“Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation” (Again, and again, and again…)
Have you seen the news? Read the articles? Heard the talking heads?
They say young people are “lazy” and “entitled”. It’s said that young people – the entire generation – will never amount to much.
I came across a Time Magazine article the other day that really bothered me. It was another older person talking down to my generation. The article described us this way: “They have trouble making decisions. They would rather hike in the Himalayas than climb a corporate ladder.” It said we’re a generation that “postpones growing up” pointing out that “fully 75% of young males 18 to 24 years old are still living at home, the largest proportion since the Great Depression.” We’re apparently the “New Petulants” because we “can often end up sounding like whiners.”
What?! We’re “whiners” just because we don’t want to live the same lives as our parents?!
Regarding employers, the article said “Companies are discovering that to win the best talent, they must cater to a young work force that is considered overly sensitive at best and lazy at worst.” Perhaps this is because, as the article astutely points out, we “want flexibility, access to decision making and a return to the sacredness of work-free weekends.”
We “want constant feedback from supervisors.” As a generation, we “crave grades, performance evaluations and reviews” because “younger people are not driven from within, they need reinforcement.”
You’ve Heard All This About Gen Y Before, Right?
I was thinking the same thing when reading that article: “Just one more old person bitching about the young… perpetuating the same ‘Battle of the Generations’.” As if on cue, the article then said “They’re the next big thing. Boomers, beware! It’s payback time!”
Way to add fuel to the fire, Time.
Does all this bickering between the generations ever get us anywhere?
“Can’t We All Just Get Along?”
Boomers: It’s time to move on. Time to grow up. Time to realize that discrimination in this form regarding nearly any other issue would not be tolerated.
Gen Y: I challenge you to step up and be the “bigger man”, as it were. End the generational bickering, and just accept the differences and work toward working together.
Gen X: Oh… I might have neglected to mention…
The Time Magazine article at the beginning of this post… it was written in 1990. Twenty years ago. And the “us” and “we” I referred to was not Gen Y, but my generation… Generation X.
Yes, Gen Y. You Are Different.
You are unique and talented and special… as individuals. But the fact that with a metaphorical wave of a Boomer’s hand you are categorized with disparaging adjectives as a generation… you are no different than Gen X that came before you and perhaps no different than Gen Z (or whatever the next generation will be labeled) after you.
Unless you want to be.
Some day, you may be sitting in your corner office complaining about “those damn Gen AA kids… lazy, spoiled, entitled… with their jet packs and their family-work-life-balance vacations on the moon…”
Or maybe you will truly be different. You’ll have accepted my challenge and embraced our differences. You’ll have made a decision not to perpetuate the battle between the generations.
You’ll have made the difference in the world that is so important to your generation.
Wait… wasn’t that what they said at Woodstock?
The author, Dave Ellis, is an original member of the YouTern team and instrumental to its success… in fact, he’s so awesome there wouldn’t be a YouTern without him (and he might have written this bio himself). In his spare time, Dave volunteers, rescuing and rehabilitating sea lions and baby elephant seals.
More from YouTern…
- 3 Great Insights For Managing Gen Y
- Top 7 Survival Tips For New Grads In The Workplace
- Sorry, Gen Y Fear-Mongers and Link-Baiters: Gen Y Doesn’t Want to Rule the World
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