We are all familiar with rivalries…Republicans vs Democrats. Texas vs Oklahoma. Yankees vs Red Sox. However, a new rivalry has emerged in the last decade that is causing major problems: Millennials vs Corporate America. Business owners, managers, and recruiters love to express their disdain with Millennials in the work force while Millennials love to roll their eyes at angry old people that do not understand what it is like to live in 2019.
We recently had a client come to us with a unique issue. Their newly hired “Millennials” are picking and choosing when to come to work. They will take a couple days off without telling anyone, then show back up as if nothing happened. As Jason Bateman says in the movie Dodgeball, “that is a bold strategy, Cotton.”
How do you fix this? Better yet, how do you TRAIN for this? Are millennials the problem, or could it possibly be the people that are in charge to train them?
Well, in my mind, I think the first thing you must do is understand what goes on between our ears. Luckily for you, you have a Resident Millennial who can give you a little insight! With each point, I will pose a question at the end I would like you to consider as it relates to that topic. FYI, this is a little lengthy, so lock in.
Let’s look at the 3 fundamental issues that create a disconnect in today’s workforce:
Our parents, who were triggered by tough love and forced to go get what they want, overcompensated when raising their Millennial kids. You all should be nodding in agreement. These parents propped their kids up from Day 1. Everyone’s kid was the next Bill Gates and destined for greatness. Unfortunately, these Millennials have misconstrued that praise as a sense of entitlement. They graduate college thinking “this company needs me, I am great, my mom told me so.” Sure, they might be great, but everyone is replaceable and that is a concept this generation has yet to grasp.
Do you have the right managers in place to handle this type of personality? My previous manager was a micro-manager who liked things his way. I felt entitled to do the job that was conducive to my work style; not my managers – as long I reached the end point he desired.
College is where we are on our own without any push from parents. We set our schedule and we do things when we want to do them. It is a liberating feeling and our once structured life turns into creating bad habits. Missing classes and rationalizing doing the bare minimum to get that passing grade. This trickles into Post-Grad, work life. Our client has employees who go missing because in their mind, as long as they complete their work, why do they need to show up. It worked in college, surely it should work at a job. They pay me to get the job done, right? Wrong.
Do you set expectations with new hires in an effort to provide structure in their daily work life?
How can you teach this during your onboarding process? Can you test for this?
Because of these elements, your pre-employment screening process is more critical than ever before.
Seems like a big ask for many companies – but that is why you have me.
I have the resources to make this an easy process for you. Call me some time and let’s talk about it.
n 2016, millennials became the largest US generation in the workforce, overtaking both the baby boomers and Gen X generations. This changing of the guard has created disruption, both intentionally and inadvertently.
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