The influx of millennial articles is nothing more than baby boomers trying to place blame on others for situations in this country that their generation has dicked up. More than that, they are the ones who birthed and raised this current generation, so they definitely shouldn't be throwing stones.
I read many of the articles the OP alluded to for the sheer amusement at knowing that myself, and likely everyone on this forum in the age bracket the author is referring to, by and large will crap all over the financial achievements of your average or even above average individual from the older generations.
I'm an older millennial, and I feel that there are more conflicting information ABOUT Millennials and TO Millennials than in previous generations. This thread sums up some of the issues:
My company had a management meeting recently with all the "important" people present. I was not included, but I got the tl;dr afterwards. Basically the meeting was about how to get/retain millennials. Those present consisted mostly of people 40 and over.
And that pretty much says it all.
Slides I saw afterward from one attendee generalized things millennials look for in a job. Flexibility, work from home, high pay, fast advancement, etc. Basically things anyone would be glad to have in a job. So while the speaker was presenting everyone more or less fuming. "How come millennials get to be the ones that we cater to with awesome stuff?" seemed to be the outcome. That speaker was eventually fired for being pretty useless overall.
As a late X'er, and one of the youngest workers in an office that just rolled out a telework program, I find that pretty funny. Everyone likes all of those things. Even our 50-somethings with an Army retirement under their belts love working from their home office once a pay period. Rapid advancement is rare, but at least our pay is good and they're working on the flexibility part. What all those 40+ types should be asking themselves is, why don't they demand it too? They have more experience and theoretically more marketable skills.
And of course, holding the meeting without bringing in any millennials is like a Congressional committee of septegenarian males debating women's health policy.
For some context, the meeting happened because someone learned that in my area there were something like 300 IT jobs open at the time paying really well, so conceivably a lot of our company could go get better jobs. They were scared people would leave (particularly millennials since they generally aren't as tied down).
Oh, god forbid they should be forced to offer competitive compensation. Woe is thee! :P
Sometimes I feel that literally any choice I make about my lifestyle (especially regarding work) is judged by the older generation. Some conflicting ideas come from the same people.
There's so many, but I think I can narrow down a lot of the work-related ones into two main camps, I'll call them Individual and Corporate.
The Individualistic advice encourages Millennials with messages about making a difference and following your dreams/passions. The messages are about staying creative, keeping your personality, being true to yourself etc. They encourage a more balanced lifestyle (including those with flexible/alternative schedules) with time for family and things that bring you joy. You "design" your work to fit the lifestyle that you want and the pieces fit together as an intricate whole. At best you can still make a lot of money, but if you don't and you're happy it's still ok.
If you DON'T structure your life this way, the judgement is you're the Corporate pawn, part of the unhappy masses. You live for the company, subject to terrible bosses, coworkers, salary and conditions. Life events that interrupt your 9-5 company time make you look like an unreliable and "bad" employee. You're seen as a commodity to be used up as much as possible to increase the revenue for the company, of which very little will trickle back down to you. You'll be more depressed and anxious, your dreams from your younger years sadly fading away to a dim memory you cry about in your old age when your friends are gone and your family are too busy for you like you were too busy for them. This lifestyle is mocked/commiserated with in thing like the movie "Office Space" and Dilbert Comics.
It's your own fault if you're in the Corporate group. You're deliberately and foolishly giving away prime time in your life to a Company that cares only about numbers and the bottom line. You foolishly hope that your supervisors and managers actually care about you and your contribution and that you will be compensated appropriately. You're in Corporate because you lost/lack your ambition, creativity, and dreams. You are underpaid and overworked because you sell yourself and your dreams short.
In the Corporate camp, a large part of your identity is defined by your job title. You're a team player. You get a good, reliable job that allows you to support yourself and your family. Ambition and creativity can be put to good use to making the Company run better and be more profitable which helps everyone who works there. Your value is measured by both time and contribution. You start out small but can work your way up the good old fashioned way. In the end you've had a long career you can be proud of. You're an example of working hard the normal way and contributing the Company that kept you and your family fed and housed. Hard work is honorable no matter how menial the job may be to society. As my grandmother used to say, "If they pay you $1 to clean toilets, clean like they're paying you $2." Good workers are picked for better opportunities and more prestige.
The judgement from this group for Individuals is that they are disloyal, have an overinflated sense of self-worth and are the poster-children for the term "entitled." They want more benefits and less hours, more flexibility and more pay and will quickly jump ship to other jobs that may provide more of these things. They think they deserve these things just because they exist, rather than putting in the time and commitment that others before them have. They are selfish and put their own wants above other's needs. They don't want to do the 9-5 routine because they are slackers and want to get out of staying and working hard like their peers. They're the annoying new guys always coming in thinking they have better ideas and wanting to change things around without considering how the old ways were working perfectly fine.
You're foolish if you're in the Individual camp. Your disillusionment with Corporate stems from immaturity and naivete. You haven't grown up. Especially if you're struggling financially or are still figuring out what you want. You're out there chasing a rainbow and in the end you'll regret the time wasted trying to "find yourself" and "make a difference in the world" when you're behind the people who were good workers and chose responsibility. You don't really understand how the world works, and we can't wait for reality to slap you in the face.
