Millennials have gotten a bad rap since they started entering the workforce. They have been stereotyped as lazy and entitled employees who will trade company loyalty for the ability to leapfrog into a management position they haven't earned; they want to work for a values-driven company with a casual dress code.
But the reality is that many millennials went to college at a time when education costs soared and graduated into a financial recession that gave them limited career opportunities to pay off their student loans, let alone save for other financial milestones.
Then, companies began to eliminate middle management jobs — the>The responsibilities of managing aren't always equal to the benefits
Though millennials have been stuck with the reputation of being job-hoppers, the reality is that young workers in their late teens into their early 20s are just generally more likely to try out more jobs as they figure out their careers. This has been true of young workers from any generation — including baby boomers, who have been stereotyped as hard-working loyalists. What's different for millennials may be how it has become the top strategy to actually get ahead in their careers.
Job-hopping for the sake of advancement is something Jayde Young, 33, knows well. The marketing executive worked for major corporations in New York City including Viacom, MGM and New York Magazine, spending about a year or two at each before moving to a different employer.
Jayde Young says moving up in her marketing career came at a big personal cost: Time lost with family, a stressful schedule, and a path to burnout that exacerbated a chronic illness.Courtesy of subject
Young describes her experiences, and the data-test=”Pullquote”>Many people look at me and husband and say, 'Wow, they made it, they're so successful and both make six figures.' But we're stressed the hell out.Jayde Young
Young says moving up has come at a big personal cost: 70-hour workweeks, cross-country business trips, missing her kids' school plays. It's a road to burnout that her doctor now says contributed to a chronic illness.
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful," she says. "I've had a great career. But there's a sense of disillusionment when you actually get there."
"My big gripe is us millennials have to work so hard, yet we're saddled with debt and forced to work without any semblance of job security," Young adds. "Many people look at me and husband and say, 'Wow, they made it, they're so successful and both make six figures.' But we're stressed the hell out."
Young's corporate burnout led her to focus>How the pandemic could change millennials' paths to leadership
Millennials' career paths could be shaken up even more following a second>
A healthy economic recovery could mean more baby boomer executives retire and make way for younger leaders, Crist Kolder Associates principal Kristy Honiotes says.
More flexible workplaces following the pandemic could also encourage millennials to pursue the management track.
In Sacramento, California, 37-year-old Jessica Kriegel has made a career of dispelling the myths and stereotypes of millennial workers as a workplace culture strategist. But for a long time, she didn't think she wanted senior leadership for herself.
"I didn't want to be a boss because when I used to report into a boss, I knew how challenging and demanding the company was>When millennials get promoted, it's not always enough to get them to stay
For Jerry Won, 37, becoming a manager wasn't enough to get him to stay with his employer. The LA resident graduated from college in 2004 and spent the first chapter of his career in sales, jumping jobs every year across real estate and insurance. By his late 20s, after he met the person who would become his wife, Won decided it was "time to get my act together."
So after six months with data-test=”Pullquote”>The irony is, this year I'm speaking at these companies and impacting them in far greater ways as an external voice than I ever could have imagined being the guy on the inside.Jerry Won
For him, the experience has been about redefining what professional success looks like, while also trying to make the work experience a better one for his own children.
Won feels his work has been especially impactful in the last year of rising anti-Asian racism in the U.S. and in the workplace. "The irony is … this year I'm speaking at these companies and impacting them in far greater ways as an external voice than I ever could have imagined being the guy on the inside."
