We are called lazy. It’s one of the most common adjectives you will hear describing millennials… just last week a video went viral of a millennial named Alexis Boomer who apologized for our laziness, entitlement, and lack of respect for our elders. I applaud Alexis for taking a stand and putting it out there – it’s not easy to put your opinions online especially when it might anger a lot of your friends and peers. I, too, have witnessed firsthand why our generation gets labeled with such derogatory phrases, but I think our generation is more than meets the eye. Alexis asks us to just start “contributing” to society, and I think if more of us could, we would. I think in order to start contributing and stop being so “lazy,” we actually need to start by understanding ourselves more.
A lot of people have questioned what makes millennials the way they are and like all generations, there are probably a ton of interwoven factors that have led us to be the generation of selfies and tweeting our every move #lovedmylunchyesterday. We don’t need to dwell on these, but I think they are important to at least mention. From my limited analysis, it feels like some of our attitude and approach to life could have to do with how our parents were raised and how that led them to raise us; it could have to do with where we are in technological history and the rapid advances; it could have to do with changes in psychology like the self-esteem movement in the 1980s; it could have to do with Baby Boomers having the highest divorce rate of any generation. I’m not saying that this is the complete list or we are special and other generations didn’t see big changes that impact their approach to society – I’m just noting that like all generations, we are impacted by that which is around us.
The definition of laziness is not being willing to work or be active when you can, or in other words, the choice to not do activity. People get frustrated with millennials because they feel that we approach our lives and work lazily. I’m not arguing that there isn’t some merit to that statement. However, what people might not realize is that millennials often don’t take a day off from work. A 2015 study revealed that 35% of millennials actually work in some capacity on every day of their vacation, and the 2016 version of the study revealed that 59% of millennials feel shame for taking vacation versus only 41% of folks who feel the same way 35 and older. Wait… what, some millennials work all the time yet they are perceived as not doing as much when they are in the office? I know! It seems kind of contradictory … which is why I think we need to understand ourselves more. Maybe we are our own worst enemy and actually causing a reputation that at least at work, could partially be fixed by just being more productive with our days at work. A friend told me she gets a daily “Message from The Universe” via email but they only come out Monday to Friday. The Universe takes the weekend off?? I think we need to think about who we are, how we got here, and who we want to be… maybe on a vacation.
Leslie Delery 