Going back to my team. I only have three simple rules that I asked them to follow:
- Keep me informed.
- Meet deadlines.
- Answer my calls.
How does my team fare so far? I would give them a failing grade. I have team members who disappear for days and do not answer my text or calls, not even when I ask about the task I assigned to them. They do not care about deadlines. As long as they log in and had fun, that is all that matters. Bottom line is: you have to be an inefficient and ineffective person to love to work with the millennials. The problem is, sometimes you have no choice, like me.
I know I am making generalities but it is what I noticed among many millennials I know, not only the ones who work for me. There are exceptions of course. There are still those who are professionally mature and responsible. Generally, I find the millennials simply inconsiderate.
They seem to put themselves above everything else. They particularly hate to be reprimanded even if they know they deserve it. They do not inform me if they don't come to work because they are afraid I might get mad. Never mind if I suffer or find myself in trouble because of their absence. What matters is that they are able to avoid being corrected.
Sometimes I fan out work to those who work for me and I give them the instruction to submit anything as soon as they are done so I can review their work while waiting for the other's submission. What they do is wait for everyone else to finish so they can submit all together and avoid being singled out for possible correction. On my part, I am suddenly overwhelmed by the bulk of work to review. Most of the time, they submit near or during the deadline making it impossible for me to review everything, and make revisions, to submit a good work on time.
It is true that they are fun loving, in fact I am happy that they make me laugh despite the problems they gave me. But they seem to think it is alright to give me problems for as long as they can still make me laugh.
Millennials feel, they don't think. Try observing how they talk or reply to you. Ask them where a person is and the reply would most likely be "I feel that he is not here."
Millennials are always unsure of themselves. Show them an apple then ask them what it is. The answer would most likely be in a form of a question... "Apple?"
Millennials seldom read. In my spare time, I would grab a book or a magazine to read. In their spare time they would go to their gadgets to be lost in the world of game and social media.
Millennials are extremely sensitive with their feelings. Even a brotherly advice can be offensive for them. The next thing you know, they no longer attend a class or show their face at work.
I am not saying that they are all dumb. A lot of them are quite talented and intelligent. My main complaint is that they are inconsiderate. Although I can understand why they are like this, the fact that they put me in a tight spot many times makes me question why I should be understanding to them if they can not be understanding to me. Many of them demand respect, but respect is earned not demanded.
I told somebody that my generation invented all the machines because of our desire to control information. Now that we have done it, this new generation is getting more information than they can handle. Therefore, a mature millennial for me would be someone who knows how to control this avalanche of information. If there is one exam I should give to those who will apply for work, it should be to test how much he can control information.
