Getting your player ready...
Dear J.T. & DALE: I work with a bunch of 20-somethings and am fed up. I can’t take their self-absorbed, whiny attitudes anymore. My employer says we have to keep them on staff because they are cheap labor. But honestly, I don’t think they are worth the money they’re paid. I need to work for another 10 years, and I can’t imagine working with these fools that long. – Roger
J.T.: You aren’t the first seasoned worker to express major dissatisfaction with millennials. In fact, unlike your employer, some companies are so fed up that they are firing the worst offenders. If you search “3 Reasons Millennials are Getting Fired,” you’ll find a discussion on this very trend. DALE: That discussion, Roger, originated with a provocative article for Inc. Magazine by J.T. Her tough-love assessment caught me by surprise, as J.T. has been a great ally of millennials. If you read the article, be sure to read the comments in response from some of those 20-somethings. A sample: “Millennials are ‘tough’ to keep happy because they’re not going to take being abused for a paycheck like the previous generations did.” J.T.: Who created this problem? I say it’s the parents who have excessively praised children while encouraging them to stand up for themselves and to believe that they can be anything they want to be. This has translated into millennials who resent doing extra work, or doing any work they don’t like. That is, of course, a generalization – the entire generation does not act this way. DALE: The upshot is that there are employers who’ve decided to stop dealing with job-hopping young employees. I talked recently with the CEO of a national company, who told me that they have no interns and no entry-level jobs – they only hire people with a minimum of three years’ experience. The CEO thinks of it as finding people who know what they want to do, but by definition, that means not hiring those who are dazed and confused by the working world. J.T.: Here’s the upside: When properly coached and motivated, millennials can be incredibly valuable to a company. I suggest that you propose to your employer having honest discussions with the staff. Millennials are highly collaborative. If you include them in the discussion, I bet together you can find ways to fix the problem. Incorporate some of their suggestions, and you’ll earn their trust. You might even discover that they can help you find greater success and satisfaction at work. Dear J.T. & Dale: My department has undergone several management changes in the past years. Three years ago we had an aggressive, sarcastic manager who was prone to biting my head off. Fortunately, after six months she was transferred. Now she’s back! She told us to get used to being yelled at. Any tips on how to prevent her from walking all over me? – Flo J.T.: If you have an HR department, I would go to them and ask if they can offer you some guidance. I’d also ask if they’d send you to a course to help you cope with a manager who possesses a different communication style from your own. If the company won’t offer either, grab some books on the subject.
