Do you know anyone under 25 that doesn’t like their job?
The Young and the Restless?
According to a survey published by The Conference Board in February of this year, more than 60% of workers in that age-group are dissatisfied with their jobs, the worst percentage of any demographic.
Why is this newly working generation so frustrated?
It’s the current subject of much debate on career blogs across the internet, and the debate usually divides neatly into two camps:
- “The Young People Are to Blame”
- “The Establishment is Outdated”
The cause for so much job-hate among the youngest batch of workers is obviously a big issue, and this debate is part of it. I’ll be keeping an eye on the discussion and writing about it here from time to time.
For now, what do you think is the cause of their dissatisfaction?
Is Generation Y made up of spoiled brats or just ambitious visionaries? Both? Neither? Explain.
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Michael // Jul 18, 2007 at 10:06 am
I really thought I would have a pretty easy time finding a good job out of school, but it was incredibly tough. I went to at least a dozen on-campus initial interviews. It seemed like I was either “over-qualified” or didn’t have enough real world work experience (not sure what they expected interviewing undergrad college students).
I ended up working for a small recruiting company that sold themselves as a great opportunity to quickly get into an exciting outside sales role (sound familiar to anyone?). It ended up being a miserable job in which I was overworked, cussed out for doing nothing wrong, and expected to hit metrics every week that were nearly impossible and didn’t really relate to actual job performance.
I think a lot of younger people are unhappy in their jobs simply because some companies take advantage of the fact that young people don’t always know they shouldn’t hate their jobs. Without any experience, there aren’t always a whole lot of viable options for young working people and it can be very tough to find the right fit without always knowing what you’re getting yourself into.
2 Jonas // Jul 18, 2007 at 3:51 pm
I would like to refer back to the previous post about finding greater job satisfaction through reducing stress. Many students leave college with some understanding of priorities but many times that involves a great level of social activities and less work (both school and job). This is by no means inclusive of all students- there are some that have it all together it seems but it is common. When that student goes from having much free time and spending most nights during the week with friends and suddenly those friends are gone or he/she has to get up early every morning for work, it changes that lifestyle in which that person was accustomed to.
I think this can lead to job hate. All this “responsibility” has come on and taken away all the “fun” stuff like hanging out with friends. So I guess I would probably say that its some to blame on the “Young and the Restless” but I’m sure it’s also the system as well judging from the stories of many of my friends who have graduated and gone on to jobs they mildly enjoy at best. I think this further emphasizes the need to have priorities in line and the other stress reducing activities mentioned in the previous post.
3 Melissa // Jul 18, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I agree with what Jonas is getting at. Entering the adult world of careers and responsibilities takes a lot of adjusting to after the freedom of college, so it’s natural that this difficult adjustment phase affects job satisfaction. Perhaps it’s not the job itself that is problematic, but simply the demands of adulthood as made manifest in the job.
Additionally, I think a lot of the job dissatisfaction that young people face is related to a lack of direction or uncertainty about what they really want, some of which is just part of being young and inexperienced. Setting the adjustment phase aside, I think the young people who are most satisfied with their careers are the ones who had a very good idea of what they wanted to do. I think the ones who know happen to be lucky. I think the ones who graduate and are unsure of what they want to do are very vulnerable to taking a job they’re not really interested in or well-suited for, happy to have some direction. How many of these uncertain graduates do you think take the first job they are offered?
4 Chris // Jul 18, 2007 at 10:33 pm
It seems a lot of young people aren’t satisfied because we’re forced to pick a job out of college for the sake of just being employed. Young people face pressure from parents who can’t wait to stop supporting us…we need insurance…all of our friends have jobs…so we decide on something just to be done with the decision. Also, with very little real job experience when graduating college, it’s hard to pick a career path based on a few classes…so you end up taking a job that you think will be “OK” and that you might grow to like–everyone always says that your first job is not your last job. You then go to work, it’s cool for a while, you enjoy getting paid, enjoy the perks of your job…but if you don’t like what you do, it will eventually wear you down and affect other areas of your life. I also think that young people are in a tough time to transition to another job as we fear being labeled as a “job hopper”–thus hurting our chances for gainful employment later in our career…and thus we remain in our current position…unhappy and feeling trapped.
5 Bush Mackel // Jul 18, 2007 at 10:42 pm
This is officially my new favorite blog. I’m UNDER 25, and I hate my job. Not because of my job per se, but mostly because I have one. Does that make sense? Well, I’m young yet. (#):)
6 Stephen // Jul 20, 2007 at 4:22 pm
I think there are a couple of reasons. The more obvious reason is that there are simply less job opportunities straight out of college. Employers like to hire people who have experience, and students straight out of college are unlikely to have any. With fewer job opportunities, young people are forced to take jobs they don’t necessarily love, which leads to a great deal of job dissatisfaction. I think another reason is the mindset of our current generation. The Gen-Y’s have an entitlement mindset that has been unparalleled in any other generation. We’ve been told our entire lives that we can do anything, accomplish anything, succeed at anything, and should reach for the stars. After hearing that for your entire life, when forced to take a job just for the paycheck, it becomes very easy to be dissatisfied with your job. We like to think we’re entitled to great paying jobs that don’t require much work, but that’s just not reality.
7 Jason // Jul 21, 2007 at 4:20 pm
I think another factor is that many young people (especially those graduating out of some sort of business school) have drastically inflated ideas of what they’ll be doing when they start working. Not many people understand that nearly everybody starts at the bottom.
8 Jeremy // Sep 10, 2007 at 1:44 pm
I’m 28 years old, and I hate my job. I think with my situation the problem is the job itself, not the field. I work in the Horticulture industry and love plants, even though I rarely touch them anymore. I spend most of my time talking about plants and/or developing educational programs for growers, rarely getting to do any research. The worst part is the office politics and the paper work, I’m not cut out for either of them. Basically, I’m just confused. My biggest worry is job performance, because it seems this position can either make or break me in the industry. What the hell should I do?
9 Chuck Westbrook // Sep 14, 2007 at 3:30 pm
@Jeremy– Check out my article on staying motivated in a job you hate, for starters. You can find it by typing in the search box on the right side of my site. Secondly, to paraphrase Mitch Hedberg, not all comedians can be actors or screenwriters. Just because chefs cook food, doesn’t mean they should be farmers. Related fields often require dramatically different skill sets.
Maybe you should consider a shift back to your roots (pun) and away from the office. There are careers and jobs that allow you to continue to play in the dirt rather than shuffle through paper work. The income potential might not always be as high, however.
Does that speak to your situation?
10 Andrew // Nov 29, 2007 at 4:39 pm
The ultimate goal, at least in my eyes as a 25 year old college grad, is to land a job in which you make the most amount of money for the least amount of work. My father has it, my friends father’s have it, why can’t I? I soon realized, after a couple of corporate jobs, that out of college you get the opposite job opportunities from what you want. You get low paying jobs that push you to your productivity limits. I would ask my father, “Dad, I don’t get it. I have a degree, I’m smart, and I work hard. How come I can’t get a great job like you?” He would say, “It’s experience. You have very little, not bad experience, but very little. You need to be patient.” Well to be honest, it was coming to grips that I could do nothing but be patient, work hard, and stay positive for years in order to get to my goal that was the biggest shocker. Everyone is going for the same thing, everyone wants what you want, difference is…they know how to get it. They have experience in the rat race
11 Max Maidak // Jan 8, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Andrew, you’ve made some very good points.
The question I would like to ask - is the rat-race a valid construct? I think this is the question on many young peoples’ minds.
The real problem is that these young people (myself included) view the rat race as a barrier to their inevitable success (success meaning most amount of money for least amount of work). They see people that side-step the whole shebang and wonder why they can’t do it themselves. Why should they affirm its validity when this is the case?
The really real problem is that they don’t realize that attempting to side-step the rat-race probably takes more guts, creativity, and consistent competence than they expect. In actuality, joining the ranks of the rat race is likely to be their easiest path to success.
By its very nature, making a career out of being some sort of cog in an organization is relatively easy, particularly for those that lack guts and creativity. It’s far easier to figure out how to navigate the rat race (i.e. gain experience) than it is to strike out on your own and attempt to sidestep the whole thing.
Also, to be successful without the backing of that whole organizational structure, you no longer can afford to be a specialist, something that I think scares a lot of people. It’s also a butt-load of work.
12 d // Jan 9, 2008 at 11:04 am
My problem is that I graduated in 2006 and since, have not been given any responsibility to speak of. I am doing tasks which take longer to explain than to do and not being allowed to do things I’m more than prepared to do. I’m not busy enough and I’m not challenged enough. I don’t know what to do. This is my 2nd job in 1 and a half years and in my field, I don’t see any other firms that might be any different here in the metro area.
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