Last Friday’s newsletter had a click-through rate over 50%, and I’ve heard from a number of people who thought the article hit a nerve. This passage in particular seems to have stood out for a number of readers:

You [Gen Y worker] are going to have the same problem in every job you hold until you crack the nut that the problem is you. It’s not that the last three bosses didn’t understand you, or that you’ve worked for five mercurial, petty tyrants in a row. It isn’t that no one understands you or that the world is out to get you. It’s that the people you work with got over their emotional garbage in high school and don’t feel like dealing with yours now in the workplace…

I’ll give you that you are a product of your environment; it’s not your fault that you are the way you are. To wit:

1. During high school, the dot-com boom raged, where anyone with half a brain made a million bucks and retired.
2. During college, it became clear that nearly every company is run by a crook or a crook-in-training.
3. You were the prize your divorced parents fought over… or maybe you were the casualty of their war.
4. You missed out on educational opportunities as your teachers were neutered by an awful educational system.
5. You were ignored by coaches who didn’t tell you the truth, opting instead to give you a trophy for “trying your best.”
6. You have been conditioned to accept what you see and read in the media, giving away for free the only thing you have control over: your mind.
7. You were encouraged to take “what have you done for me lately” to the extreme of voting weakest links off the island.
8. You have never had a leader whom you could trust: the president of your childhood was impeached, and his successor lied to you outright about a number of issues.
9. You’ve known since day one that the Baby Boomers siphoned funds away from Social Security and are sticking you with the bill.

How, here, were you supposed to learn the value of having a meaningful relationship with a boss? Don’t worry, I don’t see it, either. But, how you got here isn’t nearly as important as where you go from here. Your situation is a tough one: you’re a trained Narcissist now facing a situation that requires empathy. You’re ill-equiped for the challenge. Sucks to be you.

Thanks for your support, everyone. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Lots more to come very soon…

Posted under Gen X & Gen Y