LIZ BANDSTRA GUEST COLUMNIST
I’ll admit it; I watched an hour of television last night, sent 15 text messages yesterday and yes, I even have a tattoo. According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, because of these traits, I am 88 percent Millenial.
Perhaps it’s a good thing I share traits with my generation, but a recent poll performed by Jobfox.com predicts that Millennials’ job performance will rank the lowest out of the previous four generations.
With approximately 70 million of us Millennials soon entering the workforce, changes must be made in the Millennial attitude and the corporate world must cater accordingly.
The Millennial generation, born between the 1980’s and early 2000’s, plays victim to several stereotypes and generalizations about performance in the workplace, including little work ethic and self-centeredness.
According to “Generation Y and the New Rules of Management” by Mark Murphy, the most prominent stereotype of the Millenial generation is a false sense of entitlement. Millennials want it all right now, without working for it.
“Today’s youth sees flipping burgers as beneath them,” Christopher Corday, GMAC Mortgage human resources business partner, said. “The generations before Millenials would see that as an opportunity, a place to expand from.”
Because of Millennials’ expectation to climb the corporate ladder quickly and without merit, Corday said the turnover rate of younger workers is very high.
New, younger employees at GMAC usually begin with positions in customer service or collections, which can be stressful for a new employee, especially an employee whose job preference is not in customer service or collections, Corday said.
“We don’t lose employees because of skill,” Corday said. “We lose employees because of will. It certainly plays into the younger generational stereotype.”
While some sources are insisting that Millennials need to adhere to the workforce, Corday and Derek Solheim, associate director of Pathways for career services, said businesses also need to meet the needs of the incoming Millennial workforce.
Although it’s frustrating for employers who deal with a high employee turnover rate, businesses need to adjust their approach to cater to the generation, Corday said.
“We can’t stick our noses up to Millennials because we don’t like the way they are,” Corday said. “We have to appear attractive to potential employees, because the way a generation performs is a product of the environment in which they were raised.”
As management adheres to the Millennial generation, the Millennial generation must adhere to management. Don’t expect to start a new job, work 40 hours a week for six months and suddenly become the CEO of the company.
Realism is a trait our generation needs to adopt, because without it, we’ll live up to the hype of our infamous sense of entitlement.