A lot is being written these days about Generation Y or Millennial employees. I have written about them myself briefly here. In general, I am very skeptical of the sweeping generalizations being made about this group of employees, mainly because despite what the consultants are saying, these generalizations are not supported by a significant and compelling body of scientific research. It’s mostly opinion surveys and anecdotes. The most common term used to describe these folks is “entitled.” My colleagues and I are starting our own research on this issue.
Since 1995, I’ve been interacting with young people in college through my role as a management professor. This summer, I stepped back into the classroom as a student to study Spanish for three weeks in Spain.
My Spanish teacher, who lives here in Spain but teaches Spanish exclusively to American students studying in Spain, told me that she thinks American students are increasingly different than ones she taught 10 years ago or so. She did not use the term, but she clearly described them as entitled (give me an A but don’t make me work for it). She went on to share that she thinks the current generation of Spanish young people, while not as extreme as those from the US, are trending the same way.
Let me add an anecdote and see if you think there is anything in this description that can be generalized to an entire group of young people such that it could be the basis for managerial interventions. The other day in class we were shooting the breeze and one of the young folks (American, about 23 years old) told this very interesting story (my paraphrasing):
I can’t stand to wear any clothes that someone else owns. If I see someone wearing something I own, I will never wear it again. And every year, I totally replace my wardrobe. But with my old clothes, I don’t just take them and drop them off at a charity. Instead I load them into the trunk of my car and drive around looking for a homeless person that they might fit. Then I buy that person a meal and give them my clothes. I love to be driving around town and see someone wearing my clothes. I’m like “yea, those are my clothes!” It’s much better than just giving them away to some charity.
He also shared with us that he owns his own business and has plans to start another one sometime after he returns to the US – impressive. His friends are an extremely important part of his life, and he is still very much attached to his parents both emotionally and I suspect financially. He is a very smart guy but attending class and preparing lessons from the book are not high on his list of priorities. He is friendly, generous, self-confident and ambitious. I think it’s pretty fair to say he is relatively narcissistic.
He is certainly different than me when I was 23. But does that mean he is significantly different any other 23 year old person of my generation of any other generation? And is he significantly similar to his other 23 year old peers such that we can draw conclusions on what we think we observe?
What do you think?
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[...] Is this a good example of a Generation Y (Millennial) employee? [...]
Bret, this is a great topic and one where I’ve found myself often opting for the dissenting opinion as someone that sees remarkable potential in this generation. I’m/we’re in good company as Jim Collins shares this optimistic perspective as well. Interested readers might enjoy my article at the CW Bulletin entitled “Leadership and the Millennials” http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2009/0509/Petty.htm
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Thanks for the link to the great article, Art. I agree with you that our young people have tremendous potential. I don’t think there is anything new under the sun, however. This generation might value different things, but our job as leaders remains the same – to learn what they value and then show them how to get the things they value at work. Thanks! Bret
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