In a recent blog, we posed the question, \u201cDo we live to work or work to live?\u201d and used that as a springboard to talk about Millennials. There doesn\u2019t seem to be any agreement on specific beginning and ending dates for this generation, but it\u2019s generally thought to be people born in the early to mid-1980s to the early to mid-2000s.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to understand them because, according to the John Maxwell Company, by the year 2020 there will be 86 million of them which means they will make up 40% of the workforce.\u00a0 According to other sources, 70% of Millennials are looking for new jobs at any point in time, and their average tenure at a job is 1.8 years.\u00a0 So Millennials have a vastly different attitude toward work and toward their workplaces than do the people who are trying to manage them.\u00a0 We recently saw a Simon Sinek video (one of our favorite speakers on leadership and management topics) in which he talks about Millennials, why they are the way they are, and what Corporate America should do about it.\u00a0 For a summary of his insights, please continue reading below.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is what happens to you while you\u2019re texting on your smartphone.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>~Unknown<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Simon Sinek says that while older generations attribute lots of negative behaviors to Millennials, the predominant one is a feeling of entitlement. He says there are four reasons Millennials tend to feel entitled:<\/p>\n Obviously, we\u2019ve been making some sweeping generalizations here about Millennials that may be true for many, but not true for all. We have met many young people who may be Millennials according to their birth date, but who exhibit none of the behaviors discussed here and who would be a pleasure to work with.\u00a0 You\u2019ve probably run into those people too.<\/p>\n Simon Sinek, if you\u2019ve never heard him speak, is funny, articulate, and has a great message. If you\u2019d like to watch his full discussion of Millennials (it\u2019s less than 20 minutes long), use the link below.<\/p>\n\n
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