8/14/09 12:05 AMAlive Magazine : The Generation GapPage 1 of 2http://www.alivemagazine.org/article.php?catId=5&objectid=72
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The Generation Gap
by Mitch Hislop
Prior to writing this article, I read through more than 1000 RSS feedsthat I had collected over the work day, went through my emailaccounts for work, school, my blog and then my personal email. Idug through the more than 4000 songs on my computer, and foundwhat I wanted to listen to. After letting the world know what I was upto by updating my Facebook and Twitter profiles, I finally openedWord and went to work. But instead of working at the office, I was atmy dorm office, typing away on my MacBook. That morning, I hadtexted my boss to tell her that I would work from home in themorning and then go into the office after class.And I’m fairly normal for our generation. I am a Millennial.Currently, here is a debate raging on in the workplace. People in thebaby-boomers generation and Generation X criticize Millennials.They often say things like “They are lazy,” “They don’t have anyloyalty,” “They are always playing on the Internet,” and “Why do theyalways text message?” There seems to be an expectation by older generations that Millennials will be exactly like them.But we Millennials have our fair share of complaints as well: Strictoffice settings, top-down leaderships, not enough technology, andnot enough flexibility. Our generation does not work the same, andwith the Millennials set to be the largest generation in the workforce,this generation gap needs to beaddressed.I asked Terese Corey Blanckabout Millennials. She is the director for strategic partnerships at fahrenHEIGHT360, an entry-level talentmanagement firm in Minneapolis, Minn. FahrenHEIGHT360 exists totry and close the gap in the workplace, throughcoaching, consulting,recruiting and other services. Terese is the resident expert onMillennials, and has written a book on the subject. In a conversationI had with her, she laid out for me four sometimes problematiccharacteristics common to the Millenial gener ation. She identified
these issues as our lack of reflection, our impatience, our lack of
humble confidence and the fact that we seem tonot really knowourselves.This list got me thinking. I feel like I am pretty successful in work andschool, yet I demonstrate most of those characteristics. Are our definitions of success and effectiveness really that different? Whatdifferences are keeping this generation gap open?I am concerned that Terese feels that our lack of daily reflection isan issue. I completely agree with her – while older generationsperhaps place a high value on traditional, behind-a-closed-door, sit-still reflection, most Millennials cannot take the time each day to sitdown and reflect. However, instead of reflecting through sitting downand thinking or journaling, we reflect through doing. This leads us tothe same end – self-discovery – via a different path. A while ago Idecided I wanted to get into politics, but never thought much about acareer. I took a job at the beginning of summer 2008 atfahrenHEIGHT360, and realized that I actually love marketing andsocial media. Originally the job was just going to be somethinginteresting for the summer, yet it turned out that it was a passion of mine that led me to work more hours than I was getting paid for.That realization didn’t come from reflection on a daily basis, but frombeing tuned in, plugged in and letting my passions guide me. I wouldrecommend this tip to any Millennial: Whether you journal on aregular basis or not, use your daily life to discover yourself. Try newthings. Take chances. You might find something that you love.Impatience is also something that plagues the Millennial generation.Older generations did not grow up with all the high-speed technologythat Millennials have, and so they have a higher tolerance for theslower lifestyle than we do. Most Millennials are constantly tuned it,plugged in, and going 100 mph. The impatience stems from thelifestyle many of us lead. I usually chuckle in class when the teacher asks us if we would check our email once a day. My email isconstantly being checked, to the tune of 40 times in an hour. Itdoesn’t matter if I am not getting anything new in my inbox; I am justwaiting for a big, important email to arrive and cause me to jump intoaction. The impatience also leads into the lack of reflection. Whilethere are some Millennials who do sit and reflect, many people in mygeneration cannot. We are going all day, and most of the night.
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