{"id":3540,"date":"2017-03-17T16:19:36","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T21:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/?p=3540"},"modified":"2017-03-17T16:19:36","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T21:19:36","slug":"the-millennial-scapegoat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/2017\/03\/17\/the-millennial-scapegoat\/","title":{"rendered":"The Millennial Scapegoat"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nYou\u2019ve heard of them: millennials\u2014the \u201ckids\u201d born in the vast spread between 1981 and 2000\u2014always on their phones, always clamoring about how they\u2019re special, how they\u2019re going to change the world.
\nAnd now they\u2019re in the workplace. You know them. Maybe you\u2019re one of them. Maybe one of them works for you.
\nI must confess that I, too, am a millennial, and as I consider my role in the workplace, I reflect on one of my earliest work experiences out of college that taught me of millennial mishaps.
\nI was working in an entry-level role at a large corporation. They put the corporate in corporation, and I was the youngest person working there by probably 18 years. I was in a meeting. I\u2019d been in these meetings before. They were never life and death scenarios: I usually just sat quietly and took notes. But in the corporate world, the term meeting<\/em> is all sacred and all powerful like Sunday Mass.
\nTasked with reporting and leading a segment, I did what I normally would before a large exam: I prepped like crazy, made sure my work was organized, straightforward, and looked presentable. I even made a note page with possible questions I might receive, and how I would answer them in a clear and concise manner. I was feeling good.
\nHeading into the meeting at the buzz of the 15-minute notification, imaginary lines were drawn, and I was the minority in a room of Baby Boomers. I set my things up front so that I could use the projector. My three superiors were huddled in a pack, and here I was, the fresh meat Millennial, ready to give my presentation.
\nI began, \u201cIf you look to column C, you\u2019ll notice that\u2014\u201d <\/em>
\n\u201cWhat do those \u2018S\u2019s mean?\u201d <\/em>
\nUn-phased at this interruption, I continue, \u201cThe \u2018S\u2019s are to let us know that the electronic file has been located\u2014\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cBut\u2026we\u2019re not looking for the electronic file, we\u2019re looking to make sure it\u2019s in compliance with RIM, right?\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cYes of course, but the location of the electronic file is the first step to\u2014\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cShouldn\u2019t there be multiple dates on the columns?\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cThere are sometimes, depending on how many different version\u2014\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cBut we\u2019re looking for all of them\u2026right?\u201d<\/em>
\nAnd so it went, on and on: the meeting beating. I stood there and took it. What I thought was a well-prepared meeting presentation was continuously ripped to shreds for half an hour. There was little point in resisting; they were three, I was one. They had been with the company for years; I had been there only a few months. On that day, in that room, I was the Millennial Scapegoat. It happens. But it doesn\u2019t have to.
\nWhether you\u2019re the young employee or a veteran employer integrating millennials into your workforce, there are several approaches worth exploring to promote cross-generational harmony, but it all comes down to communication.<\/p>\n