Teh One Who Knocks
09-18-2012, 11:10 AM
by Andrea Kay, Gannett
It's just not convenient.
Those weren't the exact words a young contract worker used when explaining to his client why he hadn't completed a project that had a drop-dead deadline of yesterday. But that's what it came down to, the client says.
In his defense, the worker did say this: "It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I ran into some glitches along the way. Plus, I've got a lot going on. I've got a life, you know."
The client wasn't buying it.
"I don't care what generation you belong to, there's this thing called work ethic -- making a commitment, doing what you say you'll do. Being responsible and accountable is not about whether it's convenient or not."
Is getting work done on time and on budget a generational thing? All I know is that every week, I'm hearing this sentiment more than ever and from more than a handful of employers.
But some experts who specialize in bridging the gap between the expectations of different generations say it's not that younger generations have no work ethic.
They have "a self-centered work ethic," says Cam Marston, author of Motivating the 'What's In It For Me?' Workforcein an article in Business Know-How. He insists that "millennials are dedicated to completing their task well."
The younger generations haven't been raised in a way "that demands them to look around and see what should be done next," Marston says.
"Instead they ask â??what is my job' and go about figuring the best, fastest way to complete that task. Then they consider themselves done." And the younger they are, "the more your employees view their jobs as something to do between the weekends."
It's not, he says, that they don't want to put in the hours to get ahead.
"They want to get the job done, then put it behind them and enjoy life," Marston says.
Sorry, but a self-centered work ethic just doesn't cut it, the one employer says.
There's a big difference between completing your task well and completing it on time, the employer says. The challenge is completing a job well within the time necessary, budget constraints and other limitations of a team.
Too many young workers just don't get it, employers say.
"It's not about you," another employer says. "It's about your client, your co-workers and boss. The world of business doesn't operate on what's convenient for you and what fits into your schedule and your particular expectation. That philosophy is why there is no such thing as service anymore and why mediocrity is becoming the norm."
What happened to the American work ethic? That's what these employers want to know.
The ethic that "says we will deliver our products and services on time. And that you, the customer, will be happy and want to hire us again." When it comes to work, one business owner told me, "Employers need to step up and provide the discipline this generation didn't get at home and demand that mediocrity is not acceptable."
And to younger workers, he says, "If you care about doing a task well and being successful in your work, you need to quit making excuses for coming up short. Instead, learn what commitment, dedication and accountability mean."
A large number of younger workers complain they can't find a job. One reason seems to be that many employers are gun-shy about hiring them.
Those employers say they worry that a generation with a self-centered work ethic that's "all about what's good for me" and what's convenient, is simply not good for business.
It's just not convenient.
Those weren't the exact words a young contract worker used when explaining to his client why he hadn't completed a project that had a drop-dead deadline of yesterday. But that's what it came down to, the client says.
In his defense, the worker did say this: "It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I ran into some glitches along the way. Plus, I've got a lot going on. I've got a life, you know."
The client wasn't buying it.
"I don't care what generation you belong to, there's this thing called work ethic -- making a commitment, doing what you say you'll do. Being responsible and accountable is not about whether it's convenient or not."
Is getting work done on time and on budget a generational thing? All I know is that every week, I'm hearing this sentiment more than ever and from more than a handful of employers.
But some experts who specialize in bridging the gap between the expectations of different generations say it's not that younger generations have no work ethic.
They have "a self-centered work ethic," says Cam Marston, author of Motivating the 'What's In It For Me?' Workforcein an article in Business Know-How. He insists that "millennials are dedicated to completing their task well."
The younger generations haven't been raised in a way "that demands them to look around and see what should be done next," Marston says.
"Instead they ask â??what is my job' and go about figuring the best, fastest way to complete that task. Then they consider themselves done." And the younger they are, "the more your employees view their jobs as something to do between the weekends."
It's not, he says, that they don't want to put in the hours to get ahead.
"They want to get the job done, then put it behind them and enjoy life," Marston says.
Sorry, but a self-centered work ethic just doesn't cut it, the one employer says.
There's a big difference between completing your task well and completing it on time, the employer says. The challenge is completing a job well within the time necessary, budget constraints and other limitations of a team.
Too many young workers just don't get it, employers say.
"It's not about you," another employer says. "It's about your client, your co-workers and boss. The world of business doesn't operate on what's convenient for you and what fits into your schedule and your particular expectation. That philosophy is why there is no such thing as service anymore and why mediocrity is becoming the norm."
What happened to the American work ethic? That's what these employers want to know.
The ethic that "says we will deliver our products and services on time. And that you, the customer, will be happy and want to hire us again." When it comes to work, one business owner told me, "Employers need to step up and provide the discipline this generation didn't get at home and demand that mediocrity is not acceptable."
And to younger workers, he says, "If you care about doing a task well and being successful in your work, you need to quit making excuses for coming up short. Instead, learn what commitment, dedication and accountability mean."
A large number of younger workers complain they can't find a job. One reason seems to be that many employers are gun-shy about hiring them.
Those employers say they worry that a generation with a self-centered work ethic that's "all about what's good for me" and what's convenient, is simply not good for business.