Do Millennials really suck?

“They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.” Rhetoric, Aristotle, 4th Century BC

Are Millennials that bad?

Hmmm. That depends on you. I think Millennials are awesome. I also think Boomers are great! Heck, I love all people. Sounds like a cop out answer, and it is!

So, what’s all the talk about Millennials, and why are they easy to hate?

First, quick refresher on who belongs to what generation.

According to Michael Dimock, President of Pew Research Center, the chart below is a good start for defining generations from the Silent Generation (born 1928-1945), up to Gen Z (starting 1997-Current).

Millennial Stereotypes

Ok, this is fun for me, since I am tenuously positioned at the higher end of that age bracket – I think I relate more to the Greatest Generation, but I’m no narcissist.

These are my favorite stereotypes and each one deserves an entire article. However, I’ll focus on the one I think should get more attention at the bottom of the page:

5. Socialist / Progressive:

I guess that would make Bernie Sanders the oldest Millennial around.

But in all, this one’s not inaccurate. On average, Millennials hold consistently more liberal views than any of the previous generations.

However, looking at Pew Research data, you ‘ll also see a trend across all generations towards more liberal attitudes. Think about social acceptance on topics such as gay marriage for instance, and how different society’s perception is today compared to 20 years ago.

4. Hop around different jobs and can’t stay in one job too long

A little more complicated. 75% of young professionals view job hopping for a better job and compensation in a positive light. Millennials are more comfortable asking for a raise, and according to a Bank of America report by Andrew Plepler, Global Head of Environmental, and Social Governance, nearly half of them asked for a raise within the previous two years. About 80% of them end up getting the raise they asked for.

3. Can’t figure out what they want to do

Not quite true. Think about the Great Recession. Older millennials born in the 1980’s were just entering the workplace and for the first time in generations found an environment of scarcity.

As of 2016 millennials were 34% behind earlier generations in their wealth accumulation, in a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

It’s easy to judge a millennial who went through the hardship of a precarious economic situation where good jobs are scarce, low-paying jobs aplenty, and temporary roles abound. It is no wonder they learned a life lesson that stability is not a given, and looking out for your self-interest is the key to advancement.

When you work for an enterprise and see people getting laid off so that the company can achieve its quarterly or annual fiscal goals, the last thing you’re thinking about is how loyal you should be to that environment. Rather, you learn quickly that as an employee you have to reciprocate that behavior in order to survive: if they are not loyal to me, why should I be loyal to the enterprise.

It’s certainly had a profound impact on the workplace, and you and I both see it frequently with our hiring and retention decisions.

2. They need a trophy for everything

This is a fun one.

First of all, millennials did not give themselves the trophies.

Second of all, this applies to certain segments of middle- and upper-income families. I’ll proudly tell you I received very few trophies – although that’s probably more to being terrible at playing sports. And I grew up outside the United States.

Nevertheless. The stereotype does speak to a larger cultural feature of millennials: appreciating feedback and needing regular communication. The positive aspect to that is that in general, millennials want to be treated fairly and judged based on their merit, not seniority and longevity at a place. Rather, their contributions, ideas, and hard work.

1. Narcissistic & Entitled

Each generation thinks the next one is lazy, or knows it all, or makes terrible decisions, or has bad taste!

Fact 1: Each generation thinks the next one is lazy, or knows it all, or makes terrible decisions, or has bad taste! Just go back in time in your own life and assess how your parents viewed your generation. Now ask them how their parents’ generation judged them. Go back even further, and read Aristotle’s musings about youth of his generation, and how they were “always quite sure about” everything.

Fact 2: A study published in Psychology and Aging by William Chopik, (Associate Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University and Lead Author), sampled 750 people across various ages to learn more about how narcissism changes over time.

The results of the study indicated that narcissism decreases as a person ages. When you’re young, you’re more self-absorbed. As you grow older and go through life’s heartbreaks, lessons, disappointments, and feedback, you realize that you’re not as awesome as you thought. It’s a humbling learning curve of sorts, and essentially, all of us go through it.

This is a rather simple and elegant explanation for what we all have experienced, and what Gen Z is going to encounter more frequently in coming years, ironically and likely at the hands of millennials themselves.