Entitled Millennials?
If you’re in the world of employee engagement, you may already know that many Millennials are unhappy in their jobs. What you may not know is the source of this unhappiness and more importantly, what you can do about it.
While some of the day-to-day may be boring, tasks menial, and reporting tedious, most of us are underwhelmed for three overarching reasons: we have jobs not careers, experience a lack of motivation, and have a deep desire to do meaningful work.
Careers. We’re looking for careers, not jobs. While it’s become increasingly important to get a job—any job—that will pay the bills and get us out of our families’ homes, when we land that gig, we realize we actually don’t like it.
Why? Is it the oft-mentioned Millennial trait of entitlement at play here? Do we think we’re better than any old job that falls upon us?
No, it’s room for growth.
The first few weeks of a job are always exciting for me. Meeting new people, learning the ropes, getting along with the team—I love it all. However, after about a month I’m able to determine whether or not I’ll be given agency, opportunities to enhance my skillset, and a path to move upwards (or laterally). If I don’t like the answer to any of those questions, my eyes are peeled for a new job.
I’m not alone here. Many of my Facebook generation contacts, upon being in a job for only a month or so and making that same calculation themselves, will start looking for new work if the results look bleak. Gone are the days where we slog through, working at one place for 10 years without question. We want to work hard, be challenged, and have the ability to grow. Anything short of this goal and we’re happy to job hop until we find the right fit.
You can change that.
Here’s how.
via Entitled Millennials? – The Network for Good.
Allison McGuire is the Marketing Associate at Network for Good. You can read more of her blog posts at CompaniesforGood.org and follow her on Twitter @calimcg.
By Greg Smith
