The Millennial Myth
I work at a Startup and as such, I work with a younger group of people, all of whom fall into the “Millennial” bracket. For a while now, I’ve observed a trend and my inbox is full of articles that all talk about the Millennial workforce like it is some sort of monster that needs to be appeased or controlled. It is true that younger workers do expect something different from their employers than the generations that came before them, but what generation has not critiqued the choices and mistakes of their predecessors? Priorities change for each generation — if they didn’t, nothing in business would change. I agree that with younger candidates there is a shift in what is important to them, and this should be expected. But that is just progress and change, which keeps this thing called the economy moving. This is not something unique to Millennials and present day employers. I am sure employers of a 50’s era company spent their days complaining about the exact same thing regarding the baby boomer generation of the 60’s and 70’s. Priorities change for the next generation.
On top of it all, I constantly hear from my friends and colleagues in management positions that “Young People” (Millennials) lack any work ethic, have attitude, and are disrespectful. I admit I have seen this as a manager in the hospitality industry and as a manager in the tech world but this is not unique to just Millennials but to all generations. Since I have joined the tech world, I have rarely seen such hard working and inspirational co-workers. Everyday these “Lazy Millennials” work 8–10 hours, usually without a real break and then go home and continue to educate themselves on how to become even better at their jobs. Very rarely have I seen such dedication to one’s craft as I have seen in the tech world.
All of this “Millennial Myth” is exaggerated in the media, if not completely blown out of proportion. Every article is directed towards HR teams and recruiters on how to best incorporate Millennials into the workforce by doing x,y,z because Millennials are a,b,c. These generalizations have become more prevalent and my inbox is saturated with articles that all say the same thing: Millennial workers require special considerations and attention or you will lose out on this pool of candidates. This is not something that is unique to an individual who just happens to fall into the Millennial gap. All candidates regardless of their background or age will come into the workforce with their own priorities and considerations. It is up to the employer to figure out the best way to create an office atmosphere and culture that is accommodating to everyone. By the media constantly singling out this segment of the candidate population, a divide has been created between those just entering the workforce and those who are already there. This practice needs to stop.
The myth of the Millennial worker is in a large part created and maintained by media. The stories they are selling pigeon hole a large segment of employees into this neat little box that doesn’t really exist. Millennials are a varied and diverse group of people who expect their employers to see that. By thinking “all Millennials want/need x” you are going to miss out on having, what I think, some of the most hardworking and dynamic group of people on your team. And that is bad for any business.
