If I hear another person tell me how lazy and entitled my generation is , I might lose it . You know what I ’ m talking about , right ? If you ’ re somewhere between your early 20s and early 30s , and you ’ ve had a conversation with literally any person who ’ s even slightly older than you , there ’ s a pretty solid chance you ’ ve endured an anti-millennial rant . As far as I can tell , that rhetoric isn ’ t leaving anytime soon and there ’ s probably not much we can do about it . What we can do , though , is be the exception to what our older friends and foes consider the rule .
Here are some of my favorite ( insert sarcastic tone here ) criticisms targeting millennials , plus ways you can shut them down , or at least prove them wrong . are just celebrating the rare success , can you just give us a minute to celebrate ?
How to prove it wrong Ok , millennials , I don ’ t mean to be that girl , but this is easy : don ’ t act like you ’ re better than everyone . Ever . You ’ re not . It ’ s fairly likely that you ’ re not even better than half of everyone . So if you ’ re acting like a self-absorbed prick , stop .
Once you ’ ve got that under control , swing aggressively in the other direction . Act as though it is your sole mission in life to genuinely help anyone and everyone . If we all do our part to amplify our selflessness , we might have a shot at dispelling this nasty stereotype .
Millennials think they ’ re better than everyone .
Why it ’ s ridiculous : Now , I can ’ t speak on behalf of all millennials , but I ’ m going to go out on a limb here and contend that the percentage of millennials who think they ’ re better than everyone is right in-line with the percentage of people in other generations who feel the same . Pride and even narcissism exist within millennials , sure . But no more frequently than they exist within other sub-populations . Actually , since we ’ re on the subject , I bet I could list off significantly more arrogant , self-absorbed 40-50 year olds than 20-30 year olds .
In fact , there ’ s plenty of evidence suggesting millennials are the most insecure generation of all time . Now , I wonder what might be causing that ? Could it be the mountains of debt most of us have to bury ourselves in , just to have a fighting chance at securing a job that might pay $ 40k / year , if we ’ re lucky ? Could it be the product of living in a bipolar society that criticizes us for being too fat one day , and too skinny the next ? Or maybe it ’ s the fear of making one tiny mistake , and it blowing up into an internet shame campaign within 24 hours . Did our parents deal with any of that ?
What I ’ m really getting at , I guess , is that if one of us is acting in a way that suggests we think we ’ re better than you , we ’ re probably faking it . If , on the other hand , we ’ ve done something awesome and 39
Millennials just aren ’ t as loyal as past generations -- especially to employers
Why it ’ s ridiculous First of all , comparing our generation ’ s work ethic and loyalty to past generations ’ implies that the job market and economic climate today are the same as they were then . Do I really need to waste energy explaining how not true that is ? Great , didn ’ t think so .
The way I see it , employees of every generation make decisions surrounding whether they stick it out with a company for the long-haul based on what ’ s best for them personally and professionally . Professionals from generations past held careers during a time when pensions and “ The American Dream ” were real things . In that environment ,