New phenomenon discovered: Inexperienced professionals less professional than experienced professionals. Also, old people wonder “what’s the matter with kids these days?”. Tonight at 11.
I can’t blame schools for lack of professionalism. All they can do is stress the need. Start with the parents. So many parents are the helicopter type. The kids see no professionalism in the way they run their kids life so why should they feel the need to be professional in anything.
Comments have come in from young and old, but what about those of us trapped between you? We’re the ones who train all these college grads and then cover all the older worker’s butts because they’re out of the office a million days a year. We get no credit and no thank you’s from either group, but steadily pound away to keep our companies running. We end up with minuscule raises and bonuses and watch the new hires get starting pay higher than where we are after years and then watch management rake in fat bonuses while handing us enough to buy an extra lunch once in a while. (And don’t start saying I’m bitter and a poor worker, I have a perfect track record, excellent performance reviews & attendance and consistently complete work above and beyond my normal duties). Can’t wait to get no Social Security and a 2% raise after being told “you’re the most valuable person we have!”
From an employer’s perspective, this article is right on. What’s more..these (kids) don’t know how to interview for the most part and the ones who do are latent entitlement minded. The most important factors on the mind of most 20 to 35 year olds are: time off, promotion, higher pay and self importance and gratification. Having a smart phone stuck in their ear is even more annoying. Thinking of how one can improve the bottom line for the company, how to contribute to the objectives of the business and other minor factors are down on the list on importance. Take a lesson from the Asian kids American parents. Those kids are quantum leaps ahead in professionalism.
Young people want instant gratification in all things. They don’t want to have attend a “real” college or university where they’d have to compete verbally, interact with others,communicate, and socialize. They think you can get a “real” degree from the University of Phoenix.
It’s all coming home to roost. There shouldn’t be any shortcuts for “convenience” of the young punks. I was appalled at a news special last evening that physical education is now “optional” in 29 states. It can be taken “online”. This is total _ULLSHIT. America is becoming the most obese nation in the world and these punks can opt out of phys. ed? The inmates are runnig the asylum and nobody gives a _hit.
America is in for a rude awakening as foreign countries like Japan are kicking our _ss in most categories of learning and socialization. Nice job parents of these imbeciles for allowing this to happen. You should be very proud that you lobbied for the “easy way” for your kids. They’re great at video games but suck at reality.
I hired college grads for over 30 years. The current crop is most of the things the survey says. 30 years ago they were some better, but mostly more polite about it, which makes hiring today somewhat easier.
I had a kid take a personal call on his cell during his final interview. I wish I had a photo of his face when I arose, shook his hand and told him he was not what we were looking for.
We had very good luck with internships from the local university that had an Insurance program. The assistant Dean was quite good at coaching her students on workplace etiquette and expectations. We were able to get a look at possible hires and they got to look at our company and the working environment. I can’t remember one intern hire that did not work out well.
As a side note, my daughter who is just finishing law school likes the dufus crowd. It makes it easier for her to stand out and excel.
Grade inflation, elimination of competition, rewarding everyone for “trying”, and parents who are totally involved in school work-to the point of doing their homework, have all made intellectual independence and self motivation relics of the past. And we wonder why their is a lack of respect for experience and achievement.
Consistantly rejecting my resumes. Had been a valued agent with them 20 years. Rejection states “not qualified.”
They mean – “too old.”
Hope they hire lots of rude young people who don’t know how to treat their customers right.
Every generation says the generation before it is rude, crude and disrespectful. I remember hearing stories of rebels who smoked cigarettes on the street corner, had toga parties or listened to Elvis or The Beatles. (Gasp!) The nerve of some kids!
Hooray, Franklin (is that you FDR?)- this goes with a story yesterday about the aging of the workforce, more of us Beatlemaniacs are still around to grump!
Ben, I think you overlook the fact that this generation is the first to be fully immersed in the new educational philosophy of self gratification, self congratulations, and self indulgence. It is “el neuvo dia” in education brought to us by those great 1970s thinkers who knew they could do it best. The education system as you knew it pre-1980 is gone, replaced by teachers who worry more about their pension and union membership than their vocation.
Read an article not long ago about a Human Resources person of a large company that had to hire someone to praise and motivate their young employees. These kids/young adults are so accustomed to being stroked for EVERYTHING they do and not having to compete against each other because it might bruise their self esteem that they are ruined. I watch parents tell Little Jonnie (no more Johnny’s) what a good job he’s doing as he halfway applies himself on the soccer field, basketball court, football field, etc. They tell him it doesn’t matter if you win or lose it’s how you play the game. He doesn’t have a daddy because his mom just wants kids, and she doesn’t need a “man” in the house. He watches Disney Channel that doesn’t have one decent father figure in any of it’s shows and the boys are so effeminate they make you want to cry… In fact are there any programs on television with a strong father figure? Mostly strong or obnoxious moms and NO dads or an effeminate man who is portrayed as an idiot. I could go on and on. Parents need to toughen up little Jonnie.
For a change, this study hit the nail on the head. After years of being over indulged by thier parents, no wonder.
I have had enough of articles telling us how to hire and keep gen y’s. They will get a rude awakening or America will continue it’s slide into mediocrity.
What do you mean, “will”? The boomers overleveraged themselves and put us into a recession deeper than anything since the Great Depression. Unemployment of people in their early 20’s is at least 15%; the rate at which they can’t find jobs in their desired field is much more.
It’s funny. The same people who say I am unprofessional are those who say I show no loyalty after leaving a company which treats me like crap because I am still “wet behind the ears”.
I read year ago about a position in a large company that was developed to “cheer” on the younger employees. They work better with inordinate amounts of praise.
Small wonder – it is disturbing to watch kids competing on the football or soccer field, basketball court, baseball diamond, etc. and see their parents telling them what a good job Lil Jonnie (no longer Johnny)is doing as he half heartedly makes his way through the game. Not much is required of most kids today, and they don’t compete against each other like we baby boomers did because their self esteem might be bruised. Teachers can’t tell a brat that he is bad and they certainly can’t spank him. Look at the # of effeminate young men that are on every television program or in the movies these days. They had no fathers at home to show them how to be a man.
Their moms want sperm donors, and then raise their boys with no good male influence. Have you seen a strong father figure on the tv or movie screen since Bill Cosby? No, the mother’s are smart and if their father is in the picture he is an idiot. Better wake up or there will no longer be strong men to lead our country, head up businesses, etc. (by the way, I’m female and mourn the passing of strong men).
Youngin, Can’t argue with that. And, it is going to get much worse for Gen X, Gen Y and the Milleniums. The stoners came into power and munched their way through the treasury. We need help from all of you to stop the addiction, help with the withdrawl and be the adults we hope you can be. But I am a bit concerned since most youngins seem to want to vote Democrat. I presume they are hoping that some piece of the pie will be left. Unfortunately, as Britain and Greece demonstrated earlier this week, youngins don’t respond until tuition is cut, then they riot. I can’t wait until the rest of the entitlements are withdrawn, nanogenarians will be burning their walkers and tossing their teeth in protest. The counter culture crowd of the sixties will be join them by using their VW microbuses to ring the Capitol and toss biodegradable hemp T shirts at the DC police. This is going to be fun!!!!!!
The feminization of American males is a product of the 60s “woman’s movement” which was nothing more than an attempt to ratify progressive thought, including Margaret Sanger’s theoriess on euthanasia, and reproductive rights. That feminization help push the Great Society and changed our school system to a point where males suffered for want of attention. One only needs to look at the low number of males in today’s higher education system as a symptom of this social philosophy.
Not all youngin’s are that way. The smart youngin’s know that SS as we know it will be gone by the time we near retirement. I personally have already saved more for my retirement than both my parents and my inlaws combined.
Regarding “voting Democrat”, it’s a balancing act between voting on your social values and voting on your fiscal values. The Republicans run on old person values and so do not attract many youngins. The Republicans run on a much stronger fiscal platform but have failed to demonstrate any fiscal discipline in my lifetime. They continue to live down to their reputation by supporting this Obama Stimulus II. They are opportunists and hypocrites, devoid of the character that is supposed to be their selling point.
PK, you’re wrong. “Real” colleges are full so there’s plenty of kids that are attending these schools. The cream rises to the top and the kids that can communicate effectively, demonstrate propriety, and have a professional appearance will stand out. The others, while bright, will be in IS with no customer interaction, own their tatoo parlors & businesses. Just like it’s always been. By the way, do you know why Japan & India are kicking ou butts in the classroom. It’s not parenting. It’s the fact that in the US we are required to educate every ethnic group & immigrant, regardless of language skills, in one classroom. I don’t believe they do that in Japan.
…like Aon, Marsh, Willis and others are slowly letting their “seasoned” personnel go and methodically replacing them with young-fresh-out-of-college-wet-behind-the-ears-don’t-know-jack-about-insurance people and calling them “account managers”.
I can’t tell you how many times in a week I wind up educating one of them on the basics of insurance.
Youngin, my apologies. I would ask that you take a longer look at history to see which party has more of a chance at fiscal restraint. I think you will find that the social spending without consideration for future costs and funding is a Demo trait that continues to this day, e.g. Trillions for SS, a Trillion for the 1970s Great Society’s failed “War on Poverty”, and now TRILLIONS more for Ocare. I’ll leave it at that.
Surprised IJ would bother printing this “study” as news. But I knew the comments would be interesting and predictable.
Appears attitudes of young and old never change. Only who is young and old change.
Shame some many “professionals” think this has anything to do with party politics. Shows the level of thought many operate on.
Our industry has become more $tock-focused and less employee-focused. Of course older workers are systematically forced out and younger workers are overall less loyal.
When our industry and top execs become less stock price sensitive, and start making decisions that benefit the long term health of companies, young and old workers will improve in quality and attitude.
OCY, you miss the big picture, politics via social engineering has shaped our youth and will continue to do so. If you can’t recognize that fact, then I wonder how you can reach any conclusions or have any cogent comments of this subject.
On behalf of youngins’ everywhere, thank you, Stuck. We are somewhat aware of your situation and how loyalty is rewarded, can you blame us for our attitude toward loyalty?
You do, of course realize that it is true that you are the most valuable employees. You have more job security than either youngin’s or oldies, and have been in a far more comfortable position than either group during the last couple of scary years. Obviously your group has had it rough trying to keep things going, but since you are “the skeleton crew”, at least you were still employed.
I am lucky to have had a few years of experience under my belt, and employed with a carrier in a somewhat niche role when the recession hit.
Big Dog, while you are correct, I LOVE teaching the young ones how to spell insurance. That is natural to getting experience. It is teaching them how to deliver bad news to a client, teaching them that the client is who is the source of their paycheck and not the text message they just got, that drives me NUTS. I am 41 years old and am ready to breakout and consult because there is NO courses on business etquette and employers don’t want to pay the bick bucks for experience, and want the youngins on the cheap. The client (still the old man or middle aged man business owner) is not going to put up with some punk kid smacking his gum and half listening to him because posting on FB the fact that he got another pimple is more important.
No, the youngin generation is not the me me me generation. They are the look at me generation (Face book, twitter, my space).
The boomers are the me me me generation…. No don’t touch my SS, pension, or benefits, kick the can down the road until after I am gone. By all means go green, but don’t mess with my gas prices!!!
Listen to your customers…. not your whiny selfish selves!!!!!!
The future is starting to crystalize. SS benefits and Medicare will be the battleground for young v. old. Recriminations concerning who rewarded themselves with entitlements at the expense of the current generation and generations to come will fly. Like the Madoff affair, when a Ponzi scheme collapses, there is hell to be paid by those left holding the bag. They begin to try and “claw back” money that was paid out to those in the middle (middle agerr) and the top (oldsters) of the pyramid.
The social compact made by past generations will start to fray and respect between the generations will be in tatters.
The inklings of what is to come can be seen in Europe over tuition. The current crop of college students are rioting over increases in tuition because subsidies for those who got their education years ago drained the money pool dry.
We can lessen the pain if we take steps now to rein in spending. The pain now will pale in comparison to the brick that hits us up side our noggins later, thrown by a young man with a strong arm.
Unfortunately, this lame duck Congress still doesn’t get it. 6,000 earmarks totaling over 8 BILLION dollars have been larded into the bill. The defenders fall back on the usual refrain that it is less than 1% or the proposed budget thus trying to trivialize the effect of any saving we might see from their elimination. The mindset of pennies don’t count is what infects those in DC who have never “clipped a coupon” or turned in their penny jars to buy food.
Kids are no different than they ever have been; they learn what they are taught. Teachers and schools are afraid to discipline for fear of lawsuits. Grade inflation, so no one complains, leaves students at a practical disadvantage. “Everyone gets a trophy” is a kinder method, but takes away some drive for the value of competition. When they hit the business world (private sector) they are slapped in the face with the frying pan of reality, and have a hard time adjusting to habits built over 20 to 25 years. If we want to improve things, we may need a broad based approach, coupled with a certain level of empathy. (Frame the argument in terms of that person’s own desires and you’ll be more effective than “do this or you’ll be fired.”) My opinion, yours may differ.
One young lady who was being called an “underwriter” at another local carrier once had the audacity to ask me
“Why should I quote this for you?” when I called to check up on a submission.
Off topic but does anyone else here hate the Progressive Commercial featuring a very sour looking and sounding elderly gent shooting off old fashioned expressions in a very crabby way? It is horrific.
Note to Youngin’–if more of your generation (I’m assuming you’re probably around what, 27?) are more like you, we’re going to be ok. From your posts, I can tell that you’re well read, a hard worker, and someone who knows who you are and where you’re going. Best of luck in all you do.
Blame everyone else for the financial crisis, yes. My generation’s day of reckoning will come, when future youngin’s will judge us with perfect 20/20 hindsight. I’m kind of curious to see what kind of mistakes we make.
Thanks JVMIII. Unfortunately, I’m actually not a good spokesperson for my generation. I only use text messaging to find out what the wife wants for dinner, drive a 10 year old vehicle, have less than $10K in student loans and don’t have a Facebook page.
Youngin, you are a renaisance man of sorts. Hope springs eternal. I can only hope that your gen figures out how to grow this economy so large that these debt problems begin to disappear. With Medicare and SS about 57 TRILLION in the whole, we are banking on you to get this figured out. My generation of pot smoking LSD taking psuedo intellectuals dug a deep hole, I just hope we don’t get prematurely buried in it before we are called home. Put down that spade and get cracking.
We were raised by fathers that worked for the same company for 30 years or more and got defined benefit pensions, and by mothers who stayed home since it was possible, in those days for almost everyone, to maintain a middle class lifestyle with only one wage earner. That wage earner was also often a blue collar manufacturing worker.
We were educated by teachers that were allowed to use corporeal punishment and did, but who also were always available to coach and tutor…and who did not expect extra “stipends” for same. We grew up in the shadow of Sputnik, so of course, we had superb educations in public schools; it was a matter of national rpide for teachers and students.
When we got to college, we were shot at Kent State and showered with rotten vegetables (or worse) by the SDS. Our friends, brothers and boyfriends were subject to a national lottery draft, the winning of which guaranteed a tour in the lush jungles of Viet Nam (or, as the case may have been, no jungles due to being Agent Oranged). We have always had to compete for everything since there were so many of us, we had to compete with ourselves.
We marched with Martin Luther King and died to register voters. We wept when our heroes John, martin, and Bobby were assassinated and felt lost and unsure.
We fought for equal workplace rights for women (after all, what good is a gold plated diploma magna cumlaude when you are getting paid secretary’s wages for AVP work). We fought for equal pay for equal work like tigresses, a work situation still not toally addressed decades later.
We fought for rights over our own reproductive systems and were the first Pill generation.
When we got married, got jobs, and bought homes, we saw the infglation rate on mortgages soar to 22%. Those of us who worked for or owned small business suffered that same rate. We were told to buy now since we would be paying back with cheaper dollars. We saw foreclosures, redlining, job loss in that first recession.
We saw defined pensions go away in that recession and after and also saw long term employees laid off.
When we woke up in the mid 70’s, we saw prices for food, water, gas, electricity almost double overnight. We could no longer maintain middle class lifestyles on one income.
The 80’s saw more of the same.
So before you condemn us Boomers for being profligate and bringing on the financial recession of 2008, walk a mile in our moccasins and take a trip back down the lane. We were the vanguard generation of much change…some of which we caused and some of it we just experienced. We grew up in a world that new no bounds for the USA, hwere GM was king, where we could control the world. We grew up doing nuclear bomb drills in kindergarten and wearing dog tags around our necks so we could be identified in the event of such holocaust. We saw the McCarthy hearings on TV and felt the pall of that transmitted from our parents.We grew up with the specter of polio crippling us as it did some of our classmates until Salk and Sabin came along.
So do not call us selfish or profligate before you consider the cross currents that we grew up in.
It was the best of times and the worst of times. I would not trade any of it.
Gals, put down the bong. Those nice memories ignore the irresponsible behavior that has led us to where we are today. Now, you are ready to drift of into the twilight, leaving the counter culture debris behind, traded in for a cozy retirement paid for, not by you, but by generations to come. The trip you mention in your post is a continuation of the one that Timothy Leary put you on lo those many years ago.
You are full of manure. Don’t know what you were doing, but I was working two jobs and competing for fellowships and scholarships and getting 3.5GPA, and in those days, we didn’t have bongs…we rolled our own, those that partook.
You are always so quick to condemn in your posts, Tom, I wonder what drugs damaged your brain…or which ones you need so you may have a sunnier outlook on life.
But I forgot to mention that, despite what might have been a happy, hippie college sojourn for some of us, we hunkered down and worked our butts off as good corporate citizens…perhaps only to get thrown over for some bluetooth wearing iliterate only because they cost less. AND, for many of us, we could not participate in 401ks for 3 years after employment and then could not vest for up to seven years, so get your facts right, Tom, before you accuse.
Who do you think labored for a lot of this change that younger generations enjoyed and enjoy?
What is your problem, take a nasty pill this AM?Or did you have to work your way through a second rate school? What were YOU doing in college?
After over 40+ years in the full time work force and more years to go, you now want to change SS for me and the early boomers? And I am to be punished for what? And you are so self righteous because…..?
Look elsewhere to cut for this money or pony up. My generation has ponied up for the Great and Silent generations, many of whom made minimal or no contributions, so stop acting like martyrs. Maybe if subsequent generations hunkered down like mine did after our wild oats were sown, we would not be moving toward mediocrity as a nation. For most of the last generation, work is now something to do so you can afford IPods and SmartPhones to incessantly text your “friends” or post idiocies on Twitter.
Boomer Gal, that’s a great story. You could write a movie on generational stereotypes. However, I know that every boomer is not a selfish pot-smoking narcissist, just as I know that you weren’t personally involved in all the events you just described, unless you happen to be Forrest Gump. Don’t paint my entire generation with a similar brush. We cannot be summarized as a bunch of iPod-wearing clueless lazy tweeters.
Regarding the feminists; there is a special place in hell for them.
BG, my point was to bring balance to your romantic “sojurn” with a dose of reality about the 70s. I was in college in the 70s and know full well what occurred but there is always “the rest of the story”. I offer a sober point of view having done no drugs, dated and married (anniv #40 this year) my high school sweetheart while in college, and put myself through college,
You will excuse me if my recolletion of the 70s is differeent but I remember the turmoil, the destruction of the black family via the Great Society, the abandonment of the Vietnamese and the millions of Cambodians and Vietnamese who lost their lives when we lost our nerve. I also remember the consequences of the sexual revolution with the rise of aids and STDs, the skyrocketing divorce rates when the 50s moral ethos dissolved under the “free love” movement. I also know that “reproductive rights” came at the expense of millions and millions of other potential human being giving up theirs.
My point is that the boomers did all of this while championing more and more entitlements at the expense of generations to come. I am imploring the current generation to learn the lessons.
I haven’t forgotten many of the good things you mentioned but I wonder if they haven’t been offset by the damage we have inflicted and continue to exacerbate. I offer your commentary in your last paragraph as rebuttal to your analysis of my dispositon and ask, Who has the sunnier outlook?
I ask that you use your hands not to slap yourself on your back but to put them together and applaud the younger generation’s efforts to get us back to solvency so we can enjoy our retirement. Youngin, good luck!
Amen – may the feminists rot in that special place for the consequences their movement brought on the American family. I’m a baby boomer and don’t take pride in the revolutions of the 70’s like the other “Gals” seem to.
The bigger point I believe is that “Corporate Leaders” lack business ethics as evident by the Corporate Bailouts, Gulf Oil Spills, etc. Corporate Executives need to set the example not be a false idol.
Are you people kidding me? You are actually cursing my mother for fighting for my right to own land, vote, control my own uterus, and attempt to make equal pay for equal work. The modern family is made up of sons and daughters and both have the right to lead the life they choose. What’s next? Shall we curse the civil rights movement? Or maybe Abe Lincoln had things all wrong too? So are our military troops fighting for the freedom of men only? from the sounds of it, you would prefer if the American woman stayed home barefoot and pregnant.
Whoa! ER, you jumped to a place that no one went. I can’t say that I have seen anyone opposed to that. What I believe the comments on the feminist movement relate to are those NOW gals who hijacked the rights movement by adopting nearly every lib social justice ideology that came down the pike. I would ask that you consider what else the NOW gang stands for and who they support. While you are at it, you might want to look into the origins of Planned Parenthood and see how that agenda fits into the NOW movemeent. And you might consider why strong conservative women receive very little support. The femininst movement was and is the bastion of only liberal thought with support for only like minded women. That doesn’t sound like an equality movement but merely the arm of a single political movement.
Being the father of two highly intelligent and beautiful daughters whom I insisted go to college and not rely on a “man”, I consider myself a feManist. So, I would say that you should temper your outrage just a smig.
Thank, Brian. See, I can accept constructive criticism when I occassionally make a grammatical mistake. Did I say occasionally. There I go, making another misteak. Brain, please forgive my malapropisms and my dyslexia. Sometimes my hands run behind my head.
Let’s not be surprised by this. For a long time we have been concerned about a child’s self esteem, and rewarding mediocrity. How many coaches out there gave each and evey kid a trophy simply because they participated?
We’ve raised a generation of self-important brats with a sense of entitlement as a a result, and we have reaped what we have sown.
My biggest problem as an employer is finding that young people today have NO ETHICS! My most recent employee quit after screaming at me that I don’t understand poor people and that poor people shouldn’t be held to the same standards as non-poor people.. huh! She then attempted to collect un-employment and the state denied her. The unethical stuff we have found since she left is outrageous. Why anyone thinks they have the right to circumvent insurance state laws and company regulations is beyond me. That is the second employee who showed no understanding of professionalism or ethics.
No surprise. I have attended many “consultant” workshops that try to teach “boomers” how to handle the new X,Y and Milleniums–Incredibly, they invite the boomers in the audience to “be understanding” and yield to their wants and desires. In other words, you make inroads with those who were coddled by “coddling” them. And, they are dead serious. Pop psyche is now what we are to use to “get through” to the younger generation. I believe it was Twain that described Psychology as a “painful elaborance of the perfectly obvious”. What is needed is some tough love, a reintroduction into why experience and hard work elevated supervisors to their positions and they can achieve that status by following that example.
We’ll remember the hard line you guys took against the feeling of entitlement, when, 15 or 20 years from now, you have blown through the average $26,000 you each have saved up for retirement.
I have hope that those in X,Y, & M will sway the day and restore what has eroded away as the counter culture morphed in the political culture. I do caution you that their is an aphorism to fear and that is “what goes round, comes round”. If you think retribution will be in order, don’t stop looking over YOUR shoulder.
I liked this part:
“The largest gap exists for accepting personal responsibility and for decisions and actions and being open to criticism.”
You mean like what our own government has been promoting for the past few years. Reward failure and punish hard work/success. These “youngins” would do quite well working for Goldman Sachs or any of the other crooked wall street firms.
As usual, I find a majority of the comments on this site one sided. As anyone gets older they feel that the generation that follows doesn’t have the work ethic, doesn’t have the appropriate respect for their elders, doesn’t have the self-perseverence that the ones before them showed, etc.
I must laugh a little bit at business owners / managers sit and whine about the younger generation. I myself am 37 years old and have been extremely lucky in my career. I started out about 13 years ago making $ 30,000 / year, and currently make about $ 75,000. It’s not a fortune, but, for me, it gets the job done. However, the way I have been able to get my salary up is moving from job to job about each 4 – 5 years. Employers constantly talk about loyalty to the company, but so rarely speak about loyalty to their employees.
It is my experience, and experience with those to which I have spoken, that staying at one job is simply not the way to advance your career. The average company raise (and that’s assuming you get one) is 1-3% with the exception of a promotion (which is not a huge bump either). I left one job in 2006, and went to another company. The pay increase was 25%. I worked at the 2nd job for 4 years with no problems, and my salary when I left earlier this year was only 10% higher than when I had started. So, I took a position at another firm for and my raise was nearly 36% higher.
It’s not just salary either. I see all to often (as was pointed out on this site in an article a few weeks ago) that mgmt is many times unaware of problem employees, unaware of serious problems in the work place, and frequently place the blame for their own mistatkes on the back of their employees.
I also hear time and time again on this webiste about personal responsibility. But, of course that is only as it applies to someone else.
Wages have been stagnent for many years. Raises barely, if at all, keep up with the increases in the cost of living. Yet employers constantly ask employees to do more and more without for the same salary, benefits and respect. If you want to motivate a young employee, it’s not different than it was 10, 20 or 50 years ago. Pay them a good salary, give them solid raises, treat them with respect, and let them know when they are doing a good job. It’s as simple as that.
AJeff, am I missing something. We are in the worst economic situation in the past 60 years and you wonder about employers asking you to work harder and the lack of a raise. I think you inadvertently validated the article’s premise.
Stagnent wages are why we are in this situation in the first place. The lack of an increase in purchase power for the middle class has created the need to use increasing amounts in credit to maintain. This is why you see a pooling of money in higher wages groups and now that credit is difficult to obtain, the economy is slowing. I personally spend a good deal of money and probably do not save nearly as much I should. By doing this, I’m actually helping the economy. THis would be the same with other people that make similar wages as I do. If wages increased appropriately, the economy would not be dead like it is. Nice try though.
Every old generation believes the newer employees are self centered and lack motivation. Every new generation thinks they are the smartest, best informed and most impressive individuals ever. Both are wrong, mostly.
New phenomenon discovered: Inexperienced professionals less professional than experienced professionals. Also, old people wonder “what’s the matter with kids these days?”. Tonight at 11.
OMG, I LOL’ed, ur my new bff! ;)
Okay, seriously, you’re post was impeccable in it’s use of ironic humor.
I can’t blame schools for lack of professionalism. All they can do is stress the need. Start with the parents. So many parents are the helicopter type. The kids see no professionalism in the way they run their kids life so why should they feel the need to be professional in anything.
Comments have come in from young and old, but what about those of us trapped between you? We’re the ones who train all these college grads and then cover all the older worker’s butts because they’re out of the office a million days a year. We get no credit and no thank you’s from either group, but steadily pound away to keep our companies running. We end up with minuscule raises and bonuses and watch the new hires get starting pay higher than where we are after years and then watch management rake in fat bonuses while handing us enough to buy an extra lunch once in a while. (And don’t start saying I’m bitter and a poor worker, I have a perfect track record, excellent performance reviews & attendance and consistently complete work above and beyond my normal duties). Can’t wait to get no Social Security and a 2% raise after being told “you’re the most valuable person we have!”
From an employer’s perspective, this article is right on. What’s more..these (kids) don’t know how to interview for the most part and the ones who do are latent entitlement minded. The most important factors on the mind of most 20 to 35 year olds are: time off, promotion, higher pay and self importance and gratification. Having a smart phone stuck in their ear is even more annoying. Thinking of how one can improve the bottom line for the company, how to contribute to the objectives of the business and other minor factors are down on the list on importance. Take a lesson from the Asian kids American parents. Those kids are quantum leaps ahead in professionalism.
Young people want instant gratification in all things. They don’t want to have attend a “real” college or university where they’d have to compete verbally, interact with others,communicate, and socialize. They think you can get a “real” degree from the University of Phoenix.
It’s all coming home to roost. There shouldn’t be any shortcuts for “convenience” of the young punks. I was appalled at a news special last evening that physical education is now “optional” in 29 states. It can be taken “online”. This is total _ULLSHIT. America is becoming the most obese nation in the world and these punks can opt out of phys. ed? The inmates are runnig the asylum and nobody gives a _hit.
America is in for a rude awakening as foreign countries like Japan are kicking our _ss in most categories of learning and socialization. Nice job parents of these imbeciles for allowing this to happen. You should be very proud that you lobbied for the “easy way” for your kids. They’re great at video games but suck at reality.
I hired college grads for over 30 years. The current crop is most of the things the survey says. 30 years ago they were some better, but mostly more polite about it, which makes hiring today somewhat easier.
I had a kid take a personal call on his cell during his final interview. I wish I had a photo of his face when I arose, shook his hand and told him he was not what we were looking for.
We had very good luck with internships from the local university that had an Insurance program. The assistant Dean was quite good at coaching her students on workplace etiquette and expectations. We were able to get a look at possible hires and they got to look at our company and the working environment. I can’t remember one intern hire that did not work out well.
As a side note, my daughter who is just finishing law school likes the dufus crowd. It makes it easier for her to stand out and excel.
Grade inflation, elimination of competition, rewarding everyone for “trying”, and parents who are totally involved in school work-to the point of doing their homework, have all made intellectual independence and self motivation relics of the past. And we wonder why their is a lack of respect for experience and achievement.
Consistantly rejecting my resumes. Had been a valued agent with them 20 years. Rejection states “not qualified.”
They mean – “too old.”
Hope they hire lots of rude young people who don’t know how to treat their customers right.
Every generation says the generation before it is rude, crude and disrespectful. I remember hearing stories of rebels who smoked cigarettes on the street corner, had toga parties or listened to Elvis or The Beatles. (Gasp!) The nerve of some kids!
My favorite one of all is when I say Thank you to these young individuals and they reply “NO PROBLEM” What the heck doe’s that mean?
Today’s parents are the products of public schools, a failure.
Hooray, Franklin (is that you FDR?)- this goes with a story yesterday about the aging of the workforce, more of us Beatlemaniacs are still around to grump!
Ben, I think you overlook the fact that this generation is the first to be fully immersed in the new educational philosophy of self gratification, self congratulations, and self indulgence. It is “el neuvo dia” in education brought to us by those great 1970s thinkers who knew they could do it best. The education system as you knew it pre-1980 is gone, replaced by teachers who worry more about their pension and union membership than their vocation.
Read an article not long ago about a Human Resources person of a large company that had to hire someone to praise and motivate their young employees. These kids/young adults are so accustomed to being stroked for EVERYTHING they do and not having to compete against each other because it might bruise their self esteem that they are ruined. I watch parents tell Little Jonnie (no more Johnny’s) what a good job he’s doing as he halfway applies himself on the soccer field, basketball court, football field, etc. They tell him it doesn’t matter if you win or lose it’s how you play the game. He doesn’t have a daddy because his mom just wants kids, and she doesn’t need a “man” in the house. He watches Disney Channel that doesn’t have one decent father figure in any of it’s shows and the boys are so effeminate they make you want to cry… In fact are there any programs on television with a strong father figure? Mostly strong or obnoxious moms and NO dads or an effeminate man who is portrayed as an idiot. I could go on and on. Parents need to toughen up little Jonnie.
just remember that.
And best earned.
I always laugh when boomers tell me MY generation is selfish . . .
“It seems it’s kind of frightening how this younger generation swings. You know it’s more than just some new sensation.” Van Halen 1978
Self absorbed, not selfish.
Oh, I see. Maybe we should be called the “me” generation?
Right on Tom.
For a change, this study hit the nail on the head. After years of being over indulged by thier parents, no wonder.
I have had enough of articles telling us how to hire and keep gen y’s. They will get a rude awakening or America will continue it’s slide into mediocrity.
The last word in bothersome is “me” (with apologies to Roger Miller).
What do you mean, “will”? The boomers overleveraged themselves and put us into a recession deeper than anything since the Great Depression. Unemployment of people in their early 20’s is at least 15%; the rate at which they can’t find jobs in their desired field is much more.
Thanks for teaching us how NOT to behave.
It’s funny. The same people who say I am unprofessional are those who say I show no loyalty after leaving a company which treats me like crap because I am still “wet behind the ears”.
Hank said it best. Respect is a two way street.
I read year ago about a position in a large company that was developed to “cheer” on the younger employees. They work better with inordinate amounts of praise.
Small wonder – it is disturbing to watch kids competing on the football or soccer field, basketball court, baseball diamond, etc. and see their parents telling them what a good job Lil Jonnie (no longer Johnny)is doing as he half heartedly makes his way through the game. Not much is required of most kids today, and they don’t compete against each other like we baby boomers did because their self esteem might be bruised. Teachers can’t tell a brat that he is bad and they certainly can’t spank him. Look at the # of effeminate young men that are on every television program or in the movies these days. They had no fathers at home to show them how to be a man.
Their moms want sperm donors, and then raise their boys with no good male influence. Have you seen a strong father figure on the tv or movie screen since Bill Cosby? No, the mother’s are smart and if their father is in the picture he is an idiot. Better wake up or there will no longer be strong men to lead our country, head up businesses, etc. (by the way, I’m female and mourn the passing of strong men).
Youngin, Can’t argue with that. And, it is going to get much worse for Gen X, Gen Y and the Milleniums. The stoners came into power and munched their way through the treasury. We need help from all of you to stop the addiction, help with the withdrawl and be the adults we hope you can be. But I am a bit concerned since most youngins seem to want to vote Democrat. I presume they are hoping that some piece of the pie will be left. Unfortunately, as Britain and Greece demonstrated earlier this week, youngins don’t respond until tuition is cut, then they riot. I can’t wait until the rest of the entitlements are withdrawn, nanogenarians will be burning their walkers and tossing their teeth in protest. The counter culture crowd of the sixties will be join them by using their VW microbuses to ring the Capitol and toss biodegradable hemp T shirts at the DC police. This is going to be fun!!!!!!
Tom, you have my vote for president!
The feminization of American males is a product of the 60s “woman’s movement” which was nothing more than an attempt to ratify progressive thought, including Margaret Sanger’s theoriess on euthanasia, and reproductive rights. That feminization help push the Great Society and changed our school system to a point where males suffered for want of attention. One only needs to look at the low number of males in today’s higher education system as a symptom of this social philosophy.
Amen to that!!
Not all youngin’s are that way. The smart youngin’s know that SS as we know it will be gone by the time we near retirement. I personally have already saved more for my retirement than both my parents and my inlaws combined.
Regarding “voting Democrat”, it’s a balancing act between voting on your social values and voting on your fiscal values. The Republicans run on old person values and so do not attract many youngins. The Republicans run on a much stronger fiscal platform but have failed to demonstrate any fiscal discipline in my lifetime. They continue to live down to their reputation by supporting this Obama Stimulus II. They are opportunists and hypocrites, devoid of the character that is supposed to be their selling point.
PK, you’re wrong. “Real” colleges are full so there’s plenty of kids that are attending these schools. The cream rises to the top and the kids that can communicate effectively, demonstrate propriety, and have a professional appearance will stand out. The others, while bright, will be in IS with no customer interaction, own their tatoo parlors & businesses. Just like it’s always been. By the way, do you know why Japan & India are kicking ou butts in the classroom. It’s not parenting. It’s the fact that in the US we are required to educate every ethnic group & immigrant, regardless of language skills, in one classroom. I don’t believe they do that in Japan.
Darn you, Tom, I don’t know how you baited me into getting all political.
…like Aon, Marsh, Willis and others are slowly letting their “seasoned” personnel go and methodically replacing them with young-fresh-out-of-college-wet-behind-the-ears-don’t-know-jack-about-insurance people and calling them “account managers”.
I can’t tell you how many times in a week I wind up educating one of them on the basics of insurance.
Youngin, my apologies. I would ask that you take a longer look at history to see which party has more of a chance at fiscal restraint. I think you will find that the social spending without consideration for future costs and funding is a Demo trait that continues to this day, e.g. Trillions for SS, a Trillion for the 1970s Great Society’s failed “War on Poverty”, and now TRILLIONS more for Ocare. I’ll leave it at that.
Surprised IJ would bother printing this “study” as news. But I knew the comments would be interesting and predictable.
Appears attitudes of young and old never change. Only who is young and old change.
Shame some many “professionals” think this has anything to do with party politics. Shows the level of thought many operate on.
Our industry has become more $tock-focused and less employee-focused. Of course older workers are systematically forced out and younger workers are overall less loyal.
When our industry and top execs become less stock price sensitive, and start making decisions that benefit the long term health of companies, young and old workers will improve in quality and attitude.
OCY, you miss the big picture, politics via social engineering has shaped our youth and will continue to do so. If you can’t recognize that fact, then I wonder how you can reach any conclusions or have any cogent comments of this subject.
On behalf of youngins’ everywhere, thank you, Stuck. We are somewhat aware of your situation and how loyalty is rewarded, can you blame us for our attitude toward loyalty?
You do, of course realize that it is true that you are the most valuable employees. You have more job security than either youngin’s or oldies, and have been in a far more comfortable position than either group during the last couple of scary years. Obviously your group has had it rough trying to keep things going, but since you are “the skeleton crew”, at least you were still employed.
I am lucky to have had a few years of experience under my belt, and employed with a carrier in a somewhat niche role when the recession hit.
Big Dog, while you are correct, I LOVE teaching the young ones how to spell insurance. That is natural to getting experience. It is teaching them how to deliver bad news to a client, teaching them that the client is who is the source of their paycheck and not the text message they just got, that drives me NUTS. I am 41 years old and am ready to breakout and consult because there is NO courses on business etquette and employers don’t want to pay the bick bucks for experience, and want the youngins on the cheap. The client (still the old man or middle aged man business owner) is not going to put up with some punk kid smacking his gum and half listening to him because posting on FB the fact that he got another pimple is more important.
No, the youngin generation is not the me me me generation. They are the look at me generation (Face book, twitter, my space).
The boomers are the me me me generation…. No don’t touch my SS, pension, or benefits, kick the can down the road until after I am gone. By all means go green, but don’t mess with my gas prices!!!
Listen to your customers…. not your whiny selfish selves!!!!!!
The future is starting to crystalize. SS benefits and Medicare will be the battleground for young v. old. Recriminations concerning who rewarded themselves with entitlements at the expense of the current generation and generations to come will fly. Like the Madoff affair, when a Ponzi scheme collapses, there is hell to be paid by those left holding the bag. They begin to try and “claw back” money that was paid out to those in the middle (middle agerr) and the top (oldsters) of the pyramid.
The social compact made by past generations will start to fray and respect between the generations will be in tatters.
The inklings of what is to come can be seen in Europe over tuition. The current crop of college students are rioting over increases in tuition because subsidies for those who got their education years ago drained the money pool dry.
We can lessen the pain if we take steps now to rein in spending. The pain now will pale in comparison to the brick that hits us up side our noggins later, thrown by a young man with a strong arm.
Unfortunately, this lame duck Congress still doesn’t get it. 6,000 earmarks totaling over 8 BILLION dollars have been larded into the bill. The defenders fall back on the usual refrain that it is less than 1% or the proposed budget thus trying to trivialize the effect of any saving we might see from their elimination. The mindset of pennies don’t count is what infects those in DC who have never “clipped a coupon” or turned in their penny jars to buy food.
Tom,
You are right again. Our Gov won’t do what is required to right the ship. There will be great social unrest.
We need leadership but the sheeple don’t want that. They want thier entitlements.
Kids are no different than they ever have been; they learn what they are taught. Teachers and schools are afraid to discipline for fear of lawsuits. Grade inflation, so no one complains, leaves students at a practical disadvantage. “Everyone gets a trophy” is a kinder method, but takes away some drive for the value of competition. When they hit the business world (private sector) they are slapped in the face with the frying pan of reality, and have a hard time adjusting to habits built over 20 to 25 years. If we want to improve things, we may need a broad based approach, coupled with a certain level of empathy. (Frame the argument in terms of that person’s own desires and you’ll be more effective than “do this or you’ll be fired.”) My opinion, yours may differ.
One young lady who was being called an “underwriter” at another local carrier once had the audacity to ask me
“Why should I quote this for you?” when I called to check up on a submission.
And in a very snippy manner, too!
Off topic but does anyone else here hate the Progressive Commercial featuring a very sour looking and sounding elderly gent shooting off old fashioned expressions in a very crabby way? It is horrific.
No dag burn gobledegook crap here!
Name your price coverage….what a novel idea.
Maybe they should price by syllables.
FLO MUST GO. been saying that since day 1.
Note to Youngin’–if more of your generation (I’m assuming you’re probably around what, 27?) are more like you, we’re going to be ok. From your posts, I can tell that you’re well read, a hard worker, and someone who knows who you are and where you’re going. Best of luck in all you do.
I like how you blame everyone else. :) you go ‘youngin!
Blame everyone else for the financial crisis, yes. My generation’s day of reckoning will come, when future youngin’s will judge us with perfect 20/20 hindsight. I’m kind of curious to see what kind of mistakes we make.
Thanks JVMIII. Unfortunately, I’m actually not a good spokesperson for my generation. I only use text messaging to find out what the wife wants for dinner, drive a 10 year old vehicle, have less than $10K in student loans and don’t have a Facebook page.
Youngin, you are a renaisance man of sorts. Hope springs eternal. I can only hope that your gen figures out how to grow this economy so large that these debt problems begin to disappear. With Medicare and SS about 57 TRILLION in the whole, we are banking on you to get this figured out. My generation of pot smoking LSD taking psuedo intellectuals dug a deep hole, I just hope we don’t get prematurely buried in it before we are called home. Put down that spade and get cracking.
Before you condemn Boomers, think of this:
We were raised by fathers that worked for the same company for 30 years or more and got defined benefit pensions, and by mothers who stayed home since it was possible, in those days for almost everyone, to maintain a middle class lifestyle with only one wage earner. That wage earner was also often a blue collar manufacturing worker.
We were educated by teachers that were allowed to use corporeal punishment and did, but who also were always available to coach and tutor…and who did not expect extra “stipends” for same. We grew up in the shadow of Sputnik, so of course, we had superb educations in public schools; it was a matter of national rpide for teachers and students.
When we got to college, we were shot at Kent State and showered with rotten vegetables (or worse) by the SDS. Our friends, brothers and boyfriends were subject to a national lottery draft, the winning of which guaranteed a tour in the lush jungles of Viet Nam (or, as the case may have been, no jungles due to being Agent Oranged). We have always had to compete for everything since there were so many of us, we had to compete with ourselves.
We marched with Martin Luther King and died to register voters. We wept when our heroes John, martin, and Bobby were assassinated and felt lost and unsure.
We fought for equal workplace rights for women (after all, what good is a gold plated diploma magna cumlaude when you are getting paid secretary’s wages for AVP work). We fought for equal pay for equal work like tigresses, a work situation still not toally addressed decades later.
We fought for rights over our own reproductive systems and were the first Pill generation.
When we got married, got jobs, and bought homes, we saw the infglation rate on mortgages soar to 22%. Those of us who worked for or owned small business suffered that same rate. We were told to buy now since we would be paying back with cheaper dollars. We saw foreclosures, redlining, job loss in that first recession.
We saw defined pensions go away in that recession and after and also saw long term employees laid off.
When we woke up in the mid 70’s, we saw prices for food, water, gas, electricity almost double overnight. We could no longer maintain middle class lifestyles on one income.
The 80’s saw more of the same.
So before you condemn us Boomers for being profligate and bringing on the financial recession of 2008, walk a mile in our moccasins and take a trip back down the lane. We were the vanguard generation of much change…some of which we caused and some of it we just experienced. We grew up in a world that new no bounds for the USA, hwere GM was king, where we could control the world. We grew up doing nuclear bomb drills in kindergarten and wearing dog tags around our necks so we could be identified in the event of such holocaust. We saw the McCarthy hearings on TV and felt the pall of that transmitted from our parents.We grew up with the specter of polio crippling us as it did some of our classmates until Salk and Sabin came along.
So do not call us selfish or profligate before you consider the cross currents that we grew up in.
It was the best of times and the worst of times. I would not trade any of it.
Well said, Boomer Gal!
Gals, put down the bong. Those nice memories ignore the irresponsible behavior that has led us to where we are today. Now, you are ready to drift of into the twilight, leaving the counter culture debris behind, traded in for a cozy retirement paid for, not by you, but by generations to come. The trip you mention in your post is a continuation of the one that Timothy Leary put you on lo those many years ago.
Tom
You are full of manure. Don’t know what you were doing, but I was working two jobs and competing for fellowships and scholarships and getting 3.5GPA, and in those days, we didn’t have bongs…we rolled our own, those that partook.
You are always so quick to condemn in your posts, Tom, I wonder what drugs damaged your brain…or which ones you need so you may have a sunnier outlook on life.
But I forgot to mention that, despite what might have been a happy, hippie college sojourn for some of us, we hunkered down and worked our butts off as good corporate citizens…perhaps only to get thrown over for some bluetooth wearing iliterate only because they cost less. AND, for many of us, we could not participate in 401ks for 3 years after employment and then could not vest for up to seven years, so get your facts right, Tom, before you accuse.
Who do you think labored for a lot of this change that younger generations enjoyed and enjoy?
What is your problem, take a nasty pill this AM?Or did you have to work your way through a second rate school? What were YOU doing in college?
After over 40+ years in the full time work force and more years to go, you now want to change SS for me and the early boomers? And I am to be punished for what? And you are so self righteous because…..?
Look elsewhere to cut for this money or pony up. My generation has ponied up for the Great and Silent generations, many of whom made minimal or no contributions, so stop acting like martyrs. Maybe if subsequent generations hunkered down like mine did after our wild oats were sown, we would not be moving toward mediocrity as a nation. For most of the last generation, work is now something to do so you can afford IPods and SmartPhones to incessantly text your “friends” or post idiocies on Twitter.
Boomer Gal, that’s a great story. You could write a movie on generational stereotypes. However, I know that every boomer is not a selfish pot-smoking narcissist, just as I know that you weren’t personally involved in all the events you just described, unless you happen to be Forrest Gump. Don’t paint my entire generation with a similar brush. We cannot be summarized as a bunch of iPod-wearing clueless lazy tweeters.
Regarding the feminists; there is a special place in hell for them.
BG, my point was to bring balance to your romantic “sojurn” with a dose of reality about the 70s. I was in college in the 70s and know full well what occurred but there is always “the rest of the story”. I offer a sober point of view having done no drugs, dated and married (anniv #40 this year) my high school sweetheart while in college, and put myself through college,
You will excuse me if my recolletion of the 70s is differeent but I remember the turmoil, the destruction of the black family via the Great Society, the abandonment of the Vietnamese and the millions of Cambodians and Vietnamese who lost their lives when we lost our nerve. I also remember the consequences of the sexual revolution with the rise of aids and STDs, the skyrocketing divorce rates when the 50s moral ethos dissolved under the “free love” movement. I also know that “reproductive rights” came at the expense of millions and millions of other potential human being giving up theirs.
My point is that the boomers did all of this while championing more and more entitlements at the expense of generations to come. I am imploring the current generation to learn the lessons.
I haven’t forgotten many of the good things you mentioned but I wonder if they haven’t been offset by the damage we have inflicted and continue to exacerbate. I offer your commentary in your last paragraph as rebuttal to your analysis of my dispositon and ask, Who has the sunnier outlook?
I ask that you use your hands not to slap yourself on your back but to put them together and applaud the younger generation’s efforts to get us back to solvency so we can enjoy our retirement. Youngin, good luck!
Amen – may the feminists rot in that special place for the consequences their movement brought on the American family. I’m a baby boomer and don’t take pride in the revolutions of the 70’s like the other “Gals” seem to.
The bigger point I believe is that “Corporate Leaders” lack business ethics as evident by the Corporate Bailouts, Gulf Oil Spills, etc. Corporate Executives need to set the example not be a false idol.
Are you people kidding me? You are actually cursing my mother for fighting for my right to own land, vote, control my own uterus, and attempt to make equal pay for equal work. The modern family is made up of sons and daughters and both have the right to lead the life they choose. What’s next? Shall we curse the civil rights movement? Or maybe Abe Lincoln had things all wrong too? So are our military troops fighting for the freedom of men only? from the sounds of it, you would prefer if the American woman stayed home barefoot and pregnant.
Whoa! ER, you jumped to a place that no one went. I can’t say that I have seen anyone opposed to that. What I believe the comments on the feminist movement relate to are those NOW gals who hijacked the rights movement by adopting nearly every lib social justice ideology that came down the pike. I would ask that you consider what else the NOW gang stands for and who they support. While you are at it, you might want to look into the origins of Planned Parenthood and see how that agenda fits into the NOW movemeent. And you might consider why strong conservative women receive very little support. The femininst movement was and is the bastion of only liberal thought with support for only like minded women. That doesn’t sound like an equality movement but merely the arm of a single political movement.
Being the father of two highly intelligent and beautiful daughters whom I insisted go to college and not rely on a “man”, I consider myself a feManist. So, I would say that you should temper your outrage just a smig.
Tom,
I am sorry, I have to jump in here and criticize you:
You spelled smidge wrong.
Thank, Brian. See, I can accept constructive criticism when I occassionally make a grammatical mistake. Did I say occasionally. There I go, making another misteak. Brain, please forgive my malapropisms and my dyslexia. Sometimes my hands run behind my head.
Why do comments have to turn so evil and personal? Most of these posts have nothing to do with the original article.
Let’s not be surprised by this. For a long time we have been concerned about a child’s self esteem, and rewarding mediocrity. How many coaches out there gave each and evey kid a trophy simply because they participated?
We’ve raised a generation of self-important brats with a sense of entitlement as a a result, and we have reaped what we have sown.
My biggest problem as an employer is finding that young people today have NO ETHICS! My most recent employee quit after screaming at me that I don’t understand poor people and that poor people shouldn’t be held to the same standards as non-poor people.. huh! She then attempted to collect un-employment and the state denied her. The unethical stuff we have found since she left is outrageous. Why anyone thinks they have the right to circumvent insurance state laws and company regulations is beyond me. That is the second employee who showed no understanding of professionalism or ethics.
No surprise. I have attended many “consultant” workshops that try to teach “boomers” how to handle the new X,Y and Milleniums–Incredibly, they invite the boomers in the audience to “be understanding” and yield to their wants and desires. In other words, you make inroads with those who were coddled by “coddling” them. And, they are dead serious. Pop psyche is now what we are to use to “get through” to the younger generation. I believe it was Twain that described Psychology as a “painful elaborance of the perfectly obvious”. What is needed is some tough love, a reintroduction into why experience and hard work elevated supervisors to their positions and they can achieve that status by following that example.
We’ll remember the hard line you guys took against the feeling of entitlement, when, 15 or 20 years from now, you have blown through the average $26,000 you each have saved up for retirement.
I have hope that those in X,Y, & M will sway the day and restore what has eroded away as the counter culture morphed in the political culture. I do caution you that their is an aphorism to fear and that is “what goes round, comes round”. If you think retribution will be in order, don’t stop looking over YOUR shoulder.
I liked this part:
“The largest gap exists for accepting personal responsibility and for decisions and actions and being open to criticism.”
You mean like what our own government has been promoting for the past few years. Reward failure and punish hard work/success. These “youngins” would do quite well working for Goldman Sachs or any of the other crooked wall street firms.
As usual, I find a majority of the comments on this site one sided. As anyone gets older they feel that the generation that follows doesn’t have the work ethic, doesn’t have the appropriate respect for their elders, doesn’t have the self-perseverence that the ones before them showed, etc.
I must laugh a little bit at business owners / managers sit and whine about the younger generation. I myself am 37 years old and have been extremely lucky in my career. I started out about 13 years ago making $ 30,000 / year, and currently make about $ 75,000. It’s not a fortune, but, for me, it gets the job done. However, the way I have been able to get my salary up is moving from job to job about each 4 – 5 years. Employers constantly talk about loyalty to the company, but so rarely speak about loyalty to their employees.
It is my experience, and experience with those to which I have spoken, that staying at one job is simply not the way to advance your career. The average company raise (and that’s assuming you get one) is 1-3% with the exception of a promotion (which is not a huge bump either). I left one job in 2006, and went to another company. The pay increase was 25%. I worked at the 2nd job for 4 years with no problems, and my salary when I left earlier this year was only 10% higher than when I had started. So, I took a position at another firm for and my raise was nearly 36% higher.
It’s not just salary either. I see all to often (as was pointed out on this site in an article a few weeks ago) that mgmt is many times unaware of problem employees, unaware of serious problems in the work place, and frequently place the blame for their own mistatkes on the back of their employees.
I also hear time and time again on this webiste about personal responsibility. But, of course that is only as it applies to someone else.
Wages have been stagnent for many years. Raises barely, if at all, keep up with the increases in the cost of living. Yet employers constantly ask employees to do more and more without for the same salary, benefits and respect. If you want to motivate a young employee, it’s not different than it was 10, 20 or 50 years ago. Pay them a good salary, give them solid raises, treat them with respect, and let them know when they are doing a good job. It’s as simple as that.
AJeff, am I missing something. We are in the worst economic situation in the past 60 years and you wonder about employers asking you to work harder and the lack of a raise. I think you inadvertently validated the article’s premise.
Stagnent wages are why we are in this situation in the first place. The lack of an increase in purchase power for the middle class has created the need to use increasing amounts in credit to maintain. This is why you see a pooling of money in higher wages groups and now that credit is difficult to obtain, the economy is slowing. I personally spend a good deal of money and probably do not save nearly as much I should. By doing this, I’m actually helping the economy. THis would be the same with other people that make similar wages as I do. If wages increased appropriately, the economy would not be dead like it is. Nice try though.
Every old generation believes the newer employees are self centered and lack motivation. Every new generation thinks they are the smartest, best informed and most impressive individuals ever. Both are wrong, mostly.