Working with Millennials.....Snowflakes

[Alan]

As many of you know my wife and I have owned a business for several years, most of our staff are younger "adults" and mostly younger ladies...... ahh girls. For years both my wife and I have thought with us getting older our communication skills have declined due to.... well us turning into our parents. I have been hearing more and more media reports about the millennial generation and have just really started paying attention and researching it a little. A friend of mine posted this video on his Facebook page "working with millennials can be a challenge", it really hit home with some of the difficulties we have supervising some of our staff. I have many examples of our frustrations, but here are two recent ones.

I bought a space heater to use in our lower office since in extreme cold weather it doesn't heat as well as other areas. I took it in the tech area and opened the box and quickly determined it was a simple set up. Simply remove two screws from the top of the unit, line holes in handle with the screw holes and replace screws. I was in the tech area and present was myself, our lead tech and a assistant. I ask the assistant if she would like to get it set up and she was eager to do so. So I went through the three steps of removing two screws and attaching the handle and proceeded BSing with our lead tech, we were still next to the assistant. Within a few minutes the lead tech looked at the assistant, who at this point had five screws removed from the unit and still removing more, he informed her she did not need to take all those out just the two on the top. She looked at him and in a angry tone snapped at him, saying "I know that!" Well being an old "get off my lawn" type of a guy I asked her if she knew she only had to take out the top two screws why the he!! Do you have all these others out? Long story short, I had destroyed her day, also the rest of the staff heard all about for the rest of the day.

Try to make example two shorter. Another younger assistant, different one from example one, had entered a cash sale in the computer as a credit card sale which my wife happened to catch during the day. My wife informed her of her error and explained it could cause some problems for others when closing out the books at the end of the day. She looked at my wife and said she had done it because she likes the calculator on the computer better than the hand held calculator we have on the counter....... that's it, the whole story, all of her explaination...... with logic like that my wife said she just was at a lost for words, my wife said she had to go in her office until her stunned mind could regroup. :shock:

What my wife and I got out of the video is it is not as much our commutation as it is the give it to me now, it's mine because I want it generation.....wife and I aren't changing and they can look at their paycheck as a participation trophy....... but in our world they may lose their right to participate at our business. Just a rant this morning, sorry for the wordy rant.

Anyway here's the link to the video and why I refer to them as snowflakes also.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RklUQ73fyuE

 

[BK9954]

I have lots of the young generation working at my restaurant. You get a few good workers. Those have been the ones that come from the poorer families, helping mom pay the bills and still in high school. The ones from the University are a different story. They feel entitled, want $13 an hour for running a register. Managing these people is different then it was 10-15 years ago, you cant get away with the same things. You gotta be "nicer" and motivate since everyone got a stinkin trophy at those idiotic games where everyone was a winner. This generation expected a check just because they showed up.

 

[Nesikep]

Here's what I posted as a reply to that on facebook

I think a lot of that is really good, and I can't disagree with anything he says.. but he miss a point I found glaring when it comes to self esteem, 'likes', etc.. The point is that how you attain your goal is irrelevant as long as you get there, and specifically how you treat others..

Modern reality TV is a perfectly good example of that.. lie, cheat, steal, kill, backstab, bully, etc are all perfectly acceptable methods of getting there.. Actually, they're ENCOURAGED methods of attaining your goal. So if you're the idiot if you take the high road, and you're really the idiot if you think others will do the same

 

[greybeard]

Somewhere, somehow...someone has been 'triggered' just by reading this thread.

my wife said she had to go in her office until her stunned mind could regroup

Your young employees would explain to her that it isn't an office any more...it's a 'safe space'.

Again, for your enjoyment..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLpE1Pa8vvI

 

[Jogeephus]

Alan, I feel your pain. Good video by the way. Thanks.

I started work when I was really young and I hated it. Would stare at the clock as it took hours to move a quarter hour then one day I figured out if I stayed busy time just seemed to fly by. I pity some of these snowflakes who enter the job market who have never learned how to work. It must be agonizing.

 

[Aaron]

Had that Facebook video shared with me a few days ago. As a Millenial, it's spot on. Problem is, nobody learned from those mistakes and the next generation is going to be even worse. At least I am an old enough Millenial to remember a time before computers and Internet. Teenagers these days have no clue. Very soon, next few years, you'll have a generation that won't even know a time before smartphones and Facebook.

 

[bball]

We have had multiple meetings through the course of the year on 'how to bridge the generation gap'. It's a real workplace problem. Older generations feel millennials are lazy and entitled. Millennials feel the older generations are bullies and unrealistic in their expectations and communication.
Interesting to note the generation that is quite frustrated with the snowflakes is also the generation responsible for their creation... and no, I'm not a millennial, just created a few. The natural consequences of each generation wanting 'better' for their offspring...without fully understanding just exactly what 'better' really means.

 

[D2Cat]

bball, "The natural consequences of each generation wanting 'better' for their offspring...without fully understanding just exactly what 'better' really means."

That is the problem!

Isn't it interesting how humans want things better, and do all they can think of to do that, and in the end defeat the very thing they focused on?

And we do it to ourselves also. I have a friend who grew up poor. Always said he's never going to go hungry. Always going to have pork chops, potatoes, bread...going to enjoy eating. Well, now he's in his mid 70's, worked hard his entire life, hard physical work. Always ate more in one meal then I could eat in a day. His BP is high, and he looks like Buda, can't hardly move! He achieved his goal, but did he?

Gotta be careful what we wish for!

 

[ddd75]

this is why 40% of them live at home still.

he number of young people living at home with their parents has hit a level so high, it has not been seen since post-Great Depression 1940.

According to real estate analytics company Trulia (via CBS News), an estimated 40 percent of millennials are staying at home in the nest rather than living on their own or with roommates.

There are a multitude of factors contributing to why millennials aren't buying or renting their own homes but it generally boils down to one reason (and no, it's not that they're lazy): it's that they just can't afford to live on their own.

As many, many studies have reported over the last few years, a combination of things have led to this statistic: they make less money than the generations before them, they have more student loan debt due to the increased cost (and job market importance) of attending college, and (as CBS News points out) they're facing the rapidly rising cost of renting an apartment.

Altogether, these things present a significant obstacle standing in the way of their path to economic independence.

However, just because not as many millennials are renting or buying homes as their parents were at their age doesn't mean they don't want to; actually, as a 2014 survey by Fannie Mae found, the majority of them believe owning as opposed to renting is "more sensible."

Well, when they can afford to do it, anyway.

 

[ddd75]

whats really troubling is the student loan debt.. it used to be about 50k.. is the number i always heard from people... now I'm hearing 150k - 400k.. WHAT!?!??!

ex. wifes cousin is in school.. has about 150k in loans.. hasn't went to school for 2 years.. working at some temp job.. now shes gonna go back to school.. (out of state) ... to become something.. I guess.. so she'll be in that 300-400k territory.. be about 30-32 when shes done with her schooling.. unless she decides to go back again..

I mean.. wow.. My wife has a bachelors and she only had about 20k in debt at the end through scholarships, working through school, etc.

 

[HDRider]

Very good video Alan. Spot on.

I wish I could fix it.

 

[ClinchValley]

I was born in '86. I think that classifies me as a millennial. I'll be honest, I have absolutely zero friends that are my age. I get along with the generation my parents fit into.

I have worked since i was 13 years old. Have always paid my way.

Given, it is a tough time to be trying to get a grip on finances as a young man. One truly has to think outside the box. That being said, the attitudes of millenials along with a poor work ethic and the inability to deal with criticism is a disastrous combination.

When i meet someone for the first time I can see the look in their face when they assess that I am not like the rest of my generation. Almost see a look of relief. And that is sad.

The term snowflake is perfect. So many people i grew up with were never told no. Never got their *** busted. Let me tell you i got my *** handed to me on the regular. And i turned out fine. I help my family every chance i can. I take pride in being able to help them. And honestly it hurts my pride when they help me. I just try my best to reciprocate.

I really fear the days when we are dependent upon them. Really do.

 

[HDRider]

CV do you think the biggest reasons you come through it well are the facts you HAD to work, and you learned HOW to work?

 

[True Grit Farms]

whats really troubling is the student loan debt.. it used to be about 50k.. is the number i always heard from people... now I'm hearing 150k - 400k.. WHAT!?!??!

ex. wifes cousin is in school.. has about 150k in loans.. hasn't went to school for 2 years.. working at some temp job.. now shes gonna go back to school.. (out of state) ... to become something.. I guess.. so she'll be in that 300-400k territory.. be about 30-32 when shes done with her schooling.. unless she decides to go back again..

I mean.. wow.. My wife has a bachelors and she only had about 20k in debt at the end through scholarships, working through school, etc.

Who's giving those kids the loans? Any loan company that gives someone money that doesn't even have a job is government financed. Most kids don't know the value of money and spend it freely. I won't let my kids spend my money freely and if they want to stay in college they better make good grades, and stay out of trouble. I've got another one in college now and it's expensive but worth it to me. A good education is my gift to them, plus the majority is all tax deductible.
I also have a son that lives at home when he's not off working. He has a great work ethic and is a tight wad, penny pincher. His down fall is he's addicted to his phone, and won't invest his money in the market. But he'll be retired by the time he's 40 if the economy, taxes or an ex-wife doesn't eat his lunch.

 

[Jogeephus]

CV do you think the biggest reasons you come through it well are the facts you HAD to work, and you learned HOW to work?

I think its very important to learn HOW to work and how to manage your time and I think this is best learned at an early age. When you meld these skills together I think it helps one learn responsibility. Responsibility is what seems lacking in many people today. I'm a firm believer that you make your own reality and the american dream is open to anyone willing to pursue it with diligence.

When I was a boy I would have made for a wonderful snowflake myself. Pretty sure my mother would have enabled me to do this however my dad saw things different and the day I graduated high school he complimented me and informed me I had two weeks to get the he77 out of the house and make my way. Suffice it to say, this was never in my plans and while I thought WE were pretty well off I suddenly learned I was not.

I won't say it was easy but I've done alright because I had been taught how to work and that is what I did. A few years ago my mother apologized for how I was treated and said she should have stood up for me. I told her that this "mistreatment" was the best thing that ever could have happened to me.

One of my children was nearing graduation from high school made the comment that we were wealthy. Without missing a beat I told them that their mother and I were wealthy but they were poor as shyt and they didn't have a high school diploma or any job prospects. A peaceful silence came over cab of the truck but I could hear the faint drip of a melting snowflake. :nod:

 

[TexasBred]

whats really troubling is the student loan debt.. it used to be about 50k.. is the number i always heard from people... now I'm hearing 150k - 400k.. WHAT!?!??!

ex. wifes cousin is in school.. has about 150k in loans.. hasn't went to school for 2 years.. working at some temp job.. now shes gonna go back to school.. (out of state) ... to become something.. I guess.. so she'll be in that 300-400k territory.. be about 30-32 when shes done with her schooling.. unless she decides to go back again..

I mean.. wow.. My wife has a bachelors and she only had about 20k in debt at the end through scholarships, working through school, etc.

School isn't that expensive but it takes a lot of student loan money to live the high life and run with the big dogs on campus. That's where most of the student loan money is spent.

 

[BK9954]

I employ a lot of Texas State University students. 95% of them are there on student loans. Half getting degrees in psychology or Sports Medicine assistant, public relations, things like that where they cant get jobs when they get out to pay off these loans. I can only guess these loans are government backed. I was born in the 70's. Always called myself generation X. My folks taught me to work hard, been working since I was 15. The new social media generation is just not the same, every generation in a prosperous society is worse then the next. History has shown that. These kids will be running the country in a few years. All the propaganda today will come back to haunt us in the future. Get ready.

 

[Bigfoot]

Surely, as you look back through time, each generation has been disappointed in the generation behind them?

 

[Alan]

"A peaceful silence came over cab of the truck but I could hear the faint drip of a melting snowflake. :nod:"

Jo, that's the funniest line I have read here in a long time! :lol: I did pretty much the same with my boys.

Snowflake; to handle a snowflake one must be gentle and easy, as soon as any pressure or heat are applied they have an immediate meltdown.

 

[BK9954]

Surely, as you look back through time, each generation has been disappointed in the generation behind them?

Absolutely and I think every generation has gotten to where they feel more entitled as we go. It has started as an indoctrination in our Public Schools. Some districts more then others. The Houston schools where we were were worse. My small town where I am now is pretty conservative with my kids. I love history, and it shows a repetitive nature.