Millennials on the Clock: Friend or Foe?
It’s no secret that a young group of individuals have begun knocking on the doors of business. Yes, the next generation is here, and they seem to have made a splash before even hitting the water. After reading blogs and articles about the trials and tribulations of training the new generation, I have chosen to summarize the piece of writing that I feel makes the best argument with my own interpretation. I hope to provide insight, being that I am a part of the new generation. The article, Make Way for the Millennials by Jason Mosheim can be found on Advance for Nurses’ website.
Friend or Foe?
The latest generation to join the nation’s workforce is one of technological savvy and a yearning for success. Known as the “Millennials” for growing up at the turn of the last century, the dynamic group is making headlines for their radically different learning styles and modes of communication, differeing greatly from the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, and Generation Xers. In light of our nation’s drastic changes in the economic, political, and social arenas, the millenials have proven that total immersion in technology is the way of the future. This vast wealth of knowledge is viewed as beneficial to some, and burdensome to others. Generations who have been in America’s workforce for 20+ years have seen the ability for business to prosper without accessories such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Why then, should previous generations feel comfortable with handing over the reins of industry to this technologically-dependent group?
It comes to no surprise that the millennials do not have the greatest reputation in regard to prospective employers. This generation doesn’t learn by taking notes or sitting through a two hour lecture on the proper conduct within a hospital. It is important that employers remember millennials learn by doing. If this generation is able to learn procedures tangibly (i.e. doing) then questions and uncertainty from new employees may decrease. Along with a different learning style, this generation expects supervisors to respond to questions, email, (and now ‘tweets’) as quickly as the internet can provide answers. Obviously this is an unrealistic expectation that needs to be addressed. Understanding that the industry is changing does not mean that you have to compromise your own integrity to accommodate an incoming generation. Sticking to the procedures and schedule that you know best will set guidelines for incoming employees and aid in their orientation to the hospital conduct.
“My experience is they want to follow the rules and to learn, but they need to be told explicitly what the rules and expectations are,” – Paige Shaughnessy (PhD, CCC-SLP) School of Allied Health Professionals at Loma Linda University, CA.
Millennials crave to learn, but this learning needs to be backed by social support and interaction for this generation to feel they are on the right track. It is important to remember that while substantial differences exist between the generations, we can all learn something from one another. Having an open mind can decrease tension in the workplace. Millennials will be more than willing to listen to you in hopes of becoming more accustomed to the system. Therefore, it is important that you listen to this technological group. Learning from eachother as health care providers will be instrumental in maintaining the most qualified team of nurses. Here are some tips that will help veterans of the industry work with the newbies:
- Be staunch when it comes to your availability for questions, mentoring, etc.
- setting up a strict time frame (much like professors do with office hours) will condition the new-comers to respect your time AND space
- Keep an open mind
- Understand that YOU didn’t know everything when you first started out either
- Having patience and being proactive can only be beneficial to you and millennials
- This generation has to learn more material than their predecessors, yet are expected to do it within the same time frame. Unrealistic? Yes.
For the full article and other helpful information, follow this link.
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