I have to laugh. I just have to laugh. In the Disadvantages of an Elite Education post and comments on Alex Halavais’ blog, I mentioned that several of the new generation of college students entering the work force were having real issues adapting to worklife culture in corporate America. Arguments over whether flipflops are appropriate office dress codes (they’re okay in advertising unless you’re meeting with the client) are the least of it. The hardest part is the sheer flakiness that the Millennials seem to be showing toward work life in general.
Well, the cause for my mirth is that one of our paid summer interns decided yesterday that work was too boring, and he didn’t want to come in today. That was his reasoning. He went to the head of the division and calmly announced that he would be taking a day off to head to the beach with friends. When the pushback came and it was indicated that the work was more important than the beach from the company’s point of view, the guy walked off the job and said that the work was too boring, not as exciting as he had thought it would be, and he wasn’t interested in it any more. He wasn’t the first to flake out on the job scene… he’s just the most recent.
And the real irony of this situation is that the Boomers said that Gen X had screwed up work ethics. I guess this means great things for me in my future… as the Baby Boomers retire and their children slack, Gen X’ers should have their picks of job positions in upper management. The downside is that we won’t have anyone around to actually do the work.
I smell a generational wakeup call coming in the next three years, and I think it will look an awful lot like a temper tantrum and pouting fit when it happens.
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