Managing Generation Y

Don't think it is like that at our place now but I know I shagged a few Cokes back in the day.

Agate slave was the popular term back then, if I recall.

Thing is, it didn't offend me one bit.

 

This was in the 1980s. Desk chief wants a cup of coffee -- no machine in the department -- hands a kid a twenty and asks him to get him coffee. Kid comes back with a can of Maxwell House. Desk chief says, "What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?"

When I was a part-timer, the SE had me fetch him a six-pack of Bud and put it in his desk so he could drink it when finished covering a late event.

 

Now you're starting to lose me just a bit.

The ultimate responsibility for keeping YOU motivated and keeping YOU in good spirits belongs to YOU and no one else.

Would a pat on the back help? Yes.

Will it satisfy an individual who NEEDS such feedback to thrive or survive? Nope.

 

You're right, and I should have said it is part of their job to HELP keep their staff motivated. So is there anyone else out there who DOES think this is a generational thing on any level, or is it entirely just part of this business, no matter how old you are?

 

Holy crap. You know someone's on shaky ground when they utter a phrase, "... is part of a manager's job" when there is no evidence here that indicates you've managed shit. How would you know what a manager's job is?

Worry about yourself, don't worry about the people working around you, including your manager.

Contrary to your opinion, they are not your morale coach. Their job is to put out the best product possible, which may or may not require ego-boosting exercises. In fact, there are times when it requires some ego-destroying exercises. It requires both depending on the circumstance, but often times, there's no circumstance that requires either. Young workers have to learn there is not validation tied to every task.

Part of the definition of work ethic is working for the sake of doing your job right, not because you get a star on your paper. That's what managers appreciate.

In turn, managers should repay their employees with honesty. Managers should repay good work ethic by being their department's advocate when need be, but also, to be honest with employees to let them understand you have to be management's advocate at times too.

 

Exactly. My first job at the LB P-T was paradise. I did grunt work. A lot of grunt work. All the grunt work no one else did. And I loved every second of it because it meant I got to be in the same sports department as some legends in the biz. You learn a whole lot as a kid just watching. Does anyone ever cut their teeth anymore?

 

But when you came back with the correct Coca-Cola products, did your manager give you a pat on the back and say you did a good job?

 

Sometimes I just want a hug. Or a pat on my bicep from Erin Andrews.
Is that soooo wrong?

 

Mike Nadel says it is.

 

Excellent point, Bubbs. This is where you know if a kid has the skin for the biz or not.

 

The various reports about your generation say it is particular to people your age, and you're doing nothing to dispel the stereotype. However, many people early in their careers expect they're going to get some sort of pat on the back, and don't. The sooner you realize a steady and accumulating paycheck is that pat on the back, and the sooner you become responsible for your own motivation, the better you will be in your career. The best people I've known didn't need a manager to tell them when they were good, and when they stunk. They knew. And they also knew how to handle their manager when they knew they were good, and the manager thought they stunk. I recommend you read up on how to manage your manager. And that you stop waiting for someone to provide external motivation. We are all disappointed no one takes the time to tell us how special we are.

 

If these guys can't handle a lack of praise from a manager how do they deal with soccer and swim parents? Or athletes and athlete parents who don't tell them they like what they read in the paper? Or cranky football coach press conferences where the coach doesn't know them by name (See Don Nehlen)?

How will they ever survive?


Bob,
I think you're special. You too Bubs and Xan.

Group hug?