Millennials and Management - Flip the Conversation

Hi there, This is my first article on this site, so let me take a quick moment to introduce myself: I'm Stephanie Thiessen. I'm a Communications professional, with an education in Public Relations, Marketing & Advertising, Journalism, and Media Production. "Formal" education aside, the most important life experiences for me, that I attribute to my every day— work especially— is growing up in the country, playing on higher-level dedicated soccer teams, working over 10 years in hospitality prior to finishing my most recent education, and down-right life, as it's laid out to you. Honour these moments. Learn from these moment. Grow from these moments. (That's how I roll with them...) I've pondered for the past year of many different issues I'd like to tackle, and hone in on, and I realized, I can't completely narrow it down, so I'm introducing this blog, as "my" intro to, 'Let's talk about what isn't being acknowledged' in the headlines, and flip the conversation; On that note, my first article is on Millennials.

I'll open up with this. "Millennials are job jumpers. Millennials are whiners. Millennials are too quick to want to move up." Well, what's missing from this conversation? https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahlandrum/2017/11/10/millennials-arent-afraid-to-change-jobs-and-heres-why/#369021ca19a5

The new era of management!

Firing, layoffs, company turnover...not new news. However, please correct me if I'm wrong, the art of loyalty to a business, as well as loyalty of a business to an employee, has drastically changed. As quick as "millennials" move from a business now, I've seen companies just ask quick to move employees out, and I'm not just talking about millennials, I'm talking about companies pushing out executives of high tenure.

What do I think? Who cares, you're probably all thinking. I'll speak anyways, because that's the beauty of posting. I think we're in a classic case of "finger-pointing", at a professional, at a global level. We're all so confused with the recent generational changes, and workforce changes, never-mind technology to-boot, that we can't help but finger point, and who easier to do-so to than to the 'ignorant youth'.

With this, I'm leaving my first article on this platform as a very brief blog, just to get the ball rolling, and to aid in the finger pointing to cause unnecessary pointy-finger arthritis:

As relationships and marriages are so quick to end these days, versus "sticking it through", whether that's right or wrong, the same thing is happening in the work world. Please look at the next couple of lines both regarding personal commitments and work commitments, because at the end of the day, it's not that different. What do these lines mean now?

• You make a commitment, you stick to it.

• I made a vow, through sickness and health.

• I might leave my job of 15 years to commit myself to this company, what commitments are you going to make me?

• I'm going to give everything professionally of me to this company, is someone going to mentor me?

I grew up with a father who committed himself to his profession, while also being an amazing dad, husband, and friend to his dear friends. He worked hard, and had his supporters. I said to him one day, recently, "Dad, the workforce landscape has changed. Loyalty is a dying art, and it goes two ways. Everything I'm seeing these days in publications is how "millennials" are job hunters. But, where's the conversation about what the newer, 'younger' management, and how loyalty goes both ways. Mentorship is not the same, and loyalty, two-ways, is non-existent, in a sense, now. The employment landscape has changed. We're not focussing on both ends of the pipeline."

We're in this world together. Let's get this conversation going to better our work together. The conversations have been too heavily weighted on the 'bottom', where it needs to be weighted from the top-down, to the bottom-up.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Singing out,

Steph Thiessen