Yes, millennials are lazy
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Millennials won't do menial or entry-level jobs
Millennials aren't willing to take entry-level jobs that previous generations took to make ends meet.
Discriminatory
Misleading
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Context
Unlike previous generations, millennials won’t take lower paid jobs to pay their way through college or high school. They simply refuse to work in a restaurant, pick fruit or do manual labour.
The Argument
When Millennials enter the job market, the are unwilling to do entry-level work.
They believe that because they went to university, they are above entry-level positions. In an open letter to the Yelp CEO, a Millennial worker named Jane complained about working in an entry-level position “for an entire year”, a prospect so shocking to her it warranted bold lettering.[1]
Previous generations realized that entry-level positions were a stepping stone which we all had to pass through.
They taught valuable life skills about the value of hard work and empathy to those in lower positions in the company. Skills that millennials, due to their lazy, work-shy attitudes, are missing out on.
Counter arguments
The economic climate Millennials grew up in means they don’t have to work through high school and university. Millennial's parents have more money now than previous generations’ parents. They are supporting millennials later into life. It isn't a reflection of millennial work ethic, but a product of the economic boom in the 80s and 90s. [2]
Millennials are also increasingly able to work from home. So they don’t have to do manual labour or menial jobs. Why go and work in a restaurant for minimum wage when you can earn more money writing product reviews online, compiling blog posts, or doing admin for a company on the other side of the world?
It has also never been easier to work for yourself. Millennials are the most likely generation to become self-employed.[3]
Millennials aren’t not doing low-level jobs because they are entitled or lazy. They do them because they are empowered. The workplace is different now. The rules that got previous generations to where they are today no longer apply.[4]
Proponents
Premises
[P1] Millennials complain about doing entry-level jobs and menial, labour intensive work.
[P2] Therefore, millennials are lazy.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] Millennials have more choice so they don't have to do these jobs out of necessity.
References
- https://medium.com/@taliajane/an-open-letter-to-my-ceo-fb73df021e7a#.bbjxpws22
- https://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/some-see-millennials-as-lazy-entitled-yet-they-may-be-most-successful-generation-of-our-time.html
- http://www.fastcompany.com/3034268/the-future-of-work/why-millennials-want-to-work-for-themselves
- https://medium.com/swlh/millennials-will-work-hard-just-not-for-your-crappy-job-82c12a1853ed