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January 18, 2010
Guest Book Review: A Millennial on Millennials
Here I am just a few weeks into the new year and already my resolutions are slipping. I vowed to read 110 books in 2010 . . . so far I have read one.
And I know you're not going to give me credit for this entry, because I delegated the assignment to Carly Sikorski, who interned with us during the winter semester break.
However, I thought it would be appropriate for Carly, a Millennial herself, to give us her take on a book about Millennials. Here's Carly's review:
Keeping the Millennials: Why Companies are Losing Billions in Turnover to This Generation—and What to Do About It discusses the new influx of young people into the workforce and the issues that arise as a result. Millennials, people born between the years 1980 and 1999, are transforming the professional world as they introduce unique qualities into the workplace:
- Culture
- Perspective
- Language
- Work ethic
- Relationship with technology
Like generations before them, such as the Gen Xers and the Baby Boomers, Millennials have been viewed as threats to the existing order. Many workers, especially those who are well tenured at a company, may resent the new presence of the Millennials. It can be intimidating not only because of Millennials’ different personalities, but also because of the systematic restructuring that may be necessary to adapt to their presence.
As a Millennial myself, who is about to enter the workforce, I have to admit that the language used in this book was a bit disconcerting at times. For example, the current rush of Millennials into the professional realm is often analogized to an invasion—as if my peers and I are more closely related to insects or aliens than human beings.
Overall, however, the book pains an accurate picture of the different ways that Millennials experience and interact with work. It gives workers and managers, many of whom have been in the game since before we Millennials were even born, a useful prediction of the changes that lie ahead, and tips on how to handle the transformation.
Beware, however, not to put too much stock into the Millennial stereotype. It is true that Millennials bring new practices and challenges into the workforce, but so has every other generation. As much as Sujansky and Ferri-Reed make it seem like my generation represents an unprecedented revolution in the professional realm, the effect probably won’t be all that different from what has already occurred in the past. After all, Millennials, although we have our own ways of doing some things, are really not so different from everyone else.
Thanks, Carly!
Posted by Alison Davis at January 18, 2010 08:23 AM
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