Oh No, Not the Millenials
CBS recently aired a story entitled “The Millenials are Coming” on their show 60 Minutes, that claims that my generation (born between 1980 and 1995 and called the Millenials), is rapidly turning the workplace into a “psychological battlefield.” The article also goes on to bash our work ethic, alleges that managers must speak to us as therapists may speak to patients on TV, says that we don’t know how to take criticism, and grossly exaggerates and distorts our ambitions to become CEOs and managers at an early age. Much of this is attributed to the “coddling virus” and Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow goes so far as to blame our “narcissism” on the beloved Mister Rogers.
Well, I certainly agree that we are changing and will continue to change the workplace… but aren’t our increasing technological savvy and reaching aspirations a sign of progress? We may talk, type, and text all at the same time but we get things done faster don’t we? And when it comes to work ethic I have a hard time understanding how my friends who are toiling away for 15-20 hours a day, 6-7 days a week at investment banks, hedge funds, and consulting firms, or how my peers that are working at the National Institute of Health while studying for the MCATs and running their own research projects on the side, or how other Millenials that are interning for minimal pay at a literacy camp for underprivileged children in Harlem while working a second job to make money can be construed as lacking dedication. Oh and regarding criticism: today no university course is complete without lots of room for feedback, teacher/student sessions, and peer reviews, and I believe this has carried forward into the work place as well. Millenials can handle criticism- in fact they often ask for it. And yes we may be guilty of finding pleasure in compliments and awards… but aren’t we all? I realize, of course, that I may be talking about a specific segment of the Millenial population; but so is the article. Not only does the article neglect the kinds of Milennials I just described above (for the most part), but several friends have noted that it also ignores many minority students whose childhoods were not colored with Little League, ballet classes and “you can be anything you want to be” speeches.
No doubt my generation has its flaws, but I think the article and 60 Minutes’ Morley Safer’s pessimism may be a little overstated.
