The workspace has changed. Technology has turned things around, making work easier for some and difficult for some, creating geniuses in some, and zombies in some. It is an electric train that has left the station. No stopping until the next station.
But as the workspace changes (for better or for worse), a new crop of workers is emerging. They are called millennials (not all are bad. Some are good. But the majority are clueless.) This new crop of workers is made of a strange meat.
The current millennial employee wants to be pleaded with, to be begged to deliver on whatever they have signed for to get paid. Ask any SME employer and they will tell you. You literally have to plead with some of them to deliver. Lazy.
The current employee thinks being asked to deliver on whatever he or she is supposed and required to do is what defines a toxic workplace. They want to be paid for just for “showing up”, sitting around, gossiping, doing nails, making jokes, and heading back to their houses.
Millennials think being asked to deliver on what they have signed for is what defines a place as a “toxic work place.” They want to be paid for “showing up,” to gossip, do nails, make calls to their friends and go home. Whatever happened to practical profession…
— Juma G 🇰🇪 (@jumaf3) July 20, 2021
The majority of them do not like corrections. The term accountability is strange in their dictionary. When asked to be accountable, they term it harassment, hate, and toxicity. They want to be left to do as they please at their workplace.
They will wobble into an interview room for a job, hours late, shake their behinds into the nearest seat, and expect a red carpet and warm reception. Reminding them that they have arrived late hurts their feelings and they will go away cursing you in the names of all their ancestors.
They will mess up your clients by failing to meet deadlines, refusing to pick calls, and either expect you to “understand them” or they will quit in the process. They feel entitled and somehow feel that you should sponsor their lifestyle.
In a country where the unemployment rate is at 43.5 percent (although our PR government has refused to admit it), one would expect a disciplined and dedicated workforce and not just a whining crowd that expects everything on a silver platter.
This does not mean that we do not have toxic employers. There are lots of toxic and pathetic employers out there too who capitalize on the frustrations of their workforce to exploit them. This also does not mean that all millennial employees are bad. Some are great, innovative, and hardworking.