I’ve been in my new job for almost two months now, and there’s something I’ve noticed on the face of the hundreds of young professionals I’ve encountered.
Exhaustion. Our generation is tired. Really tired. Me too.
One of my favorite young professionals is a member of our Entrepreneurial Committee. He works for a Fortune 500 company here in Madison by day, and by night and by weekend, he runs two companies that he founded. Two. He calls it straddling. A leg in the corporate world, a leg in the entrepreneurial dream. His eyes and cheeks and mouth though, they are suffocating in exhaustion. The guy needs a pillow. Seriously. He needs to get some sleep.
The thing is, whenever I see him, I feel energized. He makes me smile because he comes to the meetings. He has great ideas. He contributes. He’s one of the last to leave. He’s insanely passionate. And I know he doesn’t sleep. I know he works ridiculously hard. I also know he’s going to be incredibly successful.
I’m not advocating a no-sleep schedule. I personally need seven hours of sleep. Exactly. If I go to bed at 11:58 pm, my alarm is set for 6:58 am. Exactly. But really, I’m not advocating it, because it’s already happening. For better or for worse, Generation Y is working with our hearts on our sleeves, straddling our work and our lives, straddling our dreams and our reality.
The excitement on the line is palpable. It’s everywhere. The exhaustion is merely a comma in the sentence of changing the world. It’s exhaustion of the status quo. It’s working hard, playing hard. It’s our generation pushing all together in one direction and only moving an inch. A mere inch. But gosh darn it all, we moved that inch forward. And that’s something to celebrate.
At my last job, I worked with some of the top business people in Madison, the CEOs and presidents, and movers and shakers. They inspired me. Now, I work with the next generation of CEOs and presidents, and movers and shakers. Except, we’re already doing it.
We’re already leading, changing, doing. We’ve been moving and shaking since we put one foot in front of the other for the first time. It’s something more than inspiration. It’s exuberance.
I invite the naysayers to come and spend time with the young leaders in my community and tell me I’m wrong. Tell me that the resilience and passion and willingness to do whatever it takes, that the gut-wrenching work of pushing forward against all odds, is not occurring every day, every hour, in the lives of these young professionals. Because I promise it is. We are laid off, or dumped, or abused, or hate our jobs, or are involved in shootings, war, or tragedy, and still we show up. We have great ideas. We contribute. We’re the last to leave. We’re insanely passionate.
That’s the Generation Y work ethic. That’s happiness raw and exposed. That’s what it means to be part of this generation.
31 replies on “The real Generation Y work ethic”
I see you’re wearing your passion on your sleeve, Rebecca. :)
would you believe me if I said that it’s not like this everywhere? Madison sounds like a productive area, but I assure you that in other parts of the world, or even continent, there are much lazier and less motivated individuals.
I come from a society (overseas) where you inherit your father’s/uncle’s political career for being good looking and cocky. Those that ARE driven and motivated are strange and different.
That being said, I don’t look up to this aristocracy I speak of…I do though think that you have a rather miniature view of what “gen-Yers” are really like, especially elsewhere. Sometimes you have to spend some time in a different world, Rebecca.
Your post gave me an energy boost Rebecca, so thanks. I needed it today.
In response to “thrive,” I hear what you’re saying. And I can’t speak for your life overseas, but I can speak for my life in Jersey prior to moving to Madison.
It’s harder to see the true Gen-Y work ethic when there are lazy people blurring the definition. What’s different in Madison than in Jersey is that it’s a more concentrated, small place. And that’s nice because people like Rebecca have been able to establish a young community of involved individuals.
We don’t always see this in bigger places, but these people are there, believe me. We’re just more spread out.
yep yep, true enough – overall, too, I’m a believer in the “Generation this and that” topic, BUT it’s a lot more to do with the culture that surrounds you, and if you believe it’s smart to emulate, or not, the influences on your life.
Gen-Y is more likely to out energize those around them. Furthermore we have a better sense of time; ie. no rush, 40 is the new 30 – BUT we’d better start acting now. And we do.
“We show up. We have great ideas. We contribute.” – amen!
Especially the hating the job part. I’d say we are a loyal bunch. I know some many people who stay in jobs they don’t like out of loyalty.
I’m in full agreement here, especially because I live it.
It’s funny… I always worry about my success level, precisely because I’m exhausted all the time (which is due to my fibromyalgia). I worry that people are going to see me slumping at my desk while I work and think I’m “not into it” (quote from the VP from Hell about me at my last job) because I’m not sitting up straight. I need lots of sleep, tons of sleep to keep myself going. My weekends are scheduled for me to sleep until noon, and take a nap around 4, so I can catch up with the rest of my week.
But I work hard. And my work is high quality. I hope someday, I’ll be able to find some coping mechanism besides coffee that will extend my “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed”-ness.
Rebecca, I agree with much of what you said, but I’ll throw in another perspective.
I think our exhaustion is most likely explained by sleep debt. Most of us think 6-7 hours is sufficient, though every sleep expert I’ve read has said most of us need 8 hours. This debt adds up to daytime drowsiness and often helps us develop caffeine dependency, which of course, makes it hard to get good refreshing sleep. What a cycle.
@ Tiffany – par for the course :)
@ t h rive – Those are good points. There are all sorts of politics related to being successful, even here in Madison, and we certainly don’t have the only world’s pool of the best and talented. There are others who aren’t motivated and ambitious, who are “lazy.” But that’s not what my blog is about… I’d love to hear more about your world though!
@ Ryan – That’s a great point. I do think that Madison’s size adds to our success.
@ Elysa – certainly. I’ve done it! :)
@ Dan – I know you do! You’re doing great. Thanks for the comment.
@ Kate – That’s great that you are able to overcome such a condition and continue to push forward. I often feel more tired than I think I should. It’s good to know that we’re all in this together!
@ Presh – It’s funny. I’ve heard that 7 hours is the perfect amount. I think everyone differs. Whenever you naturally wake up is probably the clue to how much sleep you need.
Gen Y Works Too Hard…
Says Tired Princess. “Our generation is tired. Really tired. Me too.” Don’t you love it when someone generalizes her own experience as that of an entire generation? “The exhaustion is merely a comma in the sentence of changing the world. ” I gotta…
FDL…..welcome to corporate America!
Why do you think your parents were so tired all the time.
Bless you hearts…now get back to work. ;-)
“I know some many people who stay in jobs they don’t like out of loyalty.”
Is that what keeps them there?
[…] Anyway, the long and short of the back and forth (is that iambic pentameter?) is that some Gen Y folks are saying that they rock (and work really, really hard and are exhausted) and others saying “get back to work you little whippersnappers.” Or something like that…Then I read that MySpace is not a job skill. What!?!?! […]
@ Scott – I’m not saying that other genererations weren’t tired, but that Gen Y has a reputation for not having a good work ethic, and I think we most certainly do.
@ Maureen – For some, I’m sure. Elysa may be able to better answer.
I feel like I need a cane. Or my cane is transparent…
Being a gen-boomer, very tail end, (which means I don’t really need the cane, okay?) I hear two words:
Passion.
Passion.
In the end, as now, passion will lead the day. It’s what will get you that extra hour of sleep AND change the world all at the same time.
I feel like I’m running myself into the ground burning the candle at both ends. A day job, freelance work on the side (trying to make it a real business), two career-related blogs, and involvement in leadership for two professional organizations. And I’m really lucky to have a few close friends who are also passionate about *too* much, and keep me inspired!
This post was really motivating to me (in a way). I need to cut back on several things, and really focus on the important. But, my city is not like what you describe. So many of my peers are still in college after 7 years, working at Starbucks, and they’re happy just living paycheck to paycheck. Or at least they don’t have these wild dreams of changing the world like I (and you!) do. Besides Madison, are there other communities across the nation that serve as a good support for crazy motivated young professionals? It’s so hard to keep going 24-7 when nobody around you understands what that experience is like.
[…] Bored with motherhood and marriage, we savor the challenge of work. Michelle Obama said in a recent interview, “I love losing myself in a set of problems that have nothing to do with my husband and children. Once you’ve tasted that, it’s hard to walk away.” […]
I think Gen Y has the right attitude. Work hard when you at work and then do what you want after work. It is this attitude that sometimes makes the older generation who grow up thinking, the more hours I put in the more effective. The Gen Y employees may not put in as much time, but the employees I have are just as effective (if not more) in the 8 hours they put into work, as those who put in 10-11 hours. Plus, they have more fun!
Gen Y Work Ethic…
This week I got to participate in interviews of some of our personnel who were applying for a coveted educational grant to do graduate work at local universities. It was my first exposure to the stereotyped Gen-Y narcissist…
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Modite. I don’t think we work hard because we love to work, but it’s more so to help us meet our much needed ends and goals.
For the most part our generation is one of the first that has to deal with stresses and forces that have an affect on the human mind and body like never before.
At the same rate the requirements to even more an inch is over demanding for us to do. But we do it because we were told by our parents to work hard and you could achieve. So we work hard. Very hard, and for the most part you’re either in the category of our generation in which we work hard to try to make change, and then the other side who realize what the status-quo really is and become extremely cynical. But for the most part that as a lot to do with how our generation views society today.
For the most part we do what we need to do to advance our personal lives, but in terms of our society. Many try, and many become cynical of the gov’t and society in general. For the most part we’re going to be that generation that might have to deal with a crisis really soon.
But for the most part in terms of personal lives, and trying to find ways to live a unique lifestyle. We work hard for that. We work to fulfill our personal lives instead of thinking of ways to contribute and become a long term member of a corporation. Because trust me even the ones who work hard to change their lives are cynical. To the point that many realize that things in the corporate world don’t last forever, and so yea we switch jobs as fast as we get them.
For the most part we are also having to cope with graduating from college or even graduate school, and having to take up blue collar or minimum wage jobs because we can’t compete with the previous generations or we don’t have the necessary connections needed for a job.
That’s the way this economy works today, and it isn’t going to get better for us.
For the most part we are extremely underrated.
FOR THE MOST PART your too lazy to introduce a new thought with a creative intro…
Stop your boo hooing. We all had it rough and we dealt with it. Gen Ys are used to having it all handed to them without having to work for it. It doesn’t work that way. Put your cell phone away and get to work.
Dear Rebecca,
I’m Gen X and I work and manage Gen Y-ers. Gen Y-ers are lazzy; They believe that having ideas is enough to justify their salary. They put out ideas and then play on their computers. Ideas are often very goods but G Y-ers have difficulty taking responsability and making them come alive.
Grant – an entire generation was born to helicopter parents in the wealthiest demographic? Really? And aren’t the interns of the same generation?
Sounds like you’re just grumpy with a particular set of co-workers.
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