Millennials in the workplace?
Discussion
I've just watched a very interesting opinion about millennials in the workplace, and how they've been ill prepared for the workplace by a combination of poor parenting, 'inclusive' awards and the phenomenal rise of social media creating false ideals and impersonal relationships.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU
And I'm curious. Those who work with or employ millennials, or indeed young people entering the work place, does this ring true with you or do you think the opinions of the person in the video are overhyped and unrealistic?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU
And I'm curious. Those who work with or employ millennials, or indeed young people entering the work place, does this ring true with you or do you think the opinions of the person in the video are overhyped and unrealistic?
Just watching the video now, quite interesting, I'm not sure they are quite as bad as being described by the chap, but he's not a million miles wide of the mark.
It's normally pretty trivial stuff that can be knocked out of most of them in my experience. Some refuse to change, and they dont last long. Perhaps not too different from previous generations, just a different set of issues. I think he's overplaying the smartphone as the root cause of the issue a little too much.
Some examples from recent years.
Turn up at 8:59am, proceed to make coffee, have a dump, make some breakfast, have a natter, work commences about 10am...
Wont come in 30 mins early once a week for a meeting, or ask if they can have overtime.
The usual social media s
t "Stuck at work, sooooo booooorrrreeedd" on a public facebook page.
Misuse of Internet at work, nothing too serious, but some of the stories I've heard from other places are crazy. Very much a case of "it's MY computer" so they think they can do what they want. Forgetting the fact it's a company machine and internet connection.
Some have a very high opinion of themselves and their own ability, it comes as a bit of a shock when they realise they aren't king of the hill. Some cope better than others.
ETA I see FAR more people from my generation or older (I'm 40), that are quite frankly bone fking idle. Lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy bds.
Case in point, I interviewed a guy in his 50's recently. He was at a very large multi-national for 20 years. In a 45 minute phone interview I just could not fathom what he has done in those 20 years. It was only meant to be a quick 20 minute call but I kept him for ages trying to work out what he had done. All he could do was moan about office politics and how the management were bds. As far as I can tell he did about 12 months work in two decades, is completely de-skilled now as a result, and will find it very hard to find work again. A shame, but he's probably still sat on his arse at home, bemoaning the fact that he's "on the scrap heap", whereas in reality if he'd done some work in the last few years he'd have some current, marketable skills!
It's normally pretty trivial stuff that can be knocked out of most of them in my experience. Some refuse to change, and they dont last long. Perhaps not too different from previous generations, just a different set of issues. I think he's overplaying the smartphone as the root cause of the issue a little too much.
Some examples from recent years.
Turn up at 8:59am, proceed to make coffee, have a dump, make some breakfast, have a natter, work commences about 10am...
Wont come in 30 mins early once a week for a meeting, or ask if they can have overtime.
The usual social media s
t "Stuck at work, sooooo booooorrrreeedd" on a public facebook page.Misuse of Internet at work, nothing too serious, but some of the stories I've heard from other places are crazy. Very much a case of "it's MY computer" so they think they can do what they want. Forgetting the fact it's a company machine and internet connection.
Some have a very high opinion of themselves and their own ability, it comes as a bit of a shock when they realise they aren't king of the hill. Some cope better than others.
ETA I see FAR more people from my generation or older (I'm 40), that are quite frankly bone f
king idle. Lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy bds.Case in point, I interviewed a guy in his 50's recently. He was at a very large multi-national for 20 years. In a 45 minute phone interview I just could not fathom what he has done in those 20 years. It was only meant to be a quick 20 minute call but I kept him for ages trying to work out what he had done. All he could do was moan about office politics and how the management were b
ds. As far as I can tell he did about 12 months work in two decades, is completely de-skilled now as a result, and will find it very hard to find work again. A shame, but he's probably still sat on his arse at home, bemoaning the fact that he's "on the scrap heap", whereas in reality if he'd done some work in the last few years he'd have some current, marketable skills!Edited by ILoveMondeo on Wednesday 28th December 16:55
Edited by ILoveMondeo on Wednesday 28th December 16:57
I dont think the millennials are any worse or any better than other age groups. At my place of work there are 40 / 50 years old that are very good, work hard and are competent at their respective roles, equally we have one or two of that age group who are bone idle and incompetent.
Same goes for the millennials, some good, some not so good.
I tend to find a lot of the millennials expect everything straight away, yet most of the older generation understand that you have to work for them and prove themselves before the rewards come.
What I really dont understand is the millennials obsession with smart phones. The constant need to keep checking it, and having it with them at all times.
Same goes for the millennials, some good, some not so good.
I tend to find a lot of the millennials expect everything straight away, yet most of the older generation understand that you have to work for them and prove themselves before the rewards come.
What I really dont understand is the millennials obsession with smart phones. The constant need to keep checking it, and having it with them at all times.
I know people in their 20's who feel hard done by because things aren't done the way they believe they should be done.
I know people in their 50's who hate change and are happy never changing because "we've always done it this way".
Ignoring whether or not it's an age or attitude thing, it isn't solely younger staff.
I know people in their 50's who hate change and are happy never changing because "we've always done it this way".
Ignoring whether or not it's an age or attitude thing, it isn't solely younger staff.
The workplace is changing rapidly. The generation X/baby boomers will be mainlty retired by 2020 (or in a consultative role). Generation Y/the star wars generation will be taking over and in decision making roles BUT there are too few of us. "baby boomers/ageing population is the clue here. Take them out, there will be lots of vacancies).
So you will soon find the workplce balance becomming very young: with millenials outnumbering the generation Y.
And if you dont give them safe spaces, understand their need for instant gratification etc etc then they will go somewhere that does. And dont say "fine", because the ones left wont be the ones you'll want to employ.
Dont believe me? Think about the work environment during generation X: casual sexism/racism/ un safe work practices, often with a drinking culture. Now if you said that today you would not get ANYONE worth employing wanting to work there: generation Y simply would not stand for it, so you changed your working environment to cater for generation Y. You need to change again for the millenials.
And its not legislation either: if the smoking ban was repealed tommorow, would you allow smoking in the offices? Thought not...
So you will soon find the workplce balance becomming very young: with millenials outnumbering the generation Y.
And if you dont give them safe spaces, understand their need for instant gratification etc etc then they will go somewhere that does. And dont say "fine", because the ones left wont be the ones you'll want to employ.
Dont believe me? Think about the work environment during generation X: casual sexism/racism/ un safe work practices, often with a drinking culture. Now if you said that today you would not get ANYONE worth employing wanting to work there: generation Y simply would not stand for it, so you changed your working environment to cater for generation Y. You need to change again for the millenials.
And its not legislation either: if the smoking ban was repealed tommorow, would you allow smoking in the offices? Thought not...
ILoveMondeo said:
Wont come in 30 mins early once a week for a meeting, or ask if they can have overtime.
ETA I see FAR more people from my generation or older (I'm 40), that are quite frankly bone fking idle. Lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy bds.
Surely, if they're not contracted to come in for half an hour once a week then why should they? Which then leads to its only fair they ask for overtime. Thats roughly 25 hours a year and for someone on low pay that can be quite helpful. ETA I see FAR more people from my generation or older (I'm 40), that are quite frankly bone f
king idle. Lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy bds.Edited by ILoveMondeo on Wednesday 28th December 16:57
But, I do see your point. As one of the guys at my work is running out the door at 4 everyday. And packs the biggest paddy if he has to stay on 5 minutes to finish a iob.
He also needs a days notice to do any overtime (because by law the employer has to give 24h notice).
Unlike the rest of us who will just stay on.
Other than the Boss, we're all late 30s - early 40s and only 2 of us will put the effort in, the other 3 will do the bare minimum. Read Arnies autobiography on 'Lazy B
ds. Its very true.
I'm 33 so technically at the end spectrum of the millennial grouping. However, I work with a good few in their early 20's and they seem very different from what I would consider to be my "generation" of being a teenager in the 90's. Most of them seem to think their "opinions" really matter (anybody with a differing view point is either a bigot or racist) and most are exceedingly lazy. In the mornings we get a 20 minute break. Near everybody sticks to it except the younger ones who will sit around for 30-35 minutes. Then they have to take group toilet breaks together, including the gay guy. It is none stop gossiping with them and this particular group has been seperated twice. Now managed to move back together after a few were fired. One of the girls has a degree and has to be one of the dumbest girls I've ever met. She is beyond thick. Near everybody there has a degree but we are amazed she managed. Think Sociology type degree. We can be having a conversation 20 feet away and she will just butt in with her dumb questions.
I'm interviewing at the moment for a low level job and was horrified by the number of applicants who either had degrees (and a few with macs) or were basically illiterate with no job history since school. I'm 34 and it was very much high pressure to peruse further education, as such a lot of my friends have useless degrees that they never use (and associated debt). The older generation think I'm a grafter because I quit uni and trained to be a paramedic. Ironically, the lack of a degree is now holding me back. We are a generation that was told that a degree guaranteed a £25k job, nice car and modern semi. Unfortunately no one told us we'd have to work for it!
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: I know people in their 20's who feel hard done by because things aren't done the way they believe they should be done.
I get annoyed when I hear youngsters complaining that "baby boomers" stole their future.These youngsters have no idea what hardship feels like. They have their Sky subscriptions and their expensive mobile phone contracts. They won't make any sacrifices at all. The sense of entitlement is frightening.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: I know people in their 50's who hate change and are happy never changing because "we've always done it this way".
I've become a bit like that... well... a lot like that.Change is easy to deal with when you are young.
I have a 90 year old neighbour who has never accessed the internet. Asking her to use internet banking would place an impossible strain on her. Asking her to use the internet to find the best electricity prices is really unfair.
A few years ago, a friend offered my son an internship at is firm during my son's first year at university. When my son's internship came to an end, he wanted to offer my son a job. Apparently, my son had been polite, hard working, willing to learn and had no sense of entitlement. Strike one for the millennials. Except that he was keen to offer James a job because so few millennials had those qualities. Three years on and James is now working there.
So difficult to generalise but there are some who have a problem. As there are with baby boomers.
So difficult to generalise but there are some who have a problem. As there are with baby boomers.
I think i've seen both sides of the coin (only in my field of IT though), 50's with no skills due to reading Daily Mail/watching movies all day, millenials making one tiny (10 minute) piece of work last an entire day and the usual internet/smartphone/IM overuse.
I suspect there will be another slump in the economy (we're overdue one IMO) and there will be the inevitable round of layoffs which may make some people gain focus "are my skills actually worth something?" "can they replace me with an API?"
On the flip side i've seen chaps approaching retirement who are mustard, it would be a crying shame if they end up in B&Q telling people where the paint aisle is. Some young chaps i've worked with seem to be able to pick up concepts and ideas at a frightening rate, able to think for themselves and spin up their own work etc.
Possibly a subject for another thread but the entry level "stepping stone" jobs are getting off/near shored which i think could cause some issues when the generation Y's start to retire leaving a vacuum behind them.
I suspect there will be another slump in the economy (we're overdue one IMO) and there will be the inevitable round of layoffs which may make some people gain focus "are my skills actually worth something?" "can they replace me with an API?"
On the flip side i've seen chaps approaching retirement who are mustard, it would be a crying shame if they end up in B&Q telling people where the paint aisle is. Some young chaps i've worked with seem to be able to pick up concepts and ideas at a frightening rate, able to think for themselves and spin up their own work etc.
Possibly a subject for another thread but the entry level "stepping stone" jobs are getting off/near shored which i think could cause some issues when the generation Y's start to retire leaving a vacuum behind them.
Tony Starks said:
ILoveMondeo said:
Wont come in 30 mins early once a week for a meeting, or ask if they can have overtime.
ETA I see FAR more people from my generation or older (I'm 40), that are quite frankly bone fking idle. Lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy bds.
Surely, if they're not contracted to come in for half an hour once a week then why should they? Which then leads to its only fair they ask for overtime. Thats roughly 25 hours a year and for someone on low pay that can be quite helpful. ETA I see FAR more people from my generation or older (I'm 40), that are quite frankly bone f
king idle. Lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy bds.Edited by ILoveMondeo on Wednesday 28th December 16:57
But, I do see your point. As one of the guys at my work is running out the door at 4 everyday. And packs the biggest paddy if he has to stay on 5 minutes to finish a iob.
He also needs a days notice to do any overtime (because by law the employer has to give 24h notice).
Unlike the rest of us who will just stay on.
Other than the Boss, we're all late 30s - early 40s and only 2 of us will put the effort in, the other 3 will do the bare minimum. Read Arnies autobiography on 'Lazy B
ds. Its very true.Nothing to do with any contract.
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