Today I stumbled upon the article
Big Generation Gaps in Work Attitudes Revealed while perusing my Yahoo.com news site. It does offer an interesting perspective on GenY, I'm not a fan of the "GenMe" term used in this article - it sounds too self centered but I think that was the point, however I disagree with the author's point of view.
(me at a work event...narcissist smarcissist)
The following is an excerpt and what I most disagree with:
"In some respects, GenMe seems to want to have their cake and eat it too. That is they want high pay and status but aren't as interested in burning the midnight oil. "Given that GenMe values extrinsic rewards more than Boomers did, the combination of not wanting to work hard but still wanting more money and status verifies the sense of entitlement many have identified among GenMe," the researchers write in an article published online this month by the Journal of Management. "I have had the pleasure of having a vast and varied career history in my short time since University and can attest to the fact that myself and several GenY coworkers have and continue to burn the midnight oil. An admirable quality I find in most GenY employees is that we truly care about what we do (and most often how it's done). Also, many of us are goal oriented, no I am not copying my resume to this blog post, and strive to be the best in our given field and I do not find the correlation between wanting to be successful and being narcissistic.
It has been my experience that companies, bosses and HR Managers short change GenY. Often times we're not paid what we're worth because frankly, there's another kid waiting right behind you who will work for whatever is offered.
I think maybe I take personal offense to this article because I have worked hard to be where I am today. After graduating I worked a midnight to 9:00 a.m. shift at the local ABC affiliate producing the morning newscast. I later moved hundreds of miles away from my family to a small SW Missouri town taking a job that paid near the poverty line. I worked my way up, learned the news business and was lucky enough to later land a job back in CO where I honed my hatred for broadcast news. After that was out of my system, I took a paid internship - mind you I had three years work experience - at a PR firm in Denver and later by the grace of God was hired by my current employer. I don't feel entitled but I guess you could say that I do feel as though I have paid some dues.
Don't get the wrong idea I don't hate everything about the article and find some to be true like this excerpt:
"The youngest age group was also no more likely to want to help others and society through their work than other generations. The assumption that GenMe employees care about volunteerism and social issues has spurred many companies to let workers volunteer on company time as a way to attract this generation, the researchers said. "
I also agreed with the part at the bottom claiming dog-friendly offices are a big draw.
Read the article and see what you think...
(photo courtesy: westga.edu)
