3 Comments on Millenials want IT their way

Donna on Fri, 14th Nov 2008 5:57 pm


When I read studies done about what Millennials want (or as stated above, “demand”!) it makes me want to avoid them like the plague! One study will tell you that they plan to start a job, get some additional training, and be on their way in a heartbeat. Most tell you that they want to set all the terms of their employment, regardless of the actual needs of the company. All the studies seem to indicate that each and every one of them expects all of their individual needs and wants to be catered to precisely. And the focus of the company isn’t supposed to be on the quality of the product or growing the business – it is supposed to be on making sure that each of them is happy. I don’t know how any company is supposed to be able to have individual policies for each and every employee.

I know this really isn’t the case, but study after study makes the whole pack of them sound like spoiled, self-centered brats who can’t survive for more than an hour without chatting electronically with friends and whom you can’t trust to do what their instructed to do (the above article indicates they aren’t “inclined” to follow stated policies). Why on earth would anyone want to hire someone with the above “attributes”??

Lisa on Tue, 20th Jan 2009 4:02 pm


What generation HASN’T acted this way? And what generation(s), looking at the upcoming ones, HASN’T thought that the “kids” were niave, self-centered, undisciplined and demanding?

Does anyone remember the against-the-rules hijinx of young men and women in Warld War II movies? They didn’t always follow the rules, they wanted to “paint the town red,” and they were crazy about pin-up girls and movie stars. Yet, in retrospect, they managed to earn a collective nickname of the “Greatest Generation,” doing amazing things without a huge monetary incentive to do so.

Their kids, Baby Boomers, were equally dismissive of the rules on everything from sex to drugs to music to education, and they had big ethereal dreams about equality, peace, rock stars, and things that, again, had nothing to do with money. At least some of them were called the “Me Generation.” Yet, the Baby Boomers too somehow managed to turn into relatively responsible adults and almost all of them eventually became capitalists. Does anyone remember the ’80s? Thirty-Something?

You don’t hear much talk about the Boomer’s kids. I’m one of them, born in 1969. Maybe the talk wasn’t so loud because our generation didn’t “look” as different. We were still just as self-centered and defiant as all the kids that came before — we had punk rock and new drugs and cable TV to let us see things that our parents didn’t like.

However, we also had our “Greatest Generation” grandparents and our “Me Generation” parents tempering our new technology, but more importantly, most of the new technology was consumer-oriented, like color TV and movies you could watch at home. The few business advancements were about doing familiar things in a more efficient manner. We had electric typewriters and then data processing on a keyboard; not so different from the stuff that my parents and grandparents knew.

Since then, we’ve had big leaps in technology — applied to almost every aspect of American life — so the next up-and-coming generation might be more alien to the ones currently populating the workforce. They grew up with ATMs, the internet, and cellphones, which were huge boxes owned only by the pompous when I was first leaving school. It would have been crazy to think I could bring a TV and a “new fangled” VCR to my desk when I was a 20-something. It doesn’t seem so weird when you talk about handheld devices.

Like any feedback we get from current or potential employees, we should apply some perspective here. When a survey indicates that the new generation wants to choose their own technology, I would hazard a guess that they mean, “I’d like some selections for the company-issued cell phone.” For example, my husband and I both hate his current company-issue phone (who’s name rhymes with ack-hairy) because neither of us find it to be very user-friendly, but there is only one style offered by his company, and he isn’t allowed the option to go out and buy a different one because of system security issues.

As for using the internet for personal use during the day, let’s be honest, who among us can be the one to cast the first stone? We now use the internet the same way that our parents used the phone. We check our bank account balance before heading out for lunch-time errands. We might even check an on-line directory to find the closest drycleaner for that same lunch break. Today, while waiting on hold for a business-related phone call, I looked up info on a new preschool recommended by a coworker. Trust me, it was much faster (and more productive for the company) than my discussing it with her.

I vote that we view incoming info about the next batch of entry-level applicants as what they are: young people just getting started, lacking experience, but offering fresh perspectives and new energy. They will behave pretty much like young people always have, and part of our job is to guide them to use their youthful perspectives and energy for the best outcomes.

claire on Wed, 29th Apr 2009 3:39 pm


My dad was a WWII US Marine. A hell raiser according to my grandmother. He grew up quick during his war years. Enlisted at 18 and went straight to war. After the war he went to work. His work ethic was excellent. I learned a great deal from him and wish that he were alive today to guide me in my HR position. I am a baby boomer and have two son; a Generation Xer and a Millennial.

Having all these generations in the workplace at the same time can be a mixed blessing. I feel encouraged by having to mentor my sons, my co-workers who are in their 20′s.

I don’t ever want to come across as a know it all. I study human behavior, take classes to learn to help others and be the best I can be. I want to share my knowledge with younger people so that they can be successful in the workplace and in life.

So the millennials are a little rough around the edges. So was my dad. So was I. Teach our children. My dad did it with me. So did my bosses. And I am mentoring others so that they will be writing in a blog one day about this very subject.

We’re all in this together. What is so wrong about helping our young professionals to be the best they can be!