“The values [we had]
then, and the values [your generation has] now are so vastly different, that
the word ‘values’ now deserves a new definition. […] the youth of today is
selfish.” This is what a Baby Boomer responded when asked about the values of
today’s youth. Is he right? Is it an issue? What are the differences in values?
 |
| Photo created by ModeLoverin |
According to Rob Asghar, “Baby Boomers made a deafening
noise as they came of age, demanding that the world bend in their
direction. Now here’s a shock: They raised their kids to have pretty
much the same expectations.” Those kids, us, are now referred to as the
Millennial Generation or Generation Y. If you were to ask my opinion, I think that
the Baby Boomer that was quoted before is wrong for several reasons and I don’t
believe it is an issue we need to worry about. In fact, Millennials are one of
the best educated generations in history.
Natalie Waterworth believes that since “many Millennials
grew up seeing their Baby Boomer parents working day and night doing stressful
corporate jobs, it has shaped their own views on the workforce and the need for
work-life balance.” Baby Boomers have no work-life balance. To them it was “Live
to work”. They were hesitant of taking too much time off work for fear of loosing their place on the corporate team. As a result, there is an imbalance
between work and family. Millennials, on the other hand, not only had balance
with work and life, but balance with work, life and community involvement and self development. To them it was “Work to live”. Our generation wants to make a lot of
money, but we also believe in supporting non-profit causes. They value their lifestyle over upward mobility. If presented with a
work promotion that will throw their life out of balance, they will choose
their lifestyle. However, the Millennials do have a default, and it is that they feel entitled to many things whereas the Baby Boomers took nothing for granted and knew that they had to work hard to get what the want.
Nevertheless, if you were to look at the core values each generation has, you will see that they have a lot in common. Do our values differ from our parents values? Yes. Are the differences so bad that today's youth should be classified as selfish? Absolutely not! It's actually on the contrary, our values promote socialism, globalism, focus on family and children...all of which are selfless values. Although one can't deny that today's youth does not centralize confidence, self-achievement, and that we are self-absorbed and have a "me first" attitude in work life.
 |
| Boomers vs. Millennials Photo from Shutterstock/Sandra Stiegeler |
No comments:
Post a Comment