Monday, June 27, 2005

Young Workers Expect Too Much



Interesting article in Monday's Chicago Sun Times entitled "Younger workers expect too much, employers say" by Martha Irvine. The article states the Gen Xers, who were thought to be apathetic slackers has been turned over to the next generation labeled the "Entitlement Generation." This generation expect everything right away on the job rather than "pay their dues."

Dr. Mel Levine, a professor at North Carolina University, the author of the book "Ready or Not, Here Life Comes," and co-founder of AllKindsofMinds.org states there is an epidemic of kids who experienced success too early in life & now are having a hard time making the transition to work. He states they need instant gratification. He states that kids today are committed to "fun" and this is due to the coddling by parents & colleges. I got to meet Dr. Levine this spring. He talked about his book & answered questions for over an hour & I'm in the middle of this book. He is also the author of "A Mind At A Time" and "The Myth of Laziness."

The article states employers are frustrated with new employees expectations of entitlement in the first week of employment, to what veteran employees have worked hard for 30 years to earn.

Quite interesting! This may go along with the comments in Time Magazine's Februrary 21st cover story "What Teachers Hate About Parents." In this article 
students and parents felt entitled to As in school for little work. Some very interesting personal stories in the articles.

No comments: