The Office Jester: Millennials at Workplace

The Office Jester… every office needs one to keep up with millennials at workplace

If you’re not from the millennials generation, then it’s quite likely that you don’t even know what it means. If this is the case, then it’s highly likely that you’re from the Baby Boomer Generation or the Generation X. Ring any bells? No? Let us enlighten you.

The Baby Boomer Generation or Generation X includes people who were roughly born between the 1960s and 1980s. Millennials are the next batch i.e. people who were born between 1980 and 2000. They’re also known as the Generation Y.

Why do we need a special Office Jester instalment covering millennials at workplace? To answer that, we’ll direct you to every discussion you’ve had with young brats around you. Remember how those discussions completely flummoxed you as you tried to make sense of what was happening to you?

On the other hand, if you’re a millennial, then you need to recall how all your discussions with the old geysers reach the point of “old man just doesn’t understand”.

However, if you’re a millennial, then we’ll ask you to wait for the next instalment of Office Jester because this one might just piss you off! The next instalment of Inkjet Wholesale’s Office Jester will approach the situation from the other side of the curtain.

All those differences of opinions that exist between the Millennials and the Baby Boomers get blown out of proportion in offices. This is especially true these days because millennials at workplace are becoming more and more common as those young adults try to make a life for themselves.

Typically, it is the Baby Boomers at the higher rung of the ladder which peeves off the millennials to no end. More than that though, it is the Baby Boomers who suffer the brunt of millennials at workplace and their peculiar quirks. Here’s a funny video on how to deal with millennials at workplace that may just hold some gems for you to use in your own office.

How to Deal With Millennials at Workplace?

So, this video treats millennials at workplace as a problem of dealing with a new type of worker or even a new breed of employee. It’s entirely legit and completely valid. These young adults’ opinions, views, thought processes, and brainwave patterns differ so greatly that they must be a new species.

The video provides a walkthrough for business owners, entrepreneurs, and managers from the Baby Boomer generation to use with their millennials at workplace problem. Let’s deal with each one by one.

Millennials at Workplace Situation 1: Productivity

Everything begins and ends at Google, whether you’re looking at millennials at workplace, millennials in the café, millennials at home, or millennials on the pot. You ask them to do something and the first thing they’ll do is Google it.

Sometimes, Googling may be the second thing they do but that’ll only be because update their social media first. It doesn’t matter if the alternative is a million dollar corporate research, a journal from a renowned expert, or even white paper from a specialist, they prefer Google because it’s easier.

If you say otherwise, then their flight or flight (we’ll discuss this one mode reflex later) reflex will kick in and they’ll quit.

The only way to deal with this natural reflex of the Generation Y is lots of reassurance laced with tremendous amounts of praise. BTW, did you see the pat that woman gave that kid on the head…it was oh, so condescending.

Millennials at Workplace Situation 2: Scheduling

Scheduling is another problem with millennials at work. If you have enough millennials, then you can rest assured that your office operations will remain frozen till a minimum of 10:30 AM if not later.

You see, millennials stay up really late because you’re “not the boss of them” (doesn’t matter if you are…its metaphorical!). The period between 4:00 AM and 10:00 AM is the Bermuda Triangle of a time zone for them. In this “Twilight” zone, their brains travel to another universe and their eyes glaze over i.e. they go into a catatonic state and stop recognising anything and everything (what you don’t experience, doesn’t exist, right?).

Forget getting anything done before 10:30 AM if you have millennials at workplace.

Millennials at Workplace Situation 3: Performance

Productivity is everything at the workplace, right? Well, with millennials at workplace productivity is a different type of beast than you think.

Productivity for most millennials at workplace (you, young, hardworking millennial are an exception to the rule, so don’t get all indignant on us) means doing exactly what was asked in exactly the time that was given – nothing more.

So, when they bring you that assignment on time, they expect not only that pat on the head but also a raise and a promotion. There was no initiative in Generation Y and you better accept that now and prepare some fake promotions.

Also, even though the video shows millennials to be dimwits through the junior executive manager of data consulting > assistant manager of junior accounts reference, that’s hyperbole (erm, the rest of this article isn’t hyperbole…we’re pretty sure…).

Oh, and you better be very careful of criticising your millennials or they’ll quit. That’s their flight and flight reflex. The same reflex we spoke about earlier.

Millennials at Workplace Situation 4: Creativity

If there’s one thing that millennials at workplace possess, then its creativity. This generation was brought up on the merits of individuality and since individuality is a foundation of artistic freedom, the millennials you’ve employed can be a treasure trove of creativity.

Unfortunately, this creativity is nearly unreachable because it only shows its artistic head when it comes to taking leaves, leaving early, and shirking work. Maybe you can tie these goals with achievement in the form of professional assignments such as “do this to this extent and you get a leave next week”.

We’re doubtful that it’ll work but it’s not like you have anything to lose right?

Now that all you Baby Boomers know how to deal with the specific quirks of millennials, here’s a little post script disclaimer and the twist in the story. The writer of this post is a millennial who is currently at his workplace.

I thank my job to the fact that “19 percent” of modern day workforce comprises of millennials and that my boss, the proprietor of IJW believes in his “civic duty”.