According to new research from the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania, young professionals right out of college are a little bit on the “I-know-what-you-are-but-what-am-I?” side.
The researchers surveyed 400 human resources professionals about their experiences recruiting and hiring recent college graduates in a variety of industries and roles. More than a third reported that the level of professionalism among new hires has decreased in the last five years. Nearly 45 percent said that employees’ work ethic has worsened.
Professionalism was judged on appropriate appearance, punctuality, regular attendance, honesty, attentiveness and sticking with a task through completion.
Young employees came off as arrogant either during their job interviews or after their hire dates, according to the survey. Fifty two respondents said new employees arrived at the office with an air of entitlement. A big problem may be that they are looking to other entry-level peers for behavior advice on attire and texting etiquette rather than to older people at the company.
This isn’t good, but at the same time I can’t help but think that this just may be a case of Gen Y being misunderstood. A lack of work ethic may just be a different kind of work ethic. Arrogance may actually just be game face confidence.
Millennials are redefining what a career is. You can turn your passion into profit. David Burstein, a 24-year-old filmmaker and founder of Generation18, a campaign to engage young voters, wrote the new book "Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaping Our World."He told, “You can chase your passion and channel it into profit. There are alternative career paths that don’t involve passing through the doors of human resources to achieve happiness.”
Then again, there still exists just plain immaturity, but people should remember that 22 or 23, the age at which many people start their careers, is very young. Just like college kids point at high school kids and think they’re so young and different, people who have been working for a handful of years do the same with Gen Y. But if you’re worried you may just be immature, or that the co-workers you hang out with are, here are some ways to determine this:
1) You don’t pay attention to instructions
2) You look at rules as guidelines
3) You pout when you get in trouble
4) You don’t understand when things don’t go well
5) You have been told your attire is not professional more than once
6) You are constantly late
Do you work with immature people? Or do you think Gen Y workers are just misunderstood? Tell us in the comments!