The Pros And Cons Of Millennials

In the article “A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much”, by Catherine Rampell, the author analyzes and challenges the popular stigma that Millennials are the laziest generation to have ever existed. Rampell begins her article with a staggering fact: “The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds is a whopping 17.6 percent” (Rampell 388). And according to seventy-five percent of Americans, “Today’s youth are less virtuous and industrious than their elders” (Rampell 388). This may seem like an incredibly high percentage of Americans, but you might be astonished to learn that even “Two-thirds of millennials said older adults were superior to the younger generation when it came

To start, this shift towards a shared economy is giving Millennials a bad reputation. Instead of focusing on their spending habits, Huffington Post blogger, Tim Urban, targets the work ethics of the younger generations in his article, “Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy.” In fact, Urban believes that younger generations were too spoiled in their childhood, so by the time adulthood hit they were destined to be failures. In addition to

The ethnography The Myth of the Age of Entitlement: Millennials, Austerity, and Hope by James Cairns, discuss the myth of entitlement about millennials (or Generation Y) in a political, economic and social perspective in the North American context. Cairns, debunks the idea that “young people expect everything to be handed to them without having to work for it” (Cairns, 133). There is a misconception that millennials do not work hard, are lazy, are addicted to praise, have a lack of respect to authority and are more entitled than any previous generation. When in reality they have to work harder due to the loss of entitlements compared to previous working generations. For instance, when Sedef got her dream internship at CMI she was grateful to

As he assures, “I am about to do what old people have done throughout history: call those younger than me lazy, entitled, selfish and shallow” (Stein 28). By using words with such negative connotation, Joel Stein diminishes his focal point of explaining the ways millennials are helping society. Their laziness, among other negative traits, is passionately justified rather than balanced with his optimistic

“Young people have no work ethic these days “. This is a common statement that I hear all to often. Especially, when people are talking about millennials. Which is wrong just because someone is younger does not mean that they are not dedicated to their work. Furthermore, it is wrong to paint everyone with the same brush.

Throughout Simon Sinek’s speech regarding the topic of millennials within the workplace, he makes his claim very clear that Millennials disadvantages can be directly correlated to the failed parenting strategies, the advancement of technology, and lastly the environment created by big corporations which hire millennials. Sinek states that these negative factors cannot be blamed on Millennials, but rather the older generations. I wholeheartedly agree with Simon Sinek on his position over this argument because I myself am a millennial who has observed and experienced the claims which he makes. I have felt the failure of parenting systems which gave me a sense of entitlement, I have observed the powerful impact technology has taken over my generation

I agree that in general, we are more lazy and are a tad hypocritical. Thinking that just because you don’t have to work since you are under 26 and quit your job to do more “meaningful” things, that is not necessarily considered a good, productive thing. But being one, a millennial that is, I also see the other side of the argument. I believe that we can be the most productive when we are passionate about something and the idea that non-millennials have little to no faith in what we can accomplish has a very negative outcome in what we then actually do. We are very proud of who we are for the most part, and that may just be part of our generation’s view on how life works, but generalizing every single child under 26 or 31 to say that they are not the most motivated and all we want is free stuff and to not have to work is not true. If I were to do a study, I bet it would show that they are only happy to still be apart of their parent’s plans because they are broke and what is most likely the main reason they are broke? They are college students who are trying to pay for continuing their education so they can further use talents to help the economy all the while taking disses from the older generation saying how we are so lazy and only want free stuff. Times change, and along with change, there needs to be adaptations. I do not know enough to say what the mandates should or should not be, but I do not think that stereotyping us is not going to

In response to Stein's remark about millennials being lazy, Tracy states, "For one thing: it's the economy, stupid!" (para 4).

Millennials are not lazy in general and are certainly motivated by the same old carrot and

My philosophy is that “Millennials” are no different than anybody else in this universe. Regardless, of the critical discernment of that remains to diffuse across the nation, the individuals that we should concentrate on in terms of failure are the “business leaders” who possess the power to make a difference in their world.

In “Millennials in the workplace”, Simon Sineks shows his empathetic and humorous side in his interview, describing Millennials in general, but pin points to the ones in the work force today. He does this by showing behind the scenes as to why Millennials are the way they are. He states his four main points of “Parenting, technology, impatient, and environment” (Sineks, interview, 2017, time). What Simon Sineks states throughout the interview is totally relatable to me as a millennial, I could see myself in action from my habits by the many scenarios he explains. So yes, I agree with his main points as to why Millennials is the way they are, but having two out of his four being a part of the cause more than the others. Technology and environment are huge in having children not fully develop their best possible selves. To understand this better you have to consider the individual who live in third world countries compared to the US. When Sineks gives his main point’s his purpose is to give it to anyone who uses their cell phones and social media. Many can accuse millenniums of this habit because yes, we are always on our phones, however, this could also be in effect on generation X.

Then I got to experience real work when I was doing yard work, which showed me the real meaning of hard work. Millennials are missing out on challenging work because their parents would care about them, so they would give them the easy way out of things, but if their parents would make their kids struggle or work hard for things then they will comprehend the meaning of hard work.

From the silent generation, to the baby boomers, and now to the millennials/ Generation X, the never ending question that has always been asked and that is still being asked is, “what is wrong with the younger generation?” In Joel Stein (2013) and Emily Matcher (2012), works on millennials, both writers share their perspectives on millennials and discuss the issues that many find with the young generation. Of course the conclusions that Stein (2013) and Matcher (2012) come to are very different, but they both address the question, are millennials the horrible generation that will amount to nothing like the older generation thinks, or will millennials surprise us all and become the best generation. On one side of this discussion, Matcher (2013) holds fast to the idea that millennials are lazy, entitled, and one of the most narcissistic generations. On the other side, Stein (2013) consents that millennials might be all of those things but that many of the other generations also had all of those bad habits without any of the extraordinary things that millennials bring to the table. My own view is that all the people that were born from 1982 to 2000 are being generalized into this one big generation called millennials. Millennials do not have any worse traits then that of the generations that came before them, but these traits are simply easier to show in this day and age. In fact, I believe that millennials have one of the biggest potentials for good in our world.

First of all the time period that millennials are growing up in is affecting how other generations look at their work ethic. From worldwide layoffs, soaring divorce rates, war, and unemployment, millennials have been through a lot already in their life for being so young. The unemployment rate and the increase of the cost of living is hitting this generation the hardest, it’s the main reason why young adults are still living with their parents. Young adults are most affected by the unemployment rate in general, which makes times primarily hard. In fact, in one report they found that, “Many Millennials couldn’t work right now if they wanted to. According to the report, 37% of 18–29-year-olds are unemployed or out of the workforce, the highest share among this age group in more than three decades” (Williams). Work ethic is difficult to define when so many are unemployed, after the recession hit in 2008 it has been especially hard to find a job. Although the economy is healing and people are starting to find more work opportunities, times are still strenuous. For some it can almost seem impossible to try and save money for college to get a job that can support the cost of living in this day and age. If anything millennials work ethic is strong, this generation isn’t just sitting around and waiting for a job to come to them. In order to live comfortably in this time period it’s essential that one has a job. They are taking this

One reason millennials are not ready for homeownership is because jobs and opportunities are scarce. So many young adults were just forced to return back home to save money and the thought of owning a home seemed unreasonable. Another reason millennials are unhurried to own a home is because there is trouble in the housing market and many changes have held back demand and supply. Since there are so many luxurious apartments being built for the baby boomers it just makes buying a home much more difficult. Many millennials are staying single and just getting married later in life so there is no need to purchase a home. Studies say millennials are inhabiting in their child hood beds longer, so since young adults haven’t moved out homeownership still is very far away. There are many circumstances for millennials choosing to buy a home or rent like if you have a child rent payments would be more suitable. Another instance would be are choosing to live in that area for a long time or just a short period. Some people think millennials aren’t interested in buying homes but they are simply just renting longer, living with their parents and are burdened with student loan debt they are simply just taking their time waiting for the right time.