Responding to "Millennials in the Workplace" Video

Vasiliki Rombos
Feb 1, 2017
3 min read

Do you find yourself constantly reaching for your phone? Checking your messages or your likes on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook? If you said yes to either of those questions, then according to Simon Sinek, you might be addicted to technology!

In the video below, Sinek discusses "millennials", a term also used to describe "digital natives" or individuals who have grown up in a world equipped with digital technology (Valcke, Bonte, De Wever & Rots, 2010) and how it has impacted their upbringing.

After watching this video I had mixed reviews about the statements made by Sinek. Most were completely biased and had no evidence to support them, whereas some were more concrete. The majority of the video felt like a generalization of the group of individuals that make up digital natives.

Sinek discusses four topics related to Millennials in the Workplace, they are: Parenting, Technology, Impatience and (Corporate) Environment. While exploring these topics, he first accuses millennials of being "narcissistic, lazy, unfocused, and entitled" and says most of their success in their early years was a result of their parents doing everything for them. Although there are individuals out there who may fit these characteristics, I believe it is an unfair assumption to make about an entire generation. I grew up in a family of hardworking people, between my grandparents who have operated their family business for over 50 years and my father who is a tradesman, to me, success is not achieved without hard work. Image free from Wix (2017)

Another assumption made in this video is

related to parenting, when Sinek judges parenting strategies and claims that millennials were failed in their upbringing, and now believe that they deserve everything they want simply because they want it. But how does this connect with technology? Sinek wants us to draw connections between his four topics, but to me, the only factor affecting the workplace is technology itself.

Image free from Wix (2017)

Originally designed as a way to advance further in society, we are misusing technology and it is making us move in reverse. Being continuously surrounded by evolving digital technology has resulted in many people being over reliant on and addicted to it. However, because of this overabundance of technology, I believe this addiction applies to more than one generation. Whether it is checking your phone as soon as you wake up, constantly needing it nearby, or browsing your social media in every spare moment of your day, technology is affecting how we communicate with others. Employers are now facing the tough decision between hiring millennials who are fluent with new technologies yet have difficulties collaborating with others and older generations who are less skilled in technology but communicate well (Kick, Contacos-Sawyer & Thomas, 2015). This should not be an issue for employers, technology is a tool and understanding it is an asset to any work environment.

In order to counter this problem in future generations, children need to learn about control and boundaries, when it comes to using technology. As an educator, I would not restrict technology. I would emphasize the importance of balance and encourage children to be physically present rather than being too invested in their devices but I would also find ways to combine technology with other forms of play in order to educate children on how they can learn from these devices.