Miscasting Generation Y

Jun 10 2008 by Derek Torres Print This Article

Boy, it seems like the millennium generation (those born between 1980 and 1985) just can't catch a break, can they? Not only have previous generations handed them a sluggish economy, a polluted planet, and just about every other negative one can think of, but now it seems they're likely to suffer from job burnout a lot faster than we did (or will).

That's what CNN seems to think; I would tend to agree, but not for the same reasons.

The CNN article paints the current generation with a pretty broad brush. While it's true that perhaps today's younger crowd feels the need to work harder or to be more productive in order to get ahead, it's perhaps simply a sign of the times.

The article asserts that today's younger crowd feels a sense of entitlement, which leads them to assert more and tire more quickly. While every generation has its few that feels entitled to something for nothing, I don't think this represents even a small minority of the millenniums.

On the contrary. I think that if the millenniums are quickly working themselves into the ground (or grave), it's rather out of a necessity to do so. The article asserts that somehow the millenniums will jump into management roles held by retiring baby boomers because there is no one else to do it; what a load of rubbish! This totally forgets the "Generation X" crowd that is still in their early 30s!

This article is full of absurd statements, such as the one I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. About the only information that is spot on is that fact that the millenniums will have to be careful to strike a proper work/life balance. Once they set the standard for all work and no play, future employers will expect no less!

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