Is that where my bonus went?
I don't know really know how to express my disbelief at how pretentious our management is. The tone and the language used in this media alert is pretty funny, actually.
According to the media alert, this "comprehensive research initiative" drew information from all levels of the organization and interns from "several" universities. Funny- none of my peers in two offices took part in the initiative and according to all the articles I found on millennials, we're at the right age and level. That's two offices out of seven in the U.S. alone that weren't included.
The gist of this release says that:
- We don't believe in privacy
- We are radically different from everyone else in the workforce
- We like being part of a community
- We really like money but we hate working hard
- We communicate primarily through IM
- Technology=us
- We have a hard time defining boundaries
Some of this is true. Most of the people I know who are my age are technology natives. We're familiar with current technology and use it in both our personal and work lives ("You mean my cellphone can be used for work AND home? You're shitting me!").
Most of the media alert, however, sounds like a chapter from a book about learning to communicate with your teenager. Clearly, the folks in upper management (and most of them are at least a decade older than me, if not more) feel a great enough divide between them and millennials to commission a study on the current junior-to-mid level in the workforce.
All joking aside- yes, my generation grew up differently than theirs but that can be said for any generation, really. I'm guessing they see this media alert and study as a way to show they're still "hip" and "cool" and "with it"... whereas I kind of see it as a big red flag that they feel threatened and are trying to head off any accusations of that nature by releasing this waste of time.
I mean- did they really need to waste that money in an effort to create tips and tricks on how to communicate with me? How about treating me like I'm human and not trying to patronize me like I'm some sort of unrelatable alien?
I'm not saying that there aren't whiny little bitches in my peer group- because there are. There are many of them. I've blogged about them- frequently. But there are fucked up people at management too- people who are twice my age and act like the word team is akin to the ice level of Hell. Whereas my generation is all about transparency (or so I'm told), it seems like their generation is about covering things up with a giant cloth and pretending the giant cloth covered lump in the middle of the room isn't an elephant but a modern art sculpture depicting the fall of man.
Anyway, my point is- okay, I don't really have one. But I'm just tired of people making sweeping generalizations about who I am and what I must be like because I was born within a certain timeframe and I'm on Facebook. People seem to forget that, uh, hello, I'm a person. You can talk to me and I'll listen. I don't only respond to IM or text or Myspace. I'll be your friend outside of Facebook and LinkedIn and you don't have to follow me on Twitter to get my attention. I know the difference between a working relationship and a personal relationship and I don't expect anything more than what I work for.
Also, I know how to work hard and I know how to work honestly and I don't appreciate being bullshitted to by some ego-inflated, youth-obsessed stooge from upper management. On the flip side, I respect people who I think I can learn from, who are open-minded and can listen to criticism, and offer it, without going batshit.
-Signing off from Seattle
