so i read this huge article in fortune today about how people of my generation (gen y) fit into the working world. it is defined as anyone born between the years of 1977 and 1995. it's funny, because although the article isn't completely insulting, it's fringed with bitterness.
the author claims that people of our generation are not lazy, that we are actually good workers (in between snarky snippets about how we carry our ipods and blackberries everywhere) but that along with this dedication to hard work, we are dragged down by our sense of entitlement and insistence that everything be done our way or not at all. These attributes are correlated directly to how our parents (the baby boomers) treated us growing up. apparently our self esteem was bolstered too much and our parents gave us too much confidence. the other slightly obnoxious, a little too close to home (no pun intended) component to this article was that our generation feels too comfortable relying on our parents and moving back home, which makes us fearless in the workplace, and thus, essentially untame-able!
i'm not sure how i feel about this generalized assessment of my generation. on one hand, i agree whole heartedly about the patterns that are accentuated and even guiltily, yet readily admit to perpetrating some of these crimes in the business world. but then again, i think ... it's a totally different world right now. technology is developing at a speed faster than anyone can keep up with (least of all my parents who ask me every time they need the channel changed) and these washed up executives NEED us to remind them of the trends of our generation because essentially, we are the target market for everything. we are on the precipice of taking over the world, so why shouldn't it be on our terms? in the next decade 64 million people will retire from the working world. and they have to groom us to take over after they're gone. are they simply upset that we won't be running things exactly the way they have? i guess i can understand that. but at the same time, times change, progress pushes forward and you have to learn to roll with the punches. honestly, and this could be the gen y brat in me talking, but my bottom line opinion is that we may be demanding and completely reliant on our ipods, blackberries and cell phones, but we are the mother f*cking future, so either hop on with us, or get the hell out of our way!
**********side note************
this assessment of a "generation" makes me wonder what's in store for my children? what stereotypes will go along with their age group? what comes next? will i be bitter about upcoming generations when i'm older?
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