Are millennials lazy?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: Are millennials lazy?
Position‹3 of 3: Baby boomers are just insecure
Argument: Baby boomers see Millennials as a threat

Millennials have a better understanding of technology and work more effectively. They are a threat to baby boomer's workplace dominance.

The argument

Millennials are an increasingly large part of the workforce (they will make up 46% of the entire labour force by 2020). They are knocking on the door of company leadership. Baby boomers view this as a direct threat to their authority and dominance in the workplace. This is why they resort to calling millennials lazy. The accusations of millennials as a lazy, entitled, narcissistic generation stem from Baby Boomer’s insecurities. Millennials understand technology and know how to use it to make them more productive. They are also a more educated generation as many more attended higher education institutions than their predecessors. As a result, they are more valuable employees. The accusations of millennials as a lazy, entitled, narcissistic generation stem from baby boomers' insecurities and would be levelled against millennials, whatever their work ethic.

Context

Millennials grew up in the technological environment. They are competent with modern technology in a way baby boomers are not. This makes them a threat to older generations in the workplace.

Premises

[P1]Millennials are rapidly becoming the dominant share of the workforce and are positioned to take over leadership roles. [P2] Their technological fluency and higher education levels make them more productive and valuable employees than baby boomers. [P3] Baby boomers, threatened by this rising competence and authority, label millennials lazy regardless of their actual work ethic. [C] Therefore, accusations that millennials are lazy reflect baby boomer insecurity rather than any real failing of millennials.

Counter-arguments

Both sides actually have good intentions and are saying similar things. The “millennials are lazy” argument is just a product of the two generations interacting in the workplace. Baby boomers in the workplace get frustrated with new technology. Millennials get frustrated when technology that can make jobs more efficient isn’t being adopted. Millennials complain. Baby boomers call them lazy and impatient. Millennials get more frustrated and have less job satisfaction. It isn’t that baby boomers are insecure or millennials are lazy. It is just that the two generations have a different level of understanding of technology. This manifests itself with baby boomers calling millennials lazy.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] Baby boomers don't mean to undermine millennials and are not insecure. They are just slower to adopt new technology, which leads to frustration from both sides.