Millennials — impatient, overconfident and materialistic?
“If you are just working for your next promotion or for recognition, then your heart is in the wrong place.”
“Why are young people these days so in a hurry to move up?”
“If you jump around in different roles, you become a master of none.”
Sounds familiar? These are actual quotes from my senior colleagues when I shared about my career aspirations. But it also got me thinking — why are taking ownership of our career progression and having individual aspirations viewed so negatively?
If you are still wondering — yes, I am a millennial. According to the latest definitions released by Pew Research Centre in 2019, millennials refer to anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 25 to 40). We are often called “digital natives” for our familiarity and high usage of the Internet, mobile devices and social media. We are also often labelled traits such as being impatient, overconfident, and materialistic, based on a nationwide survey done by Channel News Asia in Singapore.
As more of us enter employment in vast numbers, it is evident we hold vastly different career aspirations and attitudes about work as compared to our older colleagues. While some of the behaviour and attributes used to describe this generation can be explained by the our age and relative lack of responsibilities, to dismiss these differences entirely on that basis would be a mistake.
Different career aspirations and work attitudes
My older colleagues, mostly Gen X-ers, are often lauded for being disciplined and hardworking. They believe strongly that hard work will eventually pay off as long as you give it sufficient time, be it in terms of remuneration and recognition. As such, they are patient and willing to invest time and effort to go far in a career they like. It is not uncommon to see many Gen X-ers staying in the same career and/or workplace for more than a decade.
Millennials, in comparison, are often perceived as being impatient and self-entitled. This is characterised by our desire to move quickly upwards through an organisation, and our willingness to move on quickly if our expectations are not met.
However, many millennials I know equally value discipline and hard work. The difference is that we are more deeply driven by intrinsic needs of self-efficacy and continuous growth. We expect rapid progression and constant feedback to know that we are growing and making an impact. As we were brought up to be confident of our abilities, we constantly seek new opportunities to challenge ourselves. We may be less patient, more emboldened to showcase our abilities, and not hide our desire for career progression, but it does not make us any less of a good employee. We will give our utmost best to a company that is right for us.
Organisations need to be ready for the future
It is evident that the management style and corporate culture that has worked for Gen X-ers and baby boomers will no longer work for millennial workers. As millenials form more than a third of the global workforce, organisations can better prepare themselves for the future by listening more to these younger voices.
Through my conversations with peers, many millennials hope that our workplace experience can be reimagined in five main areas: growth, flexibility, real time feedback, faster advancement, and mitigating intergenerational tensions.
- Growth: We seek continuous skills development and want to find meaningful growth opportunities at work. While many organisations still focus on developing high potentials, it should continue to provide other young employees with more development opportunities, lest they face the risk of losing future talents.
- Flexibility: Many of us prefer decentralised work environments and having the autonomy to decide how we want to work on projects. Organisations should still set clear goals and deadlines, but we would love to have the freedom to choose when, where and how to work.
- Real-time feedback: More so than any generation before, we value frequent feedback as it helps us grow and know how we are making an impact in our organisation. In addition to quarterly or annual reviews, real time feedback to highlight positive contributions or key competencies that needs further improvement makes us feel invested in our jobs.
- Faster advancement: I daresay most of us do not quite agree with how historic career advancement was built upon seniority and time of service, as we value results over tenure. We want career advancement much quicker than older generations are accustomed to. For high achievers who do show the potential to rise up the ranks quickly, an organisation can consider merit-based promotions, or adding more positions, salary grades, or competency “badges” to meet their expectations.
- Mitigating intergeneration tensions: Most importantly, organisations need to understand and address generational differences and tensions. What drives millennials at work is different from Gen X-ers and baby boomers, and it is unfair to use the same standards of a “good employee” to pre-emptively judge us. Also, for larger organisations with longer career horizons (e.g. public service), organisations should look ahead for talent pipeline issues and ensure there are opportunities for upward mobility.
Food for thought for millennials
That said, before we millennials eagerly move on to the next greener pasture, we should also dig deeper to find meaning in what we do. While it is not wrong to be confident of our abilities and negotiate faster career progression, we should also be mindful that our bosses want to see our commitment to contribute back to the organisation. Is our reason to move up solely because of our personal aspirations, or for wanting an expanded influence to make a difference? They do not have to be mutually exclusive. It is only human nature to think of people driven by altruistic reasons more favourably than those driven by their own needs, hence we need to nuance such conversations delicately.
Give me your feedback. What are your thoughts?
