Teh One Who Knocks
12-26-2011, 09:35 PM
By Ely Portillo, McClatchy\Tribune news
The co-workers of 20-somethings are less than impressed with the younger generation's work ethic, according to a new poll.
The poll of 637 working Americans was conducted last month on behalf of Workplace Options, a Raleigh, N.C.-based consulting firm. The results showed that 77 percent of workers believed the millennial generation has a different attitude toward workplace responsibility than those in other age groups. Millennials are primarily people born in the 1980s and early 1990s, who started coming of age around the new millennium.
Further, 68 percent of respondents said they think millennials are less motivated to take on responsibility and produce quality work, and 46 percent said they think millennials are less engaged at work than others.
Bill Crigger, president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Compass Career Management Solutions, said he hears of such conflicts when talking to human resources professionals.
"Part of it is just how fast technology and workplaces are changing," said Crigger, 62. "Anytime there's a large influx of people into the workforce, it changes."
Many conflicts, Crigger said, originate because of differing attitudes about corporate cultures. Older workers expected to climb a career ladder, he said.
"I literally sat in chair one, then moved to chair two, and so on," said Crigger, while millennials are "not interested in climbing a ladder. They've been raised under the tech gurus, the whole 'anyone can do this in a garage' mindset.
"Other generations find that a little frustrating," Crigger said.
Workplace Options said the poll's results could be partially due to timing.
"The attitudes reflected in this poll may stem, in part, from responsibilities younger workers typically have as more junior employees, but this is certainly a trend to monitor," Workplace Options Chief Executive Dean Debnam said in a statement.
Respondents in the millennial generation didn't grade themselves much better, the poll found. Fifty-five percent said peers are less motivated to take on responsibility, and 34 percent said millennials are less engaged than their counterparts.
The one area where everyone agreed millennials had an edge is technology, where 78 percent of respondents said the younger workers have an advantage.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent, Workplace Options said.
The co-workers of 20-somethings are less than impressed with the younger generation's work ethic, according to a new poll.
The poll of 637 working Americans was conducted last month on behalf of Workplace Options, a Raleigh, N.C.-based consulting firm. The results showed that 77 percent of workers believed the millennial generation has a different attitude toward workplace responsibility than those in other age groups. Millennials are primarily people born in the 1980s and early 1990s, who started coming of age around the new millennium.
Further, 68 percent of respondents said they think millennials are less motivated to take on responsibility and produce quality work, and 46 percent said they think millennials are less engaged at work than others.
Bill Crigger, president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Compass Career Management Solutions, said he hears of such conflicts when talking to human resources professionals.
"Part of it is just how fast technology and workplaces are changing," said Crigger, 62. "Anytime there's a large influx of people into the workforce, it changes."
Many conflicts, Crigger said, originate because of differing attitudes about corporate cultures. Older workers expected to climb a career ladder, he said.
"I literally sat in chair one, then moved to chair two, and so on," said Crigger, while millennials are "not interested in climbing a ladder. They've been raised under the tech gurus, the whole 'anyone can do this in a garage' mindset.
"Other generations find that a little frustrating," Crigger said.
Workplace Options said the poll's results could be partially due to timing.
"The attitudes reflected in this poll may stem, in part, from responsibilities younger workers typically have as more junior employees, but this is certainly a trend to monitor," Workplace Options Chief Executive Dean Debnam said in a statement.
Respondents in the millennial generation didn't grade themselves much better, the poll found. Fifty-five percent said peers are less motivated to take on responsibility, and 34 percent said millennials are less engaged than their counterparts.
The one area where everyone agreed millennials had an edge is technology, where 78 percent of respondents said the younger workers have an advantage.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent, Workplace Options said.