Practice Development Counsel

Phyllis weiss haserot
Phyllis weiss haserot


President & Founder


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pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com
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What Irritates Other Generations about Gen Y: A Graduating Millennial Takes a Candid Look at Her Peer Group

As part of her experience as my extern during her junior year at Cornell, I gave Danielle Kronenfeld (DK) a number of questions to write about and discuss with me. We published one piece as a blog last year. Here is another with her updated views on what irritates older generations about Gen Y/Millennials and why they think the way they do.

Phyllis (PWH): What about your generation do you think frustrates or irritates other generations?

DK:  I think other generations are most frustrated by our generation’s self-entitlement.

PWH:  Ah – the famous “entitled” label! How is that manifest?

DK:  We are so passionate about our careers and incredibly eager to get started, which makes us act as though we deserve every challenging opportunity and should be paid very highly for our work. We’re not very open to doing “busy work” because we feel that our time and skills could be put to better use. However, once we enter the workforce, even if we are given meaningful tasks, many of us get bored quickly and look to change companies or careers. As my classmates and I prepare to graduate and start working, many of them only plan to stay at their jobs for a year or two and then go back to school or try something completely different.

PWH:  Why the dabbling? Is it lack of focus or healthy experimentation?

DK:  Gen Yers have an eagerness to dive right in and learn as much as possible. We’re more educated than any other generation and enjoy hearing about all of the possibilities available to us. We believe in the importance of finding a career we are passionate about, but that often leads us to feel unsatisfied and wonder if there is something better out there; we like to go with our gut instinct and explore these possibilities. This fluctuation is very different from older generations, and they seem to have trouble comprehending and supporting it.

It is understandable that they feel frustrated when they invest their time in someone, only to have the person leave a year or two later for a competitor or to try something new. That being said, we feel that we have the right to move on and find the best fit for us, knowing that we purposely did not agree to any long-term commitment.

PWH:  This phenomenon has led to another label: the “hesitation generation.”

DK:  Additionally, I think our more relaxed and casual demeanor irritates older generations. A lot of big companies are losing top millennial talent to Silicon Valley and small start-ups because of their casual environment and relaxed corporate culture. Getting a job at a place like Google is the dream for a lot of Millennials, even those who aren’t at all interested in tech, simply because of the casual attire, office perks, and a working environment that just screams fun! Many of us can’t work without music, but people of older generations find it rude when we use headphones at our desks.

When searching for jobs, we prefer to get to know people and companies through more relaxed networking events rather than formal presentations. We get the most out of casual conversations with people who are open and honest, and we don’t have the same appreciation for the senior speaker who wants to lecture about his or her 30 years of experience. We respect these people, but are more interested in what is happening right now, not learning about the history.

DK:  Along with our casual conduct comes efficiency as a top priority, which is somewhat concerning to older generations. We want to be flexible with when and where we work, whether that is in different office locations, from our home, or on-the-go, so that we can accomplish as much as possible in the most convenient way. I personally send more emails from my phone than my computer, because it is easier to pull out my phone whenever I have a spare minute or two and quickly cross off something on my to-do list. We would rather send quick emails and texts than write out formal letters or have lengthy sit-down meetings. It’s easier for us to fill out an important form online than to call somebody or go into an office and have a discussion about it.

One of my biggest frustrations in working on group projects is simply waiting for the other group members to get back to me; I want to hear their thoughts right away so that I can move on to the next section.

PWH:  Efficiency and convenience trumps effectiveness?

DK:  We’ve grown up with everything we want being available almost instantaneously, so often times we choose efficiency, even if we sometimes sacrifice thoroughness in the process. I can imagine that this is frustrating for older generations, as it is very different from how they have operated, and they strongly value the face-to-face interactions. Regardless of what we’re doing, we’re almost always ready to move on to the next thing, and I think older generations are irritated by this capriciousness.

PWH:  Danielle, thank you for sharing your thoughts and explaining behaviors that tend to be typical of your generation. Having these types of conversations and being open to finding solutions or compromises that work all around are healthy, productive and, I think, necessary.

We’d both like to have your thoughts/comments. Please hit REPLY, email pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com or post on the Cross-Generational Conversation group on LinkedIn.

Danielle Kronenfeld graduated from Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School in May 2015. She is returning home to New York City this summer to begin her career in Human Resources at Morgan Stanley.

©  Danielle Kronenfeld and Phyllis Weiss Haserot, 2015.

 

05/2015