Gone away are the days of the simple one-liner excuses millennials told their parents, guardians, and teachers to excuse themselves from school or childhood activities, “my dog ate my homework,” “I don’t feel well,” or “my relative passed away.”
Fast forward 20 years, in today’s working world, millennials now use technology, social media, and smart devices to receive their news, engage and share content.
Many millennial professionals have also entered the workforce post-high school or some form of continuing education, we were eager to take on the same or more responsibility for less pay.
After a while, millennials in the workplace started catching on to how corporations—Fortune 500 companies to and even small businesses started to operate.
So much is expected from millennials even when companies are offering less compensation for what the generation before us was earning, including unrealistic PTO, sick/vacation days, and little to no benefits (health, stock, 401K, etc.).
A few of these benefits have changed over the years to perhaps include unlimited PTO—a major incentive—but are we more aware of the fact that many of our unfulfilling jobs will fire or replace us in a heartbeat?
Regarding characteristics of a millennial, in Antonio Neves’ article, “It’s 2018 and People Still Hate Millennials. Here Are 4 Reasons Why,” it Neves said, “Over the years, we’ve heard that millennials are privileged, cocky, entitled, lazy, impatient and so much more.”
It appears the excuses we attempted to use to get out of school over 20 years ago are either the same, just more elaborate or have gotten downright ridiculous in an effort to bypass work for a day, stroll into work late or wiggle out of a social obligation.
I asked more than 100 millennials between the ages of 26-37, “What are some of the excuses they have used to get out of work—when running late or to opt out of a social event altogether?” Well, I will say they are very interesting.
Today, millennials are also taking on more work responsibilities to increase their streams of revenue. With the cost of living rising steadily, it has become the norm to work for multiple employers or explore various entrepreneurial opportunities.
The reality is, millennials could be spreading themselves too thin. They may not be able to handle all of their work responsibilities or just flat out do not feel like doing it all.
