By Blake Sunshine
It can be tough to be a Millennial at work. Especially when you are working with people who are 10 to 30 years older than you. And while Millennials sometimes get a bad reputation, we know that we bring value to the workplace. Of course, it’s important that we play nice with members of every generation at work and prove our value everyday.
It’s not always easy to do this, but here are four things you can do to “play nice” with other generations at work:
1. Teach them something new- Millennials are smart. AND we know things. LOTS of things. So take a few minutes out of your day and teach someone from another generation something interesting. It will show them that you are a valuable member of the workplace, and that you are trying to make their job easier.
2. Realize they can teach you something too- Ask for advice from members of other generations. Even if you don’t take it and even if you don’t care what they say, ask for them to teach you something anyway. Part of feeling valued when at work is feeling that you can contribute to the greater good. And who knows, you may find that a Gen-Xer will make your job and life a little bit easier just by asking for their advice.
3. Ask for more work- Every generation appreciates an entrepreneurial spirit, and by asking for more work you are showing everyone in your workplace that you want to be there. You don’t have to ask for a lot more work, but one or two more assignments never hurt anyone.
4. Take on “non-Millennial” tasks- Millennials are important people, so we should only be taking on the most important tasks in the workplace. But sometimes it’s nice and important to others that you take on “non-Millennial tasks.” Offer to do something that no one else wants to do and you will earn the respect of every generation at work.
If you do these four things your relationships with other generations at work will surely improve. Play nice with others, Millennials, because your job depends on it!
Blake Sunshine is a blogger at The Perennial Millennial. She also works in media relations and social media for an engineering company in Austin, TX.
Interesting take, Blake. I would argue, though, that making a statement like “Millennials are important people, so we should only be taking on the most important tasks in the workplace” reinforces all of the negative stereotypes assoicated with this generation. Quite frankly, when you are coming out of college at 22, you are not going to get the most important tasks in the company because you’re entry level. To come into a business expecting to be handed the keys to the kingdom because you have a working knowledge of social media, but no practical experience in business, is presumptuous and silly. And I don’t think it accurately reflects the majority of Gen Yers who put their heads down and grind everyday, working their way up the corporate ladder.
I think the more appropriate advice to give is for Gen Yers to be realistic about what they will be able to do at their level and work to expand their roles by providing good ideas and going above and beyond what they are asked to do. This is how everyone advances in the workplace. No one is handed anything based on their youth.
- TJ Keitt, Analyst, Forrester Research
Hey TJ,
Thanks for your comment. Again I am reminded that sarcasm does not come across very well in my writing. That sentence was meant to be taken as a joke, reminding Millennials that, especially in their first jobs, they aren’t really all that importnat at work and that they should never be “too good” to take on even the worst of jobs.
I strongly agree with the advice that you left, which is that Millennials should continue to go above and beyond and constantly prove their worth to other generations at work.
Thanks,
Blake