Comments on: Gen Y at Work: Are we intolerant and demanding?

By: mara

mara — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 03:50:20 +0000

i agree with the work thing, we all witnessed our parents/grandparents working hard or never being home because of work. we dont want that, others may see it as avoiding responsibility or the workload but thats not the case (for most)
i recently left my job as the hours were ridiculous an we werent being payed enough for what we were doing. when we had to work our ass off organizing events, walking around the street at 3 in the morning, paper work that was for the manager an doing their jobs they were at the restaurant or home relaxing. when something went wrong it was all on us, they took no responsibility what-so-ever. thats the reason they lost 3/4 of their employee’s. some companies do not deserve loyalty from employee’s an our generation know when to tolerate something and when its time to speak up (even if your fired for it lol)

By: lj

lj — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:27:19 +0000

want work life balance and a good pay – this point is very true. personally i wouldn’t want to do OT if given a choice. But wanting to be CEO is not true..unless for those who think they are good enough

By: Knox

Knox — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:02:30 +0000

Well i guess most that commented on this article are from Gen Y’s including myself. Yes it’s true what those above 30′s are talking about us but honestly do we even bother? We just work for the money and go home at the end of the day. Don’t know, Don’t care kinda attitude.

Anyways, they need not worry too much about us, Gen Y’s work attitude will change once we have a family of our own. So for now, they just have to accept us for who we are ^_^

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:45:46 +0000

Great article. I just wrote a book regarding this topic, it’s titled “Promotions Are Not Served At The Deli Counter” and is available on Amazon.

By: TSC

TSC — Wed, 12 May 2010 08:47:26 +0000

I partially agree with this post… Forget the work smarter attitudes and the weird reasons given for being entitled to a better job, we are Gen Y and as is often the case, we can’t expect better treatment just cos we think so.
However the portion which I don’t quite agree with, is more along the lines of what is called company disloyalty.
If this refers to looking out for new opportunities that are better for you, I don’t see this as a major problem. True its not the nicest thing to do, but should you pass up a great opportunity just to be nice.
Also I believe that a lot of this is subjective and dependent on how your company treats you. By and large, I am quite loyal and do not bitch and moan about my company, however it is sometimes the case where the company takes advantage of you to the extent you feel the need to bitch and moan. Been there, done that, sort of.
However overall i enjoyed the post.

By: NiVleK

NiVleK — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:49:55 +0000

I am also Gen Y. And yes, I feel a sense of entitlement. Amongst all my Gen Y friends in my industry, the topic that we complain the most was work life balance. There are lots of opportunities out that with higher pay and more time for ourselves. And loyalty is not the “In” thing anymore.

By: Veronica

Veronica — Tue, 11 May 2010 11:12:15 +0000

I’m sure every generation says the same things about the ones before, and after the. Doesn’t have anything to do with the year we’re born… just the age that we’re at in life. It really comes down to the individual. When I was younger, teens, and early twenties I job jumped quite a bit. Until I found the job I’m at now. I found my niche, and I’m coming up on my 4 year anniversary in August.

There are many times I’ve wanted to quit, and came close a few times. Being skipped over for promotions and many other things that I felt were personal attacks and nothing to do with my job skills. I know better now, and I’m still sticking it out, there are still things this company has left to teach me, and I’m not going anywhere until I learn it.

I also think a lot of it goes to how you were raised and the work ethic that was instilled in you, and the determination to stick with it. Maybe I see things different than alot of Gen Y-ers, and I think that’s because of the way I was raised. My parents were in their 40′s when I was born, and thus a different generation all together than what many Gen Y’s parents were.

By: Sigg3

Sigg3 — Tue, 11 May 2010 08:35:05 +0000

Working hours for middle-class are only going up since we implemented IT to “do the job for us”. The work/life line is very blurred these days.

By: Sigg3

Sigg3 — Tue, 11 May 2010 08:33:37 +0000

So, you’re refurbishing the house, carpentry, electricity, water installations.
Who do you hire between a fresh, twenty-something person with an attitude of I can do everything to the quiet, solemn forty-odd whose pride is not tied into what you think of him/her? Be honest.

Experience matters big time. I work in IT but I have no formal education in the area whatsoever. Why am I paid as if I had a Master’s Degree and more? Am I just fooling everyone?

Being young is not a characteristic, trade or property – it’s a phase. During which of course you behave differently, I’d say; quick, effective and risky/careless. Sometimes there are other items that go higher on the who-do-we-need list.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 11 May 2010 05:18:41 +0000

I agree – I am Gen Y and we feel a sense of entitlement because we are tend to think we work ‘smarter’ rather than harder. We can feel fake and disloyal to companies but when do companies treat us as hard-working employees? They don’t pay us the right amount for what we are “worth” and competitors will pay premium for us and headhunt us away. Whats wrong with trying to work smarter and make more money?

the ones who think they will become CEO overnight need to rethink their strategy b/c “we all” think that.

work/life balance – oh yea. we’re so independent and we’re all wireless, we do not feel the need to be tied to the desk anymore.