Ah yes. The “Maybe You Should Quit Your Job” series is back. In case you are new to the program (here’s part one and two), this series is typically inspired by the media at large and their backwards assessments of how we should do our work life. Today’s topic? Millennials. Are they lazy or are they just smart enough to see the writing on the wall?
As seems to be the case, there is nothing wrong with the corporate structure, how we educate the younger generations, etc. It’s young people. Young people just suck. According to Time magazine, other major news outlets and every older person that I talk to about their younger employees.
What’s the basis for all of this laziness talk? Basically Millennials don’t want to play the game the many of us in the past have played. Millennials want flexibility in their jobs and many of them say that freelancing or entrepreneurship appeals to them at some level. As a small business owner, I say good for them.
Corporate America Can’t Have Their Cake And Eat It To
Here’s my biggest problem with the suggestion that the younger generation is lazy because they want freedom. This suggestion comes from the same companies that will lay you off as soon as times get tough. Large companies want loyalty when they typically don’t show that same loyalty in return. Corporate America is like the husband who cheats on his wife all the time and then gets mad when she so much as talks to another guy. I am not crying for you. How soon we forget 2008 and 2009.
Our Primary Way Of Creating Value Has Changed
We don’t work in the widget economy anymore. Most jobs aren’t cogs in the wheel type jobs. Today’s worker is most likely a knowledge worker and doesn’t need to punch a clock at specific times or even come into the office every day to do their work. Because of this, employees can get more flexibility in their work schedules.
Since When Is Being A Freelancer or An Entrepreneur Considered Lazy?
The only person who suggests that freelancing or entrepreneurship is for the lazy is the person who has done nothing but collect paychecks their entire life. Have these people ever started their own business or tried to get work as a freelancer? I wouldn’t classify that as easy. In fact it’s downright brutal in the beginning. There have certainly been plenty of times I have reminisced about getting paid just for showing up.
When it comes to employees, my philosophy is to create a winning environment for them so that they create a winning environment for my clients. This means that I try to meet people where they are at. It is true that some of today’s generation are knuckleheads but that is no different than any generation. The old work model is broken and good for the current generation for recognizing that and refusing to play the game.