and give Gen Y some context.
Born approximately 1981 to 1996 (ages today: 24 to 39)
62 million born in the U.S.
Commonly cited characteristics: self-expressive, group oriented, purpose-driven, global, tech-dependent.
This generation grew up with technology (internet, social media) as a part of their everyday life, helicopter parenting, participation trophies, immediate gratification, economic disparities, terrorism, and school shootings, all their own ways creating social distrust.
This is the first generation to come up with the internet and social media - they’ve never known life without them. Social Media has done a brilliant job at creating the next ‘shiny object’ to entice participation and engagement, encouraging this group to photograph, document, post and comment on every single thing in their lives (I actually feel badly for them: every bone-headed thing they’ve ever done or said - as we ALL have done growing up - will be with us forever and always. They were guinea pigs in a grand social experiment discovering this fact on the fly, not always with happy results, think: online bullying as one example). With exceptions, their parents (Boomers and older Gen X) sought to make their lives “easier” for them and be their “friends” instead of their parents: they received participation medals (so they didn’t “feel bad” when they lost); Their parents advocated for them on their behalf - whether they asked for it or not - is ubiquitous amongst parents of this generation. I’ve interviewed teachers from kindergarten through tenured professors and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has had the experience of giving Johnny a C, Mom or Dad disagreeing with the grade and demanding the teacher change it. So why would they believe a teacher’s (or anyone else in a position of authority) assessment of their work, if Mom or Dad disagreed and ‘fixed it’? Immediate gratification is the world we live in today, and Gen Y has never known anything different: You need money? Go to an ATM. Want to watch a movie? Netflix it is. Want food? It’ll be here in under an hour. Have a question? “Just Google it.” This generation also came up in economically difficult times, watching school shootings and terrorist plots in nearly real time thanks to the 24-hour news cycle - another contributor to the expectation of immediate gratification. So why would they believe some person with seniority who says that there’s a different way?
I have tremendous empathy for Gen Y. None of us could have been expected to understand the ramifications of Social Media - the parents or the children. Of course the parents wanted to shield their children to make their lives easier and be their friends (I confess to leaning in this direction myself), but at what cost? In the past, in sports, there were the victors and the defeated; the victors learned how to be gracious in their success and the defeated learned they needed to work harder to do better next time. When we received a C, we were sent to our rooms and told to study harder, learning in the process that it took work, time and commitment to achieve positive results. If we needed money for the weekend, we had to make it to the bank by 3:00 p.m. on Friday. We had to buy tickets AT the movie theatre. Hungry? Plan a meal, shop for it and cook it ourselves. Gen Y never had these expectations with the advent of the Internet.
Further, how can the Gen Ys know to trust adults if they’re watching the same shooting children in schools, blowing up buildings and leaving them with an uncertain financial future? With the current news cycle, full of sensationalist headlines and “fake news,” Gen Y has never known what’s real, or taught how to do the research to find out. It’s a constant onslaught of terrible headline after terrible headline, permeating a Gen Y’s entire being through app notifications, social media, paid online advertisements, and pop-up ads on streaming services. The news is telling us all that this generation won’t have social security due to no fault of their own, that the world is in awful shape due to a global pandemic, that they will never live up to the perfect standards of celebrities, and that the folks in Washington who are tasked with looking out for “the people” are not to be trusted. So why in the world would they trust anyone but themselves to get the information they need?
Easier isn’t always better, folks. Some of the greatest life lessons are those learned from defeat or failure. The ability to develop critical thinking depends on a society that values such a trait, models and TEACHES them. By depriving Gen Y of these (often painful) lessons, haven’t we, inadvertently, created some of the characteristics we complain about the most? Have we offered ourselves, experiences and wisdom to our younger counterparts? Think: they don’t know what they don’t know and it’s up to the more senior among us to identify the missing knowledge, extend a hand and help them figure it out, not fix it for them. You know, “Give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish.” This requires time, intentionality and vision. Have we addressed ourselves to this assignment? The elders in my upbringing would tell me “that’s not how we do things”, taught me their version of ‘right’ vs. ‘wrong’. As an adult, I have been able to decide whether or not I agree with their assessment but I, at least, had a starting point.
Gen Y is wired technologically in ways that no Traditionalist, Boomer of Gen X will ever be (although we do try). They are socially conscious, team- oriented, innovative, clever, savvy, understand that working to live is far preferable than living to work, flexible and forward thinking - all marvelous traits. It is the older generation’s calling, always, to pass on the best knowledge and wisdom from their own and previous generations. Instead of penalizing the Gen Ys.
How about we try appreciating their forward thinking and innovation, while we teach them proper social, professional expectations, give them the power to think critically and make informed decisions? The older Gen Ys are our next generation of leaders - and they’ll begin assuming those leadership positions soon if they haven’t already - so let’s stop complaining and start helping them achieve their best selves.