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ENGAGE TREND REPORT 05.27.10
Study: Millennials ARE Slackers!
You know the stereotypes about Gen Y workers. Their work ethic is underdeveloped. Their sense of entitlement is outsized. They're slackers. Is that, like, totally unfair?
New research has yielded actual data to back up these notions.
In a series of studies using surveys that measure psychological entitlement and narcissism, University of New Hampshire management professor Paul Harvey found that Gen Y respondents scored 25 percent higher than respondents ages 40 to 60 and a whopping 50 percent higher than those over 61.
As a group, Harvey says, Gen Yers are characterized by a "very inflated sense of self" that leads to "unrealistic expectations" and, ultimately, "chronic disappointment." And if you think the Gen Yers in your workplace are oversensitive as well as entitled, Harvey's findings back that up, too. Today's 20-somethings have an "automatic, knee-jerk reaction to criticism," he says, and tend to dismiss it. "Even if they fail miserably at a job, they still think they're great at it."
What about the other big stereotype -- that Gen Yers are committed and idealistic, and determined to do work they believe in. Not true, according to another study, to be published in the Journal of Management in September, which reveals that when it comes to work, the two things Gen Yers care most about are a) high salaries, and b) lots of leisure time off the job.
The study found that while both Gen Y (21 - 30 years old) and Gen X (31 - 44 years old) want sizable salaries, Gen X workers show greater awareness that a hefty paycheck comes with a hefty workload. Professor Harvey believes that this sense of entitlement "gets ingrained in the formative years. It stems from the self-esteem movement, telling kids, 'You're great, you're special,'" he says.
Given the current recession, should business leaders assume that these employees will be happy just to have a job? Can they ignore the next generation's changing needs and demands? Not according to Stan Smith, workforce attitude trends expert and author of Decoding Generational Differences: Fact, Fiction…or Should We Just Get Back to Work? His research shows that these things "won't be changing" and represent serious problems for those who choose to ignore them.
Gen Yers and their employers will eventually have to deal with this as Gen Y increases its presence in the workplace. We could have a group of disappointed and disgruntled employees, where Gen Y says, 'I want everything,' and the company says, 'You're not getting anything.'
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