Unrealistic Millennial “Expectations” in the Workplace
College teachers gain a great deal of insight into student skills and mindsets. As a result, it is easy to dispute common assumptions, such as the widely-held belief that college-aged people are well-versed in technology.
Putting aside that notion, one realizes that most young people have little or no practical experience with social media, beyond the elementary skills necessary to create a Facebook page. Given the task to coherently explain how or why an organization should be involved in social media, most students would fail miserably. In other words, talking incessantly on cell phones and obsessively updating one’s Facebook status does not mean students understand social media.
For an interesting read about the challenge of handing over social media to young people simply because they are young, see Meg Roberts’ discussion of the topic:
Another challenge is the sense of entitlement young people have coming into internships and entry-level jobs. Reading an overview of “Outstanding Best Practices for Public Relations Firms: The 2009 Compendium of Insight and Intelligence” from the most popular articles of The Firm Voice, one sees clear evidence of how organizations are supposed to change to meet the “needs” of young professionals.
Here are the excerpts from “The role and expectations of millennials in the work place” provided by Aaron Uhrmacher:
“Let us work remotely: We can work at Starbucks and even from home. By creating a less structured physical work environment, you can stimulate us, encourage our creativity and teach us how to work smarter.
Give us iPhones: Most companies only provide phones to management. If you want us to stay connected, give us the tools to do so. Blackberries are fine, but iPhones are much cooler. And they work on corporate networks.
Create opportunities for social interaction: If you want us to enjoy where we work, make it a place we want to be. Give us the chance to connect with our co-workers in an environment that promotes social interaction. Host group brainstorming sessions, take us bowling (or to the theater, or paintballing) and remember to celebrate our success outside the confines of the workplace.”
I don’t know how these “expectations” read to you, but I cannot help shaking my head as I examine this list.
From what Uhrmacher is saying, organizations are supposed to let Millennials work wherever they would like to “stimulate” them and “encourage our creativity.” I guess the perks of having a job and paycheck aren’t enough for today’s young people. And, always with the gentle pleading neediness of “teach us” included.
Next, organizations are expected to give young people iPhones because they are “much cooler” than other devices, as if a company or agency is somehow denying Millennials their unalienable right to an iPhone.
If all this isn’t enough, next Millennials expect to be taken out on play dates, such as bowling, so work is “a place we want to be.” Finally, Uhrmacher urges organizations to “remember to celebrate our success outside the confines of the workplace.” Could this smack more of the entitlement issues Millennials have?
This sad list of “expectations” takes me back to two points that keep banging around in my head. First, why does society focus so much on the 18-34 year old demographic? Next, can’t Millennials at least attempt to adapt to the way organizations run, rather than expecting that the world change for them? One could easily write off Uhrmacher’s findings, but spending even a little time with young people reveals that his conclusions about their expectations are accurate.The challenge is that our coddled Millennials think they are the center of the world, each and every one a mini-celebrity with an entourage of Facebook “friends” gawking at their every move posted online.
So what’s the upside? Millennials who learn to write professionally, read across a broad range of subjects, and learn to think deeply and strategically will be prepared to assume leadership positions, while their celebrity-obsessed, vacuous brethren will not.
I have faith that those young professionals positioned for success will achieve it. I have taught many of these Millennials and know others who break the stereotype, thank goodness. They would scoff at the “expectations” listed above and want to build their foundational skills.
As Roberts explains, “As companies continue to look at younger staff members for social media expertise, senior employees, recent graduates, and interns should work together to ensure young professionals have well-rounded task lists that include a variety of skills necessary for communication campaigns - both online and offline.”
July 15th, 2009 at 13:06
As much as I agree that millennials are entering the work force with RIDICULOUS expectations, I must have to say that our previous generation’s “go to college and you’ll be and do great” attitude has a lot to do with this ILLUSION that millennials have in the work force.
I agree that the dense narcissistic aura that today’s kids have seems to never run out, but we must go back and see what went wrong. Dick Meyer’s “Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Millennium” does a fabulous job at explaining why we are where we are, and how we can fix it. I am not disagreeing with your points here, but we did not start this behavior. We are but a mere clone of our previous “free love, anything goes, peace in the world” ancestors. The only problem is that like the rest of the country—we are on steroids.
Yes, I had to learn the hard way, corporate America has its ways and if they are making money they assume that it is the “right way.” But what if it can better? What if we can have the cake and eat it too?
In my experience, it boiled down to the ridiculous pride that comes with being “a higher up.” Half of these people did not have half the knowledge or education than most under them had, but they were just there at the right place and at the right time. They worked based on formulas passed down to them decades before… And yes, they worked, for the most part.
Things will eventually change, perhaps our “higher ups” are just not quite willing to accept it yet.
Imagine how we would function with 1800’s ideals…
We are what we eat, right?
July 15th, 2009 at 14:27
Correction, paragraph 3:
*But what if it can be better?
July 16th, 2009 at 10:31
@ Alex, thanks for your insightful comments. I don’t blame Millennials for starting this behavior, and in many cases, it’s the hovering, helicopter, entitling parents that deserve much of the criticism for raising children who then turn into young adults that expect the world to role over for them. You’ve recommended the Meyer book before, so I’m going to have to pick it up.
I share your idealism (which, ironically, is one of the reasons I left corporate America — my idealism made it difficult to work for organizations that wanted to continue doing things it viewed successful year after year). I think Millennials do have the chance to make the world and corporate world a better place. However, they won’t get there by taking shortcuts and demanding that the workplace changes to suit them before they’ve learned through hard work.
You’ve touched on a great topic with the disconnect between Millennials and those currently in charge (Boomers). There is a lot of animosity, based on fear. Perhaps Gen Xers will be more accommodating when they take over, but I still worry that Millennials want their cake before they’ve earned the right to eat it or learned how to bake it.
July 16th, 2009 at 16:42
@Bob, that is exactly why I left the corporate world. I refused to accept someone else’s reality of success and happiness. Especially when I saw people’s real lives and unhappiness. You and I are after the same dream of making people think. I invite you to listen to the lyrics of my music. (http://www.myspace.com/48statesaway). Everything I do is to make people think because I know that is a real problem.
BUT, my argument here is that you have the larger platform to reach people, I am not quite there yet. I am not saying that I cannot make a difference, but I do not have your status, platform, or economic comfort… So, I am in school, learning, trying to make my life better through education; not because the establishment or my parents told me, but because I know that education is the ultimate liberator and creator of happiness. Education will allow me to keep making the right choices to have a happier life. Moving on. I think that the problem is real, but we should be working on solutions. No one listens to a problem alone, no matter what generation they are from, they listen to problems with solutions attached to them. This is why I think about the solutions. The issues are real, we (GenX) know that the Internet, cell phones, and texting are not the most important thing in the world, but after years of lying, helicopter parents, and broken homes in general, who the hell wants to live in the real world anymore. We need big brains finding solutions and sharing it generously… The only problem with this is that there is no money in solving the world‘s problems. Who wants to solve the world problems when they know that the idea of monetary systems would disappear? It is a virus, humans are viruses. BUT we have hearts, and every hundred years or so we move forward a little towards the right place…
Can we be those persons? Are you willing to be that person? Probably not. Why? Because we have children, we have houses, we have bills, we have nice papers to write… it is a revolving cellar of puke that no one wants to clean.
My suggestion is to kill all of the damn “Boomers” that do not want to accept that they ruined the world and now they are trying to fix it by throwing money at the issues. I have said it before in your class, and I will say it again: These are socio-political issues that no one is willing to talk about and try to fix.
Again, kill the Boomers.
July 16th, 2009 at 17:00
I will leave you with several of my poetry works. You can share them with the people in your world or you can just leave them here; your call. Hope they matter to you.
“Sickening”
Three more hours
Of accompanied solitude.
Drips of joy
Sting my eyes!
It sickens me
What a person has to do
To function in a material
World.
It sickens me
how much I need you.
—————————
“Raw”
It is a disaster,
This rude place I call home.
Spontaneity is welcomed
Only by the innocent
Whom are not aware
Of the realities of cruelty in the world.
How can I have peace
When I know
That we have all failed?
It is not fair to fail
At something
you had no clue.
My towel is on the corner
Bloody,
Stained with dreams
That will not be fulfilled.
Drenched,
by the sweat of the people
That did not have a chance.
The innocent souls
Of yesterday.
And the unfiltered souls
Of tomorrow.
I cannot have a dream–
When I know the answer.
———————————
This has never been shared anywhere. Actually, this is the first time I write it in a computer in general.
There are two
Movements
which we cannot
Control:
that of
Nature,
and that natural
Forward Motion
that Is men’s
Imagination.
——————————
“My Living Testament to the UnBorn Society”
I belong to the planet and I pray for balance. My path is of awareness. We have a real chance of evolving into the future we all fear. We can do this by practicing open-mindedness and accepting the damages we currently adhere. There are other options on the table; it is up to us to consider them. It is up to us to move forward: Valiantly, competently, responsibly—and mostly importantly—lovingly. For our true concerns are to stay true to our families, communities, and fellow beings on the planet. Once we achieve this plane, our unborn societies will look back and thank us for creating a better, safer place to co-exist is peace.
July 20th, 2009 at 20:47
Thanks for including excerpts from my Firm Voice article in your post. I can understand how you might interpret some of the points I raised as issues of entitlement in a certain context. But if you do, then you’re ignoring the impact technology has had on our society over the last decade.
To be clear, I wasn’t advocating employers start giving out iPhones, stop requiring our presence in the office and pay for our bottle service at the hottest clubs.
What I hoped to convey was that the workplace itself is changing, and employers - many of whom tell me they are frustrated by unmet expectations and often unable to retain young talent - might benefit from approaching this new generation of employees from a different perspective. Work doesn’t begin at 9 and end at 5. It doesn’t include an hour lunch. And many times, our managers are not only mentors, but friends.
New technology platforms have changed how we communicate and how we interact. They have also blurred the line between our personal and professional lives. Those companies that choose to ignore these huge societal changes will, in my opinion, feel the impact on their balance sheets.
Anyway, thanks for keeping the conversation going!
August 5th, 2009 at 20:11
I’m not sure if you are talking of all students not knowing about social media or just USF students, or more particularly your students (which you say you have a great deal of insight into their skills and mindsets “as a college teacher”), but I presume it to be mainly USF students. If the students you know dont know about social media, or how to really use it, isnt that their school’s fault or your fault. They are not working, most are not doing internships, the only way they learn are from their professors. If my child doesnt learn how to read till he/she gets to school, then that is my fault not theirs and not the rest of the world.
Granted student could learn about SM on their own, but most dont. But it is irresponsible to blame them for not knowing how to use social media to…engage an audience, manage a brand, increase revenue, or “build a facebook page” as you put it.
As far as millenials’ entitlement, most of those people dont have a job or havent they told you. Chances are if they are not doing good they are not telling anyone especially not their professor.