It wasn’t until one of my assignments during my master’s program a couple years ago when I realized how much older generations didn’t like millennials. Actually, how much they strongly disliked millennials, especially in the workplace. This program was for Business Psychology and had a couple generations in the program, so I got exposed to several opinions. The answers were eye opening & made me a little bit upset because I was not expecting everyone to be so harsh.
Since the class was online, the assignment was to make a post in the online classroom space describing working our own experiences with each generation in the workplace.
Almost every single person who was in older generation described millennials as “lazy” and that they didn’t have any social/interpersonal skills, relied too much on technology, constantly glued to our phones. Even other millennials were complaining about our own generation. Granted, maybe they did have their own bad experience, but I have a hard time believing that everyone was “lazy”. But it’s like we hear how lazy we are & are disappointed to be a part of the generation.
I was shocked. It honestly never occurred to me to think that millennials were lazy at all, especially because I see how hard we all work. I see how many amazing things that millennials are doing and the amazing impact they are making on the world. We are taking what are learning & making some really great change that this world needs.
I was also confused because it’s not our fault that we were born right in the middle of the booming digital era. We were handed phones, learned how to use computers in school and then now we were being blamed for it. Doesn’t make much sense to me.
I see people complain so much, that our own generation is complaining about ourselves. That some people do believe that millennials are just lazy people and there’s nothing good to say about them other than “they’re good at technology/social media”.
The point of this post isn’t to say that the following things aren’t prevalent in other generations, because they definitely are! But, while everyone is complaining about millennials, I just wanted to touch on some of the things that I’ve observed to be true for the millennials. We aren’t a bunch of lazy, self-centered people that have nothing to put out into the world.
Here’s why I’m Proud of Millennials and proud to be one.
Millennials are inclusive
Nothing warms my heart more than seeing how much we all care for each other for the most part. Now, more than ever we are seeing support for everyone, allowing everyone to be who they are. I’m able to see so much growth in society allowing people to be free to be who they are.
We are the first generation to really be inclusive for the LGBTQ community, allowing others to be truly who they really are. For the most part, we all want everyone to be who they are and to feel like they are supported and accepted, because everyone does deserves it.
Millennials support and stand up for one another.
For the most part, millennials truly care about one another and want to see each other treated with respect. I see so many people standing up and doing the right things for one another. Seeing someone being treated unfairly, we stand up for them. We are creating this conversation to make sure that everyone is being included. There’s still a lot of work still to be done, but this is a good start!
At the end of the day, we truly care and want the best for everyone. This is one my favorite things I love about being a millennial. We are truly making a difference in shifting how we treat others. Like I already mentioned, everyone truly deserves to be happy.
“Work smart, not hard” mentality.
Baby Boomers are known for how hard they work and I truly do admire their work ethic and their passion. I’ve seen it and know that first hand how hard they work and it’s truly admirable. With advancements in technology and growing up around it, we know how to do things faster and more effectively. Why waste time “working hard” when we can do things faster, more effectively and more productively?
I have also noticed that millennials are working multiple jobs, multiple side hustles to be able to pay off student loans. So, we are also willing to put in the extra work to make ends meet. Trust me when I say that we are not “lazy”, we want to get things done faster and more efficiently. Who doesn’t want that?!
Millennials want to do meaningful work.
Passion is a big deal for us millennials. While that might frustrate some people in older generations, I don’t see anything wrong with it. When you are passionate about something, you are more likely to show up even better in work. But, this passion is about making a difference in the world. It’s something that we truly believe in and want to make a significant impact on the world.
We want to make a difference in the world and want to enjoy what we are doing. Yes, “work is work”, but why not do something that makes us happy & proud to do it? I have to admit, I actually strongly dislike the phrase, “work is work”, like it’s supposed to be miserable and you just have to hate it.
At the end of the day, what’s the point if you are truly miserable doing what you’re doing every single day? We want meaningful work that we enjoy doing & is making a difference in the world. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. Life doesn’t have to start when you retire. That’s just ridiculous to me.
Millennials want to get the most out of life.
Us millennials think that whole “life starts after retirement” is ridiculous. We don’t want to just work our lives away and wait until afterwards to be able to enjoy life. Why wait when we can build a happy, enjoyable life right now?
Related: Breaking Free From Society & Creating A Life You Love, 9 things to stop doing to get the most out of life, How to start feeling like you are in control of your life
I’m starting to see more and more people drift away from the typical 8-5 Monday-Friday work schedule. While a majority of people still do, I am starting to see people drift away from this schedule. I’m also starting to see small businesses become flexible in allowing employees to work from home if they need to. What’s wrong with that?!
Millennials are smart.
Yes, believe it or not, millennials are incredibly smart. It is even harder to get into college. Not to mention a bachelor’s degree is becoming less and less relevant anymore, let alone affordable. A lot of times, you need at least a master’s degree to be able to qualify for many jobs, even “entry-level”.
Even then, it’s even harder and more demanding to just get a job. Qualifications are ridiculous and it’s very hard to find a job that fits your unique set of talents. Despite the growing demand, I know many millennials who are going back to school to get higher degree and landing very prestigious jobs.
Personally, I failed at getting a job. You can read more about this in Getting Fired Was The Best Thing to Happen to Me. Nobody had what would capitalize on my individual strengths and nobody wanted to actually give me a chance. It took a lot of work and a lot of time trying to convince employers that I “had what it took” and it didn’t work.
Trust me when I say that we aren’t lazy!
Innovative “Outside the Box” thinking.
Let’s be real, businesses need young employees on their team. While traditional methods might work now, it’s not going to work forever. Millennials bring so much knowledge and talent that make all the difference in business and production. Not to mention ideas that increase efficiency and productivity. Remember the “work smart not hard” mentality? That’s what I’m talking about here.
Every business needs new, up-to-date, innovative thinking on their team in order to stay relevant in business. Whether older generations want to admit it or not, millennials are needed on the team because we can bring so many ideas and talents to the business.
Millennials are building businesses and making a difference.
We all have something to learn from everybody. Nothing is perfect and I’m not saying everything about millennials is perfect. But, we all have something that we can learn from each other.
I have noticed that a lot of millennials are becoming freelancers and building their own business making their own impact. If nobody is going to give a chance to make the difference in the world that we are meant to make, we will create it ourselves and do an AMAZING job!
Related: My journey from a struggling high school student to starting my own business, 2019 Reflection + What I Learned In My First Year Of Business
At the end of the day, I am VERY proud of millennials and I am definitely proud to be one! We can’t help that we grew up during the time when technology was booming. We can’t help that we grew up with a phone in our hands. We can’t help that we have more efficient technology at our fingertips. But, we are trying our best to use this knowledge to make a difference in the world and do work more efficiently.
I’ve talked to my mom about this and she says this happens with every generation and everyone is always hesitant when a new generation grows older and enters the workforce. But, every time a new generation makes their presence, amazing things happen!
Just wait until you see what the NEXT generation can accomplish!
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Xx,
Coach Jessie Shibko
Amazing! 😍
Thank you!
Powerful, insightful and upbeat. Great post!