Sam Lee Mohan, Founder & CEO at GBC, 2 min read
We could learn something from Millennials
How many times have you used the term “generational gap”? I’ll bet that you or someone you know had a “winge” about millennials’ work-ethic. How about that they believe they are entitled to an opinion. I’ll bet many managers will recall moaning that millennials have not earned the right to an opinion nor have they a right to personal time. You recall that time when we worked unquestionably through lunch and not forgetting after hours without bitching about it. It’s always easier to pick on someone that is smaller or younger than you and then put it down to “generational gap”.
I’ll tell you that there’s no such a thing as generational gap. Any manager that thinks he or she is entitled to a millennials’, or anyone else’s’ for that matter, personal time is stuck in the past and if anything is suffering from an entitlement complex. Any manager who expects an employee to be at their beck-and-call all-day-every-day has an entitlement complex. They believe that an employee’s personal life comes second to their own needs and that it’s a badge of honour to return emails at night and phone calls on Sundays.
If a manager believes that an employee gets paid a salary so therefore the employee should not have a life of their own is seriously delusional. Paying someone’s salary means they get paid an honest wage for an honest day’s work. That’s it. You don’t own them nor do they owe you anything other than the hours they get paid to work. As a business owner, manager and employer, I don’t feel I own someone’s personal time. If I decide to email someone at 9pm on a Saturday or during a Sunday, I don’t expect a response until next available business hours.
Off course, every manager has expectations but that’s just for certain employees. Those employees that show interest in working longer hours and during personal time have chosen to give you their time and that’s okay. If managers are demanding employees personal time, then I’m afraid that there is a deeper cultural issue with the organisation and that will do more harm than good. It is time for managers to adapt to new ways of working, balancing work and life. Its time these managers put their egos aside and learn something from millennials in the way they naturally balance work and life. Wouldn’t you want your kids to have a life outside of work?
At GBC, we believe 37 hours per week is enough. We try our best and we give everything during office hours. As the CEO at GBC, I personally man-the-phones after hours (by choice) and everything else can be handled when we are open for business.
Sam Lee Mohan
Founder & CEO at GBC
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