There are many Millennial stereotypes. Most of them are totally misconceptions, and few are particularly positive.
5 Millennial stereotypes: misconceptions about a generation
If you’re going to work with them, though, you should know the truth.
Before you buy into the hype, take some time to look at these five stereotypes that are patently false.
1. They’re a ‘participation trophy’ group
Millennials want praise for everything, as the story goes. While they aren’t averse to service awards, most Millennials tend to shun empty praise in favour of constructive criticism.
Remember that this isn’t a generation that asked for those awards. Their parents were the ones that demanded them.
Millennials want to make sure to achieve real things
Millennials know exactly what it means to be rewarded for no reason, and thus they’ll work hard to make sure that anything they achieve is real.
This is the generation that understands the lies behind empty praise and instead looks to create things of real value.
2. They won’t work hard
Millennials are lazy. This is one of the most spread Millennial stereotypes. There is the idea that the members of this group live at home, don’t work, and generally look for handouts.
Millennials are not lazy. They are more motivated that most previous generations
If anything, this generation is more motivated than many that have come before.
They work longer hours for less pay, often finding themselves missing major milestones because they put most of their money towards meeting other obligations.
Millennials aren’t lazy, but they live in a working world that hasn’t adapted well to their current circumstances
Give a Millennial a chance to succeed, and he or she will outwork most of their older peers.
3. They need constant supervision
There’s also the idea that this generation needs constant supervision, that they are unable to work without constant coaching.
While it’s true that this is a generation loves feedback, many of them work just fine on their own.
In fact, an increasing number of Millennials are running their own businesses and working entirely free of any kind of supervision.
Don’t mistake a desire to conform to expectations as an inability to do self-guided work.
It’s a simple desire by those with relatively little experience to figure out their place in the workplace that tends to dominate the Millennial mindset.
4. They aren’t loyal
According to The Guardian, there’s a definite sense that this generation just doesn’t have any kind of company loyalty.
In truth, it seems very much that Millennials feel the opposite – that companies don’t have loyalty to them.
Those who are able to get into a stable position where they have responsibility and are part of the team tend to stick around.
But those who are given contract positions and empty promises tend to be more likely to be distrustful of a company’s ability to keep its word.
5. They don’t care
Perhaps the most damning of Millennials stereotypes is that they just don’t care about work. They will work so they can pay the bills, the thought goes.
But they simply won’t possess the motivation and spirit that’s necessary to carry them through a career. In reality, most Millennials strike a very different kind of balance between work and life.
Many of them are willing to work just as hard as they play. A millennial who is driven may not look the same as a driven person from the preceding generation, but they experience the same sense of drive.
It’s hard to reduce Millennials to any set of stereotypes. They’ve dealt with quite a bit in their young lives, yet they continue to persevere.
Instead of buying into stereotypes that are generally created by fear or jealousy, take them at face value. You might be surprised by how much this group has to offer the world around them.
Did you find this article interesting? Does any other stereotype come to your mind? Write it down in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
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