Speaking of Work - The Millennium Generation has begun to Arrive

[laurence]

Well, while I defend Gen X and Y as being no different than previous ones, I also don't think the rules have changed that much, either. You can't correlate working hard or going above and beyond 1 for 1 to a dollar. I have coworkers who take the "I'm not working more/harder for no more money!" attitude, one even told me some day I'd learn the error of my ways. I came in making a little less than him and now make nearly twice as much. I've always had to do the next job up the ladder for a while before I got paid to do it. I've been scrambling at 3 am on occasion knowing it was important for the project. The key is knowing when it's worth the extra effort. My boss was surprised to see I had worked less than 200 hours of overtime last year, because it seemed I was always there at crunch time.

If you don't like your job, the type of work or the company, and you don't see a job two levels up that you would like to work towards, it's time to find a different job! Either that or understand your attitude will be evident and your raises will reflect it accordingly! I see a lot of people around here who think we work in Dilbert land, and that this company sucks, and there is no point in trying hard, blah blah blah. I see this place as full of opportunity, but that unlike school, there isn't a outline to follow for success. Now, maybe it's just because I'm a tall white male that I'm doing decently, but you know, so are most of the complainers!

[FUEGO]

Originally Posted by laurencewill

If you don't like your job, the type of work or the company, and you don't see a job two levels up that you would like to work towards, it's time to find a different job! Either that or understand your attitude will be evident and your raises will reflect it accordingly! I see a lot of people around here who think we work in Dilbert land, and that this company sucks, and there is no point in trying hard, blah blah blah.

I'm stuck w/ golden handcuffs at the current position. Vested portion of deferred comp plan is worth $13000 today. If I stay in the current job for 25 more months, I'll get around $100,000+ when I walk away. The job itself isn't bad, the people are fairly easy to get along with. I'm moving up the ladder faster than anyone else at my level (I'm golden!). The compensation keeps creeping up when a group of folks quit (mgmt gets scared into massive raises).

It just isn't worth the extra effort required to obtain an extremely small marginal boost in bonus and probably zero marginal increase in salary. I focus on being more productive and adding value for the 40 hours I am there. It's a small firm and the upward mobility is capped.

[DallasGuy]

Boomer here...are we really all that different than Gen X or Y? I've had jobs in the past where my employer took advantage of me and expected me to work 60+ hours for little or nothing extra as a bonus...I went along with it but after that happens once or twice with little thanks, you pretty much set your own limits....unless you really like getting taken advantage of. Maybe Gen X'ers and Y'ers saw it happen to their parents and said, "no way" BEFORE getting taken advantage of. Maybe they're just smarter?

[cantlogin]

laurencewill, Your post is right on target and if extra effort is truly unrewarded the free market in employment exists. There's too much time spent at a job to stay if you don't like it. If someone can't find employment that pays more, then I'm not sure how it can be concluded that they aren't getting paid what they're worth.

[Jay_Gatsby]

There are two sides to this coin. Employers want Generation Y to prove themselves worthy of promotions/raises, while Generation Y wants guarantees of promotions/raises if they do what they're told.

Yet as Laurence put it, "unlike school, there isn't an outline to follow for success." That's primary source of the disconnect. Generation Y was told to jump through certain hoops to get ahead while still in school. You reach a point in your life, usually after you graduate college and land your first job, when there is no outline that will guaranty success.

Some employers will want to exploit you, but assuming that every employer who expects you to do an honest day's work for low pay is out to exploit you is ridiculous. When you graduate college, you know very little about how to make/save your employer money, which is the basis for everything in the business world. Until you do, you need to do as you're told, which is actually the way you can learn how your employer does business. Once you understand, you can think of ways to make/save your employer money. It is at that point you'll merit significant bonuses, raises and promotions. Not a minute sooner.

[donheff]

+1 to Laurencewill. It isn't really a matter of working usurious hours - move on if that is what they expect. But if you want to advance in a company you need to take the extra step and you darn well better be there for the "crunch time" as LW put it.

[Caoineag]

I am part of this generation y the newspapers are talking about. I have never had a problem with someone criticizing my work ethic (in fact, I am usually complimented on it) but I can assure you people are equally aware that I won't let myself be taken advantage of. I do think the media hype is well overblown since most of the things people complain about have been around since long before our generation (even the infamous helicopter parents, back in the old days it was called an introduction, lol).

[laurence]

Heck I've already worked for some generation y's here as my technical lead on a project. These guys and gals are working harder than me and are already my pay grade, and will pass me up and leave me in the dust shortly, and I'm glad to know them. They don't have kids yet, so it's worth it to them to burn the midnight oil.

[Nords]

Originally Posted by Jay_Gatsby

Yet as Laurence put it, "unlike school, there isn't an outline to follow for success." That's primary source of the disconnect. Generation Y was told to jump through certain hoops to get ahead while still in school. You reach a point in your life, usually after you graduate college and land your first job, when there is no outline that will guaranty success.

I think that's why our kid, a high school sophomore, is attracted to the military. She knows what she'll be doing for the next four years of college and for the first couple years after that. She also knows that she'll get the training & mentoring to help her handle the leadership & responsibility.

The local community college had a trades career day last month, though, and she saw the construction industry heavily recruiting kids who can actually do math, use hand/power tools, and read a blueprint. These guys don't even have driver's licenses yet and they're being offered summer internships.