About Connections: Love it or hate it, history is a map. Those who hate history think it irrelevant; many who love history think it escapism. In truth, history is the clearest road map to how we got here: America in the 21st century.
Regardless of which candidate you prefer, everyone agrees: this is a very unusual election year. Someone burned the playbook and no one can predict what will happen next. The best anyone can do is to try to understand what happened so far.
Some say pollsters, prognosticators, and pols get it wrong because they are East Coast liberals or D.C. insiders out of touch with the rest of the country. Maybe, but maybe the problem is not geographical or ideological but generational.
The millennials, Generation Y, were born between 1980 and 2000. They are now 16 –36 years old. According to the census bureau, they are a population of approximately 83 million; larger than the baby boomers estimated at 75 million. The majority can vote and, if they do, Generation Y will make itself felt in November.
Furthermore, as television news continues to favor hiring the young and good looking, millennials represent a growing number of the people bringing you the news. More millennials are deciding what is newsworthy, delivering the news, and interpreting it.
So who are they, what are they like, and what do they want?
From the Atlantic, a straight-from-the-shoulder descriptive: “…spoiled, entitled, and lazy.”
Good grief, is that who is electing our President; is that our next generation of leaders? Not quite.
The Pew Research Center finds that, at any socio-economic level and at “every educational level, the 25- to 32-year-olds are confronted with a higher unemployment rate than past generations were when they stepped into the workforce.”
The title of the Atlantic article tells the story: “Indisputable Evidence That Millennials Have It Worse Than Any Generation in 50 Years.”
Dr. Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, is the author of “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled and More Miserable.”
Twenge blames the “self-esteem” movement that awarded every child a trophy just for showing up regardless of ability or performance.
She writes, “Growing up they were told they were special and could be anything they wanted to be.”
In fact, they face widespread unemployment.
“Raised on dreams of material wealth, more than a third live with their parents well into their 20s…The truth is Generation Me will work harder for less.”
So, first and foremost, the millennials are not real happy or hopeful; what they are is disappointed and angry.
Moreover, Generation Y blames the previous generations for where they find themselves. They are not reverent or respectful of their elders. Therefore, even if they find jobs, they are not much happier.
Mentoring programs are common in large corporations. Just scanning the titles from Bloomberg and Business Week, it is clear no one is happy. One example explains all: “The Misery of Mentoring Millennials.”
A 25-year-old said, “I often provide as much mentorship as I take.”
Really? What is it a new hire can teach a mentor?
Susan Adams, a professor of management at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., explains, “The younger, tech-savvy generation sees themselves as better equipped for the ‘new world’ work environment than their experienced senior colleagues.”
The 25-year-old goes on: “I’ve curated a personal board of advisers who range from peers to professionals spanning generations and industries.”
Okay, besides sounding like POTUS or a CEO rather than a new hire, what does that mean?
Millennials seem uncomfortable with one-on-one relationships and face-to-face meetings. They prefer groups and texting. Millennials text, tweet, Instagram, and communicate in a dozen other ways. They are big fans of technology.
According to one study, at work, “41 percent prefer to communicate electronically more than face-to-face or by telephone.”
That is hardly the only generational difference.
Perhaps because of the “self esteem” movement, Adams says, “Younger employees expect to jump in and contribute all they have immediately. Organizational hierarchies and waiting in line don’t make sense to them.”
Berkshire Generation X-ers and baby boomers who are managers and business owners weighed in on the subject.
A manager said, “Millennials are looking for instant gratification.”
A business owner said, “I have a conference table in my office. One day I entered my office and there was a new hire working at the conference table. I told him this was my office. He said it was the best space he could find to work. I swear he intended to keep sitting there and working. I told him I earned this office and he could work in it when he earned it. No comprehension. So I said, “get out,” and he said I was rude. True story.”
A staff supervisor said, “I had a group of interns at the museum. As a training exercise, we planned an exhibition. They worked hard and we came up with some ideas. They wanted to begin implementation. I told them ideas were submitted to the executive director who makes final decisions. They were outraged. They expected their ideas to be immediately adopted and did not understand that anyone had decision-making power over them. I told them, “welcome to the real world.” But you get the feeling they did not understand it and merely resented it.”
According to Jeanne Meister, co-author of “The 2020 Workplace,” younger workers seem less respectful of more experienced colleagues and don’t feel compelled to follow in the same path as their superiors.
“They have an attraction for the top,” Meister wrote, “not working towards it or earning it, just having it instantly. They are aggressive and super-charged going after their goals – unaware that their aggressive ways may intimidate and offend others.”
One Berkshire manager said, “They love technology and they love media, not just for its own sake, but as an avenue to wealth and fame. It’s a Kardashian world – famous for being famous.”
A baby boomer adds, “Millennials accept diversity, have no regard for what went before, and believe information belongs to everyone.”
So is this the new normal? Even though we may not know what will happen next, does it explain what happened to date? Maybe. The candidates may be viewed differently by baby boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y.
If the millennials are disappointed and angry, they may not be offended by Donald Trump; they may find Bernie Sanders’ fist-pounding and impatience copacetic. Sanders’ and Trump’s criticism of what went before may reflect their own opinions.
Hillary Clinton spending a lifetime preparing for and earning the presidency may not be viewed as a positive. If a younger generation blames the older generation for their woes, then her lifetime of public service is a negative. They may see both Trump and Sanders as without history and see Clinton as tethered to the past.
Sanders’ quick, aggressive revolution advocating overnight change may appeal. That he wishes to appear to be the first person to think of or try to implement the ideas he espouses maybe accepted by younger voters. Older voters who remember the legions who came before Sanders and tried to do the same things may scoff.
Trump’s inexperience may be unimportant to Generation Y. While Trump may have no experience for the job he seeks, he is an experienced television personality and is media-savvy. He knows how to stay relevant and get coverage. He communicates on social media in the manner that Generation Y prefers. Moreover, he understands what they understand: there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Does any of this tell us what will happen in California or in November? Nope. But it may explain why here and now: one generation is considering Canadian citizenship and another is excited by and engaged in the political process.
