Baby boomers see Millennials as a threat

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. That projection matters because it describes a transfer of position rather than a change in headcount alone: a cohort of that size does not remain in junior roles indefinitely, and the point at which it reaches senior ones is settled by arithmetic rather than by anybody's decision. 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 accusation does a particular kind of work. Characterising a rising group as lazy, entitled and narcissistic disqualifies them from advancement on grounds of character, and that is a defence which can be mounted without reference to what they actually produce and without conceding that the competition is real at all. The accusations of millennials as a lazy, entitled, narcissistic generation stem from Baby Boomer's insecurities rather than from anything observable about how the generation works. 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. This is the part of the picture the accusation has to obscure, because it points the other way: on the measures that ordinarily decide who is promoted — capability with the tools the work now requires, and formal qualification — the younger group compares well, which is exactly what makes it threatening. 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. That last point is the test of the claim. If the charge is a response to insecurity rather than to conduct, then no amount of demonstrated effort would retire it, because effort is not the thing it is responding to.

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

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.