You can't swing a dead cat (an odd term and an unhygienic practice) without hitting someone in the business world complaining about the dearth of qualified young people and how business is doomed as a result.
The new generation, it is loudly proclaimed, is not ready to take over when we all pack up and move to Florida, or Portugal, or wherever it is we're planning to go when we hand the keys over and retire.
"Each generation believes itself smarter than the one that came before it and wiser than the one that comes after it" [George Orwell]
"There is a shortage of qualified managers among new workers entering the workforce" [pretty much every HR study on the planet]
"Duh, Dad" [my 14 year-old daughter]
Yeah, those darned kids don't know anything, they're lazy, they have no work ethic and certainly no respect for authority. The Millenials are coming and woe betide us all.
The term "generation gap" hasn't been heard so much since, well, the last major generation gap. When I was a kid in the 60s and 70s, much was made of the fact that we boomers were a new generation, one destined to change the world. Apparently we were going to do such a swell job of it that when we were done the world would be fixed once and for all. I mean, what would our kids have to fix when we'd created such a utopia?
So much of the grumbling is the same knee-jerk reaction our parents had, and theirs before them.
This doesn't mean there aren't real differences between the newest workers and us at their age. It's just that when you list the common complaints, a disturbing pattern appears:
They don't have any loyalty to an employer - yeah, not like us. We stuck with a company for a long time. Of course nearly half of millenials were raised in one-parent families because while we will stick out a bad job, a marriage apparently is easier to leave.
Oh and those who had two parents probably lived with a father or mother who was laid off or had their job go overseas, because those are the breaks and the company didn't owe them a living.
They don't know the meaning of hard work - of course, the number of kids in high school with part time jobs is a fraction of what it was 20 years ago because their parents decided that a good grade point average and soccer was more important than doing chores and earning their own money and shouldn't have it as rough as we did.
They are spoiled and self-centered - we learned by sharing with our brothers and sisters. These kids are almost all from one and two child families. (This is not just a western phenomenon. China's one child family policy has resulted in what is whisperingly referred to as "the little emperor" syndrome).
And marketers have long played on the fact that they drive most of the buying decisions in their homes because parents pretty much give them what they want. Darn those marketers.
They don't understand that business is a rough game and life is not fair - hmmm, how could a bunch of kids whose parents insisted that everyone get a trophy when they play, that self-esteem comes from not ever being made to feel badly and that "there are no real losers" possibly have such an unrealistic picture of the working world?
They have book learning, but no real experience - Why, when I started my business career, I took that first job and knew exactly how to get things done. I got my first management position and instinctively knew the right and wrong ways to motivate people, how business worked, how to navigate the labyrinth of bureaucracy and office politics and where the extra paper clips were kept (usually in the Admin's desk drawer, guarded like they were made of platinum).
Who are these parents who raised these useless brats?
Who are the marketers who told these kids that despite Mr. Galileo's hard work to the contrary, the center of the universe lay with them?
Who are the companies that have sliced apprenticeship, training and mentoring programs?
Fact is, the kids are fine. Our generation just need to suck it up and do our jobs, and better late than never.
Thanks for this wonderfully irreverent exposure of the dissing of youth that goes on. What is up with that? Sit and talk to these kids for a moment and you find that their knowledge is profound, self-sacrifice is not in their vocabulary, and they live true to their values unless of course they have been seriously damaged by adult views of their lack of value, inability to see their talent cause it comes with tatoos or earrings. No attracting and retaining this talent will require that employers be flexible not only with their practices but also with their mindset so they can enter and appreciate a world-view different from their own. Thanks Wayne..
I think that you need to do more research before you make judgements. Many companies these days have no loyalty towards their employees, thus causing many employees not to be loyal. Think before you make generalizations.
I agree businesses should take a more active role in mentoring young workers. With today's fast-paced work world, we have to realize personal growth in workers should be a collective investment and it shouldn't stop with the end of formalized schooling. I know it costs more, but businesses should invest more in their young workers. I think in the long run it will pay off. dd
Apparently, two of the commenters didn't read the headline or don't have much exposure to satirical writing... that aside, they do have points that need to be made.
The first of which is the utter lack of loyalty that companies show their employees.
Greed trumps loyalty. The Baby Boomer generation has shown this to be the case. Why should our generation be loyal when companies weren't loyal to our parents?
Dear Wayne Dear Colleagues
I will say that some of the comments reflect the truth as is experienced daily in the work place, loyalty being in my personal opinion, a hot iron which has to be dealt with. Having learnt from old German and French firms when I was young that there still was the mentoring structure and a certain leadership present, this has unfortunately changed, due to the facts stated correctly, loyalty and honesty. Also, one other fact should be stated, that in managerial positions, it may be wise to put someone with the relevant experience of the field as well as knowledge of staff and the relevant communication skills and responsibilities?! This is a two sided coin, giving and receiving. I was taught that if a company was willing to help you with furthering your education, it would be your responsibility to remain with the firm as, shall one say 'gratitude'. Should you one day still decide to move on, this may be done without any form of animosity. But you will always have a reputation as well as memories to hold in pride towards the previous colleagues and company. I may sound somewhat old-fashoined, yet this is a matter I am personally experiencing at present.
Rizpah