In the last few classes we have touched on the different age groups and generations that make up today's workforce. In our discussion last week the term "Millenials" was mentioned. This topic was covered to a certain degree in my marketing class last semester and our professor showed us a video clip that was on the tv show 60 Minutes. The text version of the video can be viewed at the following website:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/08/60minutes/main3475200.shtml
You can click on the video link on the website and watch the full video also. It really is a great article and it shows how the workplace is changing and what will be faced by managers in the future.
I'm not sure how I feel about this next generation of employees. I'm still of the mentality that no one owes me anything in life, and no one is going to do things for me, so whatever I desire out of life, I have to accomplish myself. It seems to me that the younger generation has a very selfish attitude and basically act rather spoiled. Which pretty much makes sense. There seem to be no consequences for kids anymore. And its really not their fault. I blame it on poor parenting.
My wife's a teacher and so are my brother and his wife. All three of them have told me that when a student misbehaves or does poorly in class, the parents are called and they have this attitude of "oh no, not my little angel". So either their child could not possibly have done anything wrong, or its not their child's fault, its the teacher's fault. In all actuality, its the parents fault! Parents make so many excuses for their kids anymore its ridiculous. And now its beginning to create issues in the workplace. There's this attitude of "if you don't give me what I want here, I'll go find someplace that will". This isn't a sustainable attitude to have. It seems self-defeating to me. I don't see how any of these workers are ever going to be content or satisfied. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
I can't imagine a parent would act in that manner when a child act up. You would think that they would believe the teacher, considering they aqre with that child all day. However, I hear about it all the time from my family (who are all teachers)
ReplyDeleteIt is quite scary to see what they will be like in workforce as we age. I am amazed hhow rude and disrespectful young people are in the workplace. I wonder if I have too high of expectations or am I just acting like an old lady?
Of course, the Baby Boomers probably thought the same of us?
I agree that this generation has parents that cater too much. My husband also teaches and tells me stories all the time about how parents can't imagine that their perfect angel of a child could possibly do what they are being accused of.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with parents who believed the teacher first. If my story was different from the teacher, then Dad (a teacher as well) would talk with the teacher again. In the end I usually got disciplined even if I actually didn't do it. Also, it was very understood that if I got in trouble at school, I was in twice as much trouble at home. I had great incentive to follow the rules.
As the mother of one of these millenials, I hope to have a very different result with my daughter than others of her generation.
I agree with you that nowadays the children are spoiled by their parents. It is also common in China. Sinace our policy requires us to only have one child, so the parents would like to do anything to make their child feel good. After the birth of a child, he is protected by not only his parents, but also his grandparents. And that can easily lead the child to a selfish person in the future. I still believe that if the child does something wrong or poorly in the class, he should be blamed. Only that can he remeber the experience and won't do it again. That is the way my parents treat me and I don't think that is outdated.
ReplyDeleteI watched the video, as 60 Minutes is one of my favorite shows, and I happened to miss that piece. So first of all, thanks for posting that. One of the executives made the comment that Millenials require, "more coaching and less bossing." I don't know that's such a badd idea. I'm a Gen-X constituent and so I'm kindof in the middle. I appreciate and understand the tech-savviness of Millenials, but appreciate the Boomers and their work ethic. Personally, I am trying to combine the two worlds whereby I will show up on time, and work hard, and be professional. However, work doesn't need to be sooo revered as the Boomers make it out to be. Mistakes happen. So long as the individual learns from it, it should be over with. Now, repetitive mistakes, and continuous displays of UN-professionalism do need to be dealt with. That individual needs to be terminated because they are compromising production. And at the end of the day, it's about production. Production leads to earnings, which leads to bonuses, etc. The Millenials appear to approach production (and being productive)from a different frame of mind is all. Is the U.S. economy doomed, or are we in the early stages of an entirely new corporate paradigm? That is an interesting question. And time will give us the answer.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, I really enjoyed it. I think it really sums up the millenials change in the workplace. I particularly enjoyed the part of the parents being too involved in their kids work lives. Recently I terminated a 20 year old employee for poor work performance, conduct issues, and attendance problems. 3 minutes after it happened, I got a call from his mother. She was furious! I certainly received an earful during that phone conversation and I simply replied that I was unable to discuss an employee's situation with anyone other than that employee. She was not happy with that answer and showed up the next day at work. I had to call security! I thought this was absurd! While I am a member of Generation Y, and only a few years older than this employee I terminated, I could never imagine having my mom fight my battle like this. I think there are some great millenials, and some not so great, but either way, the workplace is going to go through a big adjustment period.
ReplyDelete