I have never in my life seen or heard of so many whiney, wimpy, pussified young people, male and female alike...and I'm not talking about 6 to 10 year olds...these are 16 to 25 year olds!
I've interviewed, hired and worked with young people in the 1970's, '80's, '90's and 2000's from both coasts of varied backgrounds and ethnicity......4 decades of getting first-hand exposure to their attitudes, work ethic, likes and dislikes
Me, I've interviewed, hired & managed hundreds of people for 30+ yrs. Early, some were my age or older. Later, often younger. Most recently, much younger. And yes, "from both coasts of varied backgrounds and ethnicity".
I've often been complimented as the "best manager they ever had", and I'm still good friends with many of my early hires. More recent hires, especially millennials, that's not the case. After decades of being a successful manager, why the 2010's different? I was stumped.
Millenials are a very different generation from those that have come before through no fault of their own. It is not as easy as "that's what every older generation has said". Because they are so challenging to manage, companies are training managers on how to deal with them.
The video link above, imho, hits the nail on the head. My wife & I raised a millennial. I managed millennials in my engineering dept. The video strikes many chords:
"They think they're SPECIAL, since they heard that their whole life"
"They get trophies, simply for PARTICIPATING, in contrast to doing a great job or winning"
"They had helicopter parents, who shielded them from all the harsh realities of the 'real world', so they left the nest unprepared for the 'Real World', but with a feeling of entitlement "
" 'Social Media' wasn't in our generation, so this is a completely new phenomenon. "
Quick aside: When I held meetings, often with 5 to 20 ppl present, I'd ask for the attention of the attendees. I asked for no open laptops or cell phones, and to instead be 'present' and engaged in the meeting. Millennials were incredulous!
- "I can multitask"
- "I'm listening"
- while they're texting, doing FB, etc, during a meeting.
- they were not embarrassed when I asked a question in the meeting, and previous info had to be repeated for the self-professed 'multitaskers' " .
- as the video explains, "
if you're sitting in a meeting, with your cellphone facing up on the table, it says the attendees are less important than my cellphone",
The above is through my lens, colored by my life experiences. Both at work, at home, raising a millennial. As one of six kids, my parents couldn't afford the 'Helicopter" thang, time wise! They rarely came to my Little League games, lol....
As some said, for centuries older generations were critical of younger generations. Timeless.
What's different now? Internet, Social media, smart phones, etc. The big difference? Millenials have arguably been raised in a different social environment. But they WILL grow up and RUN things.
Predicting the future is tricky. Given my above grousing and whining, I think we'll do okay. Mankind seem to thrive....
