Lazy, narcissistic, cannot hold a stable job, it is all about me me me. Who does this describe? A Millennial as told by most generations older than them. Millennials considered to be more focused on materialistic values and less concerned about the larger community. They also are also seen as more civically, politically and socially disengaged. Some think that they do not know even how to hold an in-person conversation because they are so engrossed in their phones and technology. I personally have heard these characteristics and even more to describe the Millennial generation.
The issue with all of these misconceptions about Millennials is that they are not true. Yes, there are people who are Millennials that do act like what was described above but there are people of all generations that act in that way. Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce by the year 2025 (Culiberg & Mihelic 2016). Since Millennials are almost all graduated from college and are in the workforce these misconceptions can be taken as truth for people who have never actually worked with people of this generation. The same thing goes for Millennials going into the workplace. Some people have never worked in a formal environment. I think there a lot of learning from each other in the office. Millennials have things to teach and so do the generations that are in the offices.
First of all I want to set up what definition of Millennial I will be working with. I am doing this because there are so many different year markings that marks when this generation begins and ends. The definition that I will be using for Millennials is anyone that was born between the late 1980’s and 2000. This definition is a compilation from many different sources. These is everyone between the ages of the early 30’s to their late teens.
In Burns article it shows some things we simple just do not know about each other. Passion is something important to Millennials. They take the ideas “doing something you love and you will not work a day in your life” and “follow your passions no matter what” to heart. They do not want to just have a job to have one there needs to be meaning behind what they are doing.This does not mean other generations do not follow this mantra. Many Millennials are wanting to live life to the fullest. When it comes to jobs they are more open to changing jobs because their passions are not being fulfilled. They are also willing to change to be challenged or pursue a new skill they learned that they enjoy.
There are also skills and traits that older generations can teach millennials in a workplace. This is because of the fact that the baby boomers is the age group that created the current infrastructure that most businesses use to have success (Today’s Leadership). One that comes with experience within a specific workplace and that is the politics of that place. Since older generations generally found a place and stayed there for most of the careers they know the ins and outs of the organization. These are things that new incoming group of works most likely have no experience within the specific organization. Not knowing some things about the culture of an organization can be hard to succeed there (linkedin).
Soft skills are the combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes, social intelligence, emotional intelligence and among other skill that help a person navigate their environment and work well with others (wikipedia). According to multiple sources this is a skill that baby boomers can educate Millennials on. This is also skill that Millennials can educate Baby Boomers on too. Depending on the workplace environment and who is working in it people will need different. Most companies are use the skills that are assumed to be presented by only older generation of these soft skills. They know how to talk to people and it is perceived that Millennials are just awkward humans that only have have conversations with people using a device. But in reality these skills are not specific to one generation it is all about how people are raised and how they are as a person.
The biggest thing that needs each party needs to remember that the other party is different than them. Each grew up with a different childhood. Both parties have had big life changing events happen. Technology is dramatically different. These things and others have create each person distinctly. We also should not categorize everyone into the stereotypes because these are not true for all they are just generalizations. There are so many things that we can learn from one another.
There are plenty of companies that are extremely successful with having a multi-generational staff. There are many different tactics that companies can use to make their environment a successful one. Educating of the managers. The workforce is constantly changing but the managers might stay the same. It is important to train them on how to work with different age groups. It should be included in their diversity training. This is because each employee has different values but everyone has the same end goal with the company (Today’s Leaders). This is being seen with younger generations not trying to work overtime. Lots of Millennials see that our parents and grandparents we working almost way too much and never really put themselves first. These people were not always happy with their lives and Millennials do not want the same feeling for themselves so they want a healthy work-life balance, as I mentioned above. They also might but their family first. They still have the same end goal but the way they get to it is different (Today’s Leader).
Create a flexible environment of choosing their own hours and having the opportunity to work from home once and awhile, to name a few things. This is important because of the difference between the generations needs wise. This also goes back to their values and backgrounds as a person. Needs and wants for benefits and paid time off are different. These are also different with in generational groups as well. Employers want the most out of their employees and this is one way to do that (Today’s Leader).
The most important, in my opinion, is listening and acting on that. Everyone of a person’s employees are important. The most important part of the employee’s are their voices. Some people do not feel like their bosses actually care about them because they do not feel listened to. The age of the employee is just a number there is so much knowledge that a company has with their multi-generational staff. It is important validate everyone’s voices and following through with suggestions.
Millennials are not that much different than any other generational group in the workplace today. They have skills that they need to work on but also skills that they can teach others about. A lot of the misconceptions about generations are wrong and generalized. The best thing to make the workplace environment is to get to know each other and put those generalization aside and see want each other can bring to the table so that you all succeed.
The issue with all of these misconceptions about Millennials is that they are not true. Yes, there are people who are Millennials that do act like what was described above but there are people of all generations that act in that way. Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce by the year 2025 (Culiberg & Mihelic 2016). Since Millennials are almost all graduated from college and are in the workforce these misconceptions can be taken as truth for people who have never actually worked with people of this generation. The same thing goes for Millennials going into the workplace. Some people have never worked in a formal environment. I think there a lot of learning from each other in the office. Millennials have things to teach and so do the generations that are in the offices.
First of all I want to set up what definition of Millennial I will be working with. I am doing this because there are so many different year markings that marks when this generation begins and ends. The definition that I will be using for Millennials is anyone that was born between the late 1980’s and 2000. This definition is a compilation from many different sources. These is everyone between the ages of the early 30’s to their late teens.
In Burns article it shows some things we simple just do not know about each other. Passion is something important to Millennials. They take the ideas “doing something you love and you will not work a day in your life” and “follow your passions no matter what” to heart. They do not want to just have a job to have one there needs to be meaning behind what they are doing.This does not mean other generations do not follow this mantra. Many Millennials are wanting to live life to the fullest. When it comes to jobs they are more open to changing jobs because their passions are not being fulfilled. They are also willing to change to be challenged or pursue a new skill they learned that they enjoy.
There are also skills and traits that older generations can teach millennials in a workplace. This is because of the fact that the baby boomers is the age group that created the current infrastructure that most businesses use to have success (Today’s Leadership). One that comes with experience within a specific workplace and that is the politics of that place. Since older generations generally found a place and stayed there for most of the careers they know the ins and outs of the organization. These are things that new incoming group of works most likely have no experience within the specific organization. Not knowing some things about the culture of an organization can be hard to succeed there (linkedin).
Soft skills are the combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes, social intelligence, emotional intelligence and among other skill that help a person navigate their environment and work well with others (wikipedia). According to multiple sources this is a skill that baby boomers can educate Millennials on. This is also skill that Millennials can educate Baby Boomers on too. Depending on the workplace environment and who is working in it people will need different. Most companies are use the skills that are assumed to be presented by only older generation of these soft skills. They know how to talk to people and it is perceived that Millennials are just awkward humans that only have have conversations with people using a device. But in reality these skills are not specific to one generation it is all about how people are raised and how they are as a person.
The biggest thing that needs each party needs to remember that the other party is different than them. Each grew up with a different childhood. Both parties have had big life changing events happen. Technology is dramatically different. These things and others have create each person distinctly. We also should not categorize everyone into the stereotypes because these are not true for all they are just generalizations. There are so many things that we can learn from one another.
There are plenty of companies that are extremely successful with having a multi-generational staff. There are many different tactics that companies can use to make their environment a successful one. Educating of the managers. The workforce is constantly changing but the managers might stay the same. It is important to train them on how to work with different age groups. It should be included in their diversity training. This is because each employee has different values but everyone has the same end goal with the company (Today’s Leaders). This is being seen with younger generations not trying to work overtime. Lots of Millennials see that our parents and grandparents we working almost way too much and never really put themselves first. These people were not always happy with their lives and Millennials do not want the same feeling for themselves so they want a healthy work-life balance, as I mentioned above. They also might but their family first. They still have the same end goal but the way they get to it is different (Today’s Leader).
Create a flexible environment of choosing their own hours and having the opportunity to work from home once and awhile, to name a few things. This is important because of the difference between the generations needs wise. This also goes back to their values and backgrounds as a person. Needs and wants for benefits and paid time off are different. These are also different with in generational groups as well. Employers want the most out of their employees and this is one way to do that (Today’s Leader).
The most important, in my opinion, is listening and acting on that. Everyone of a person’s employees are important. The most important part of the employee’s are their voices. Some people do not feel like their bosses actually care about them because they do not feel listened to. The age of the employee is just a number there is so much knowledge that a company has with their multi-generational staff. It is important validate everyone’s voices and following through with suggestions.
Millennials are not that much different than any other generational group in the workplace today. They have skills that they need to work on but also skills that they can teach others about. A lot of the misconceptions about generations are wrong and generalized. The best thing to make the workplace environment is to get to know each other and put those generalization aside and see want each other can bring to the table so that you all succeed.