Name: Ma. Mikaela Andrea A.

Franco
Subject: MPA – Organization and Management

SIMON SINEK on MILLENIALS IN THE WORKPLACE

I've heard a lot of motivational speakers before, so when I read that Simon Sinek
was going to be the speaker at Millennials in the Workplace, I was very interested in
hearing what he had to say. I know I have a solid awareness of the differences
between "we" and earlier generations because I am regarded as a member of the
millennial generation. Additionally, I am aware from personal experience and other
observations that many members of older generations have a negative opinion of the
practices and conduct of millennials, particularly in the workplace. Sinek
acknowledged at the beginning of his speech that millennials as a whole are
"accused of being entitled and narcissistic, self-interested, unfocused and lazy" as
per Sinek. Nevertheless, he provides four justifications for why he thinks millennials
behave in this way throughout his discussion, which I found to be both insightful and
eye-opening. He simultaneously defends and exposes the millennial generation.

Millennials share a shared vision for the workplace, according to Simon Sinek, which
he exposes at the outset of his talk: meaning and influence. The author continues by
claiming that millennials frequently fall short of these objectives and become
dissatisfied with a sense that something is missing. I can concur with this remark
based on my personal experiences and the experiences of my working buddies, but I
did not have any theories as to why this occurs so frequently to our generation.
Sinek discusses the four main factors that, in his opinion, contribute to the
shortcomings of millennials in the workplace: parenting, technology, impatience, and
environment. He emphasizes numerous times how this has resulted in "an entire
generation growing up with lower self-esteem...through no fault of their own
[because] they were dealt a bad hand," in Sinek's words. I identified most with
Sinek's assessment of technology and impatience among his four primary points. He
shared a truth that was both fascinating and terrifying: because they all produce the
addictive chemical dopamine in our brains, telephones are very similar to alcohol,
narcotics, and gambling. So the millennial generation has been addicted to their cell
phones as a result of utilizing them and growing up in a time when social media was
quite common. Sinek also relates this addiction to millennials' innate impatience in
life and the job. Technology, social networking, e-commerce, video streaming, and
other factors have all contributed to our belief in the idea of rapid gratification. In
response, millennials have emotions of failure, low self-esteem, and missing
something when they enter the corporate workforce and must wait to discover
meaning or make an effect.

I felt both vindicated and, to be honest, a little outraged by the way he describes and
articulates these issues with the millennial generation. I loved how he acknowledged
and empathized with the fact that technology and the surrounding environment have
played a significant role in why millennials act the way they do in the workplace, in
contrast to the vast majority of earlier generations. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm

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addicted to my phone; I should practice greater patience because I frequently
demand fast gratification for things in my life. My parents never taught my siblings
and me the concepts of "participation medals" or "you are exceptional," but I grew up
in a society where those ideas were prevalent in my school and many other settings.
Because of all the factors that surround me and the rest of my generation, we are
dependent on technology, seek instant gratification, and consider ourselves to be the
"be all and end all." As a result, when we enter the corporate workplace environment
and these beliefs and ideals are absent, we are almost certain to fail or have very
low self-esteem. On the other hand, despite having no genuine reason, Simon Sinek
did make me feel a little insulted.

Even though he keeps repeating that the actions of millennials in the workplace are
"no fault of our own," all of his assertions and assessments are valid. I just didn't like
hearing the truth. I want to be proud of the accomplishments of my generation and
believe that we are more than able to conquer these insurmountable challenges
while yet keeping a high sense of self-confidence. Despite the fact that I am still a
student and have not yet started a job, I believe that now that I am aware of the
problems faced by millennials in the corporate world, I can use this information to my
advantage.

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