Complaining about working with Millennials? Take a good, hard look in the mirror

So you think that working with Millennials is a pain? You think they are all self-entitled, know-it-alls who lack direction and work ethic? I don’t know why this bothers you, considering you likely raised one.  Blaming Millennials for a lack of direction and work ethic, a short attention span, a lack of loyalty and appreciation for their employer, a lack of respect and a myriad of other poor work-related practices is simply not fair. It’s not their fault.

Remember that your Millennial employee was likely raised by someone just like YOU. Work ethic, responsibility, reliability and appreciation should be taught at home by baby boomer parents who are raising these Millennials–not at university or in the work place. It is not the teacher’s fault if you receive a call from your child’s / teenager’s school principal advising you that your kid was bratty, a bully or absent from his or her school.  Appreciation, hard work, direction and respect are all things that should be taught at home–not at school and certainly not at work. If you don’t like what our new workforce looks like, then take a good, long, hard look in the mirror. After all, You created these new employees. You taught them that it is okay to receive a BMW or a Mercedes for their 16th birthday without having earned it. You paid for their education and You ‘edited’ their university assignments (read: did their homework for them). You forgot to teach them appreciation and You forgot the most important word in the English dictionary when You were raising these Millennial employees: NO.

No, you cannot simply walk out of a job. No, you are not the smartest person in the room; so, No, you do not know it all. No, you are not entitled to receive a free ride in life and No, you are not that special (except to your Mommy and Daddy).  No, your ‘nanny’ is not going to take care of your every need until you die. No, you cannot have everything you desire just because I can afford it and No, I will not let you move back home if you quit your job because your boss is giving you a hard time or you just don’t like her. You also forgot to let them experience the stress of paying their own rent or, paying off a student loan or a car loan.

Those of us who raised a Millennial (like yours truly) cannot possibly complain about working with one if we are guilty of any of the above.  Giving your Millennial child everything he or she desired in some misguided attempt to assuage your guilt for your divorce, your workaholism, or your lack of proper parental guidance and discipline (Yes–discipline) is now Your problem as an employer. Remember Karma café? Yeah. Well, she hasn’t forgotten You.

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” ― Emilie Buchwald