Over the past week NPR has run a couple of stories in the morning about the "Me Generation" entering the workforce. That's you, and me – we. Corporate culture, it seems, is not handling well the influx of 18 to 25 year old workers who, the stories say, require a constant stream of praise for even the most trivial of tasks to remain engaged at work. A steady income and benefits, it seems, are not enough to satisfy our consumptive tendencies. We, the members of the Me Generation, require recognition and to feel special to avoid dereliction of our duties.
The NPR reports were inspired by a recent Fortune cover story. I urge you to read this article if only for the hilarious hipster descriptions and iPod ownership stereotypes it relies on. Both the NPR and the Fortune reports assert that our generation is more concerned with what a company can do for us than the reverse, and it suggests that loyalty among young employees is low. One consultant interviewed for the NPR story suggested that for the young generation, in which every kid on every baseball team received a trophy, employers have to "Create systems that recognize and reward accomplishment. It doesn't necessarily have to be outstanding." Carrots are needed in as ready supply as the sticks that hold them.
If young workers feel demoralized or uninspired, these reports suggest, they will simply quit and move back home with mom and dad, the very people who have made them so needy and self-centered. One twenty-something author quoted in the Fortune piece claims that parents are thrilled when their kids come crawling back home, unemployed. "Our moms would love nothing more than to cook our favorite meatloaf," he says.
Really?
All of my friends are employed or in school. All of my friends have goals and a plan to reach them. My parents supported and encouraged me as a kid, and as a result I am a hard worker. Sure, they throw some money at me occasionally, but I pay all of my bills and secure my own housing and pay my own insurance. Most of my friends are in the same boat. Jane Bryant Quinn, the pop-culture financial guru, is constantly popping off about kids whose wallets are still tied inextricably to their parents'. It's true, many people our age still receive financial assistance from their parents. This has more to do with maintaining a lifestyle they are used to, and that their parents like to see them enjoy, though, than with complete fiscal incompetence run amok. Sure, debt is a growing concern among Americans, but it's one that spans the entire population, not young adults in particular.
What's particularly offensive about the Fortune article is the insinuation that kids would be drooling on themselves, flooding temp agencies with their marked incompetence, if it weren't for the assistance and pushiness of their parents. If anything, our generation is incredibly assertive. While a parent's connection may help you get a foot in the door somewhere, if you're lucky, this is no different from the way networking has worked since networking existed. The news pieces criticize young workers for complaining that their work bores them; older generations would have been glad to have a steady job, they insist. We are put through rigorous school and extra-curricular activities for twelve years without cease, and suddenly our employer expects us to happily perform data entry for a solid chunk of time every day?
I'd say the complaining employers are the ones who need to reexamine in that case.
I'm truly excited about the future of our culture. Ours is a generation that increasingly appreciates diversity; one that is creative; one that is technologically lightyears ahead of any that came before. My peers, as far as I can see, are not going to be moved by small recognition ceremonies where they receive coupons for free lattes. They are going to be inspired by challenging projects that test their capacities as creative thinkers. The antidote to the problem of engaging the "Me Generation" suggested by consulting firms cited in the news stories is as inappropriate as the assessment itself. We are not a helpless set of crybaby workers, we are simply more talented and educated than any workforce that has come before and the traditional climb-the-ladder process of corporate success, I predict, will cease to exist in the wake of a more lateral responsibility movement.
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