Second Draft

Millennials are often categorized as those born between the mid-1980s and the year 2000, this generation has witnessed extreme technological innovation and has been a part of speaking out for social change on an array of topics, but those belonging to this generation still receive a bad reputation. Some members of older generations have regarded millennials as lazy, narcissistic, and technology obsessed, but I think those are unfair accusations. As someone who identifies as a millennial, I have always taken these strong claims to heart. There is currently a case where a group of millennial lawyers are suing their workplace on the grounds of age discrimination – they believe stigmas that state they are less willing to work hard, will jump from job to job, and do not want to take the time to move up are affecting their ability to further their careers. This prompted me to wonder, do stigmas placed on the millennial generation affect their ability to establish successful careers? I had the opportunity to sit down with Francesca Ciaccio-Freeman, the Director of Human Resources at The Florida Bar, and ask her questions that gave important insight onto this very question.

Stereotypes about millennials are not hard to come by; news and journalism outlets take no time in ridiculing this generation for their supposed self-obsessed and technology-dependent tendencies. But millennials are no longer the teenagers in society, and as they become adults and enter the workforce, they will not allow their uniqueness to be regarded as a negative. I sat down with Francesca Ciaccio-Freeman, Director of Human Resources at The Florida Bar, and her colleague Karen Harrison, HR Services Coordinator to discuss their experiences with millennials, and how those experiences have shaped how they view the generation. In this interview subjects regarding The Florida Bar’s flexibility and accountability programs were discussed, along with stereotypes that have and have not been present in millennial hires.

The stereotype that has been most prevalent at The Florida Bar has been job turnover, Ciaccio-Freeman states that “with millennials, there is not a long-term stay.” Millennials are constantly looking for something better, and while being ambitious is not a bad thing, jumping ship too soon can result in missed opportunities in the long run. Harrison inserts that, “the grass is not always greener on the other side, so they need to look at the big picture”, she believes the problem seems to be that millennials have not found the happy medium between striving towards career goals and taking the time to move up at their workplace. It is often easier for people to focus on the here and now, and spend less time thinking about what will happen in the future, Ciaccio-Freeman connects the high job turnover to millennials focusing on making more money in the moment, rather than focusing on the benefits and retirement plans an organization might be providing. In the TEDx Talk, “Millennials -- why are they the worst?”, Kelly Williams Brown entertains the idea that job turnover and unrealistically high goals might not be exclusive to millennials, but instead applies to young people of all generations.

Kelly Williams Brown, a journalist, columnist, and New York Times bestselling author of Adulting, delivers a conversational and engaging TEDx Talk regarding millennial stereotypes and how these claims are often exaggerated and misinformed. She mentions that all the negative press surrounding millennials is based on what is selling in the moment, and even says, “it’s almost enough to make you feel that hand-wringing trend pieces about the awfulness of the young people are less of a valid cultural or sociological critique, and more of an easy trend piece that moves magazine covers, but I digress” (2:20). People do not want to read heartfelt stories all the time, sometimes they want to pick up a magazine and read an article that blames other people, in this case an entire generation, for things they are not necessarily in trouble for.

To the dismay of many baby boomers, most millennials are not narcissistic couch-potatoes that want everything handed to them. Brown emphasizes this by surveying her audience, she illuminates that in their youth they also dreamed big and focused on themselves and what they wanted more than others (5:48). In my interview with Francesca Ciaccio-Freeman she seems to agree with this viewpoint, “Well, I agree. But I think now they take more risks because there is more opportunity for them to do so. So, it is an age thing, but I think it is more evident now because of all the technology.” Technology might be the area up for the most debate regarding millennials, it either makes us obsessive homebodies, or intelligent innovators. As workplaces become more centered around technology, millennials are being seen as assets, and companies are ditching their old ways and adapting in order to attract and obtain this new generation of professionals.