Perception of Millennials Versus Reality
Reality: Straight up
Gen Y can be entitled, but to a certain extent this can be attributed to their upbringing. The baby boomer parent hit their professional peaks during a prosperous period of American history, which created a sense of optimism and promise they passed onto Gen Y. Millennials bought into the hype and frankly, there are worse things to believe than that you’re special or that you actually can make a difference.
2. Perception: Lazy
Reality: False, we work differently
Millennials use technology to work more efficiently. It’s no coincidence that the term super-employee has risen in popularity as Gen Y has become more dominant in the workforce. Millennials are master multi-taskers. However, for employees the perception of laziness arises because texting and instant messaging looks the same as emailing, researching, and networking on social media – all of which millennials are accustomed to doing in the palm of their hand.
Reality: True, but there's a catch
Gen Y witnessed their parent’s success, followed by their retirement plans going out the window when the recession hit. It’s not necessarily that millennials truly expect the ideal situation, but we demand more because we’ve seen how quickly our parents lost everything they spent their best years working for. Millennials balance. They want to work to live and not allow work to become the center of their existence.
4. Perception: Needy
Reality: Fair enough.
Millennials grew up during the advent of social media. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter and before them, Myspace, allowed Gen Y to receive constant feedback or praise about virtually every decision they made. In the workspace this can be problematic so for millennials it’s worth considering whether or not you’re asking questions to learn or craving the approval our generation is accustomed to getting.
5. Perception: Lacking good communication skills
Reality: False.
Millennials are arguably the most socially active and communicative of any generation. Gen Y maintains and builds relationships in a wide variety of ways, including virtual and face to face, however, millennials tend to be much better at virtual communication than the traditional approaches baby boomers tend towards.
0 comments:
Post a Comment