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Are millennials lazy?
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Millennials aren't willing to sacrifice

Millennials grew up in a world of instant gratification. Now, they won't make sacrifices.
Discriminatory Misleading

Context

The rise of modern technology has meant millennials grew up in a world of instant instant gratification. They want food? They can order it instantly and get it delivered. They want a date, there is an app to meet people. They want a taxi? They order an instant ride-hailing service without waiting. Now, in the workplace, they are not willing to make sacrifices to get what they want.

The Argument

Some things require making short-term sacrifices for long-term happiness. Job satisfaction is one of them. In the workplace, very few jobs are your dream job from day one. It takes time and sacrifice to work up a level where you achieve a high level of job satisfaction and deeper fulfilment. Millennials are not willing to make these sacrifices. As soon as the going gets tough in a job, they jump ship. 66% of Millennials plan to leave their current job by 2020. [1] Millennials prefer to be comfortable. They don’t buy houses because their economic circumstances don’t let them (houses have always been expensive), but because they don’t want to make the sacrifices by going out to eat less than twice a week and skipping the extra drink in a bar to save money for it.[2]

Counter arguments

The majority of millennials are either unemployed or underemployed. They are constantly making sacrifices because many graduates struggle to work in their chosen field. With fewer jobs available and a larger portion of the workforce with graduate and post-graduate degrees, millennials are being forced to make sacrifices in their careers. Young millennial graduates are turning to jobs that don’t require a college degree to survive. Millennials understand the need to make sacrifices. They accept work out of desperation more than other generations because the economy forces them to do so.[3] Millennials weren’t the first generation to change jobs frequently either. Those born between 1957 and 1964 held nearly a dozen jobs between the ages of 18 and 48.[4] This is less a reflection of millennials not making sacrifices than it is a reflection of fewer employers offering pensions, medical cover, and opportunities for advancement within the company. Moving jobs is a necessity now in a way that it never used to be.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Millennials won't make any sacrifices at work. [P2] Therefore they are lazy.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Millennials are forced to make sacrifices constantly.

References

  1. https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/gx-millennials-one-foot-out-the-door.html#report
  2. https://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/23/the-real-problem-with-millennialscommentary.html
  3. http://business.time.com/2012/08/29/just-how-underemployed-is-gen-y/
  4. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/nlsoy.nr0.htm%C2%A0
This page was last edited on Monday, 16 Nov 2020 at 01:18 UTC

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