On the whole, a good percentage of Americans hate their jobs.
But what about millennials? Turns out they outpace every other generation in their hate for their jobs.
In a Gallup poll,
- The majority of millennials (55%) are not engaged, leading all other generations in this category of worker engagement.
- Another 16% of millennials are actively disengaged, meaning they are more or less out to do damage to their company.
OK, so maybe “hate” is a strong word, but “not engaged” and “actively disengaged” are synonymous with “dislike” and “hate”, in my view. And that’s a total of 71% of all millennials that are either not engaged or actively disengaged at work and only 29% that are engaged.
If you’re among that majority, that’s a terrible spot to be in, and it’s probably leaving your wondering “What the heck do I do?”.
Well, for starters, we’ve reached a point where job loyalty is dead. In a BLS study a few years back, the government found that:
- – For ages 18-24, 83.5% of workers were with their employer for less than 2 years, and 93% less than 5 years.
– For ages 25-34, 69.6% of workers were with their employer for less than 2 years, and 85.4% less than 5 years.
Sadly, we wear out our jobs more often than we wear out a good pair of sneakers, it seems.
Becoming a serial job hopper is one way to handle this disengagement. At the very least, it can help give a reality check – something along the lines of “Hey, maybe it wasn’t just THAT job that sucked. Perhaps, ALL jobs suck?”. That could be refreshing or incredibly depressing, depending on your mental state.
It would be even more productive to attempt to figure out what is at the root of your dissatisfaction and actively try to change it, starting with your existing employer. Hey, if you’re going to job hop anyways, why not at least go out swinging first, right?
- Are you underpaid? If you plan to leave, why not show the data and make a strong case for a raise?
- Is it a lack of work/life balance? Perhaps your employer would be open to you working from home a few days a week, flexible hours, or a reduction of hours if it was the only way they could keep you.
- Is it boredom or a lack of challenge? Switching teams at your existing employer might be incredibly refreshing. Or, maybe your boss would be open to moving you to a new project.
- Is it overwhelming bureaucracy and soul-sucking drudgery? Sorry… I have no solution for that other than to move on.
If your employer values you (and they should, because happy workers are productive workers and turnover is extremely costly), then they should be open to working with you. If they aren’t, then maybe it’s time to look elsewhere.
And if after job hopping, you’re still having troubles, then it’s time to look a bit deeper. Maybe your line of work is at odds with your personality and/or values. In that case, a career change is probably your best bet. To help figure out if that is the case and what might be a better fit,
- Talk to a mentor/career coach.
- Talk to academic advisors.
- Talk to a therapist.
- Read books on different career options.
- Read online job profiles.
- Interview and job shadow people in other careers.
Also, you might just find that working for others, no matter the career, is too structured for you. A majority of Americans want to be self-employed, but few are. If you think self-employment is your path, but are risk-averse, start with some side hustles and try to build the necessary skills in your current job.
The takeaway here should be that you have options. Find the solution that works for you. The last thing you should do is accept your disengagement and stay in a bad situation. But don’t quit your job just because you don’t like it. You have to dig deeper than that and work harder than that to find a solution.
And if you’re an employer or boss – start engaging with your employees and getting creative about how to make work more meaningful for them. What worked in 1985 might not always work in 2016, unfortunately, and you need to adapt. If you want to survive, you need a productive group of millennials to help lead the way.
Are you a millennial that hates your job? What are you doing to fix it? Or maybe you’ve now seen the light? How did you get there?
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This isnt new. Throughout all of history, most people disliked their job, they just now have new venues for voicing the displeasure. Unfortunately, millennials (and those of us slightly older) are part of the generation that was told that we could do whatever we wanted so the expectation was that you’d walk in and run the joint. If you dont believe me, ask an HR rep of the completely unrealistic expectations that new grads/young employees tend to have. That isnt to say you shouldnt be flexible because you absolutely should keep an eye out of what else is out there. Also, you should always re-evaluate your position to determine if that aligns with your skill set/professional goals.
However, two old sayings come to mind “the grass is not always greener on the other side” and “there’s a reason they call it work, if it was fun, they wouldn’t need a separate word for it.”
I agree that most millennials have unrealistic expectations when entering the workplace. And that work isn’t necessarily fun. However, that doesn’t mean that millennials shouldn’t explore their options and work to make things better. Apathy and atrophy shouldn’t be accepted. I think there is a happy medium. You don’t know that the grass isn’t greener until you look at the other side (and sometimes back again).
Agree with Michael above, as the world needs ditch diggers too. Not everybody gets to be a professional athlete or the social media director (haha) of a new zany startup. Time to deal.
I am 25 and love the company I work for and the job that I have. I can honestly see myself working for this company until I retire. I mean they offer a defined benefit plan and 401k with match, enough said! In all seriousness, I implore anyone who is unhappy to keep looking for something better, have realistic expectations but don’t give up. I used to wake up every day and dread going to my job, I now wake up early and get to work early too. Loving what you do and having similar values as the company you work for can make all the difference.
I’m on the borderline between Generation X and Millennials, but consider myself a Gen X. I was just reading a tongue and cheek commentary in Fortune magazine about Millennials. It is also posted here:
http://fortune.com/2016/05/20/millennials-workplace
I am a 35 year of professional. Landed an awesome job straight out of school. I’ve now been with them 13 years. A year ago I got a new manager. Every manager I have ever had had has said here is the goal. Go for it. The new guy isn’t like that. I still like what I do, but my last day is 3 weeks away. Individuals can really have an impact on longevity of employees. I too thought I might retire where I started. Now I am out to ensure I am working on what I want that is fulfilling and paid market price. It can’t be that hard to keep employees engaged. An argument should be made that this discussion starts in college. Employers are willing to pay for only a few things. 1. Work ethic. 2. Figuring shit out. Sounds a lot of what a good, highly overpriced, college education should be graduating students with.
Yeah – there was a recent survey that showed that the #1 reason people hate their job is their boss. It really can change everything when you get a bad one, which is really unfortunate when you like the company. Have you looked into switching teams at your employer?
Thanks for the response. I am field based so my two options were switching to a different sales organization or moving.
I interviewed for a promotion in a different city and was offered the job. In the end decided I didn’t want to move. The only positions available locally were for less pay.
I interviewed at two top tier companies in my field, got offers from both, all for the same pay as the promotion except both offered stock options and were growing sectors versus shrinking. Just the career growth potential makes the switch worth it.
There is a great book on investing by Guy Spier called the Education of a Value Investor. In it he makes the argument if you are going to invest money, the asset you buy should be one you plan to hold 2 years at a minimum but really 5. If you look at the job you are going to interview for and it has less than 5 years of “growth” in it, why would you take it?
Thanks for another great article!
I despised my job from about 2014 to 2015. It’s funny you mention Gallup, because large bureaucratic employers responsible for the soul sucking are often the ones who focus so intently on Gallup scores. The bosses have their employees Gallup scores factored into their compensation, so they pressure the direct reports to inflate the numbers so their employees are “engaged.” Corporate America has not yet caught up to the reality that Millennials will not tolerate the same crap other generations put up with. My response was to save 65% of my income and attempt “early retirement.” It’s been going ok and I’m going on a year now.
That’s interesting, but I wonder if other generations were once the same way as millennials are. GenX had a pretty defiant streak (remember “grunge”?). And Boomers had the whole anti-establishment movement in the 60’s, but look at them now. Can the system break the souls of entire generations?
I don’t necessarily “hate” my job, but there are difinitely other things I would rather be doing everyday with my time other than going to work.
One method I use to overcome my discomfort of going to work everyday is to focus on the end result, which is saving and investing as much as I can, so that I can one day have the option to not work for an employer. This keeps me motivated.
Hate is a strong word! Maybe dislike is more appropriate?
It seems like there are a lot more opportunities for millennial’s and anybody who wants to leverage the Internet. Don’t you think it’s by the statistics making money now has never been more accessible and easier?
Sam
Sometimes i think that hating one’s job is projection of the feelings one has about everything or something else in one’s life (and I’m a millennial who doesn’t like my job)
I think the generation before us just went to work, put their heads down, and clock out. Now, I think we are looking up more and seeing the things that makes us not want to be at a job.
My point of view is, the thought of having one life that is expected to last 70 to 80 years and having to work for companies until 65 or it might be higher by the time I get older is crazy. Asking for time off or having someone tell me, I’m only allowed to be sick 3 days of the year is something I can’t wrap my head around. I get need to earn a living to provide for yourself and family. Its the principles of it. When a job fires you on the spot to save money, its just a business decision and its no big deal. When the worker quits on the spot for finding a better income or whatever reason, its unprofessional and could hurt their future employment. This is stuff on why I dislike jobs. It’s also human nature to want to do whatever you want. Most people don’t like taking orders or being told they have to do something.
I’m not saying I’m right, but this is just how I see things through my eyes.
Imagine a world in which anyone could get paid to do what they love, because someone somewhere is looking for that skill as a service—we’re getting closer to that world every day!
However, freelancing full-time is still hard as shit. There’s not a market leader in helping freelancers succeed. That’s what we at PubLoft are working on.
Well, companies don’t have loyalty to their employees. Yunger people see how their parents were made expendable, lost jobs to saving money by exploiting people in other countries, wear on health and famy time, pensions cut, etc. It’s just not worth it.
Millennials hate their jobs because we don’t want to sit behind a desk for 50 years experiencing the same year over and over again like our parents and grandparents did. We want to have full freedom of our time and money, and jobs don’t allow that, no matter how good the job is.
So the alternative is to own your own business, preferably online so it’s cheap, and you can make a passive income into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then you can live the life you want without having a job or a boss restricting you.
Problem solved.
Yep. All jobs suck. One of the many reasons I wish I had never been born.