It's just not convenient.
Those weren't the exact words a young contract worker used when explaining to his client why he hadn't completed a project that had a drop-dead deadline of yesterday. But that's what it came down to, the client said.
In his defense, the worker said: “It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I ran into some glitches along the way. Plus, I've got a lot going on. I've got a life, you know.”
I don't care what generation you belong to, there's this thing called work ethic — making a commitment, the client said, doing what you say you'll do. Being responsible and accountable is not about whether it's convenient.
Is getting work done on time and on budget a generational thing? All I know is that every week, I'm hearing this sentiment more than ever and from more than a handful of employers.
But some experts who specialize in bridging the gap between the expectations of different generations say it's not that younger generations have no work ethic.
They have “a self-centered work ethic,” said Cam Marston, author of “Motivating the ‘What's In It For Me?' Workforce” in an article in Business Know-How. He insists that “millennial are dedicated to completing their task well.”
The younger generations haven't been raised in a way “that demands them to look around and see what should be done next,” Marston said.
“Instead they ask ‘what is my job' and go about figuring the best, fastest way to complete that task. Then they consider themselves done.” And the younger they are, “the more your employees view their jobs as something to do between the weekends.”
It's not, he said, that they don't want to put in the hours to get ahead. “They want to get the job done, then put it behind them and enjoy life.”
Sorry, but a self-centered work ethic just doesn't cut it, the one client said.
There's a big difference between completing your task well and completing it on time, the employer said. The challenge is completing a job well on deadline, budget and other limitations.
Too many young workers just don't get it, bosses said.
“It's not about you,” another employer said. “It's about your client, your co-workers and boss. The world of business doesn't operate on what's convenient for you and what fits into your schedule and your particular expectation. That philosophy is why there is no such thing as service anymore.”
What happened to the American work ethic?
The ethic that “says we will deliver our products and services on time. And that you, the customer, will be happy and want to hire us again.” When it comes to work, one business owner told me, “Employers need to step up and provide the discipline this generation didn't get at home and demand that mediocrity is not acceptable.”
And to younger workers, he said, “If you care about doing a task well and being successful in your work, you need to quit making excuses for coming up short. Instead, learn what commitment, dedication and accountability mean.”
A large number of younger workers complain they can't find a job. Many employers seem to be gun shy about hiring them.
Employers worry that a generation with a self-centered work ethic that's “all about what's good for me” and what's convenient, is simply not good for business.
Send questions to Andrea Kay, 2692 Madison Road, #133, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208; email andrea@andreakay.com.
