Gen Y As Long-Term Employees

Blake Landau has a great post
on 14 myths about Gen Y’s.

Gen Y’s were born between 1980 and 1995.

One myth is
they won’t be long-term employees.

“You can turn us into long-term employees.
You’ll just have to do it one day at a time.
Remember we don’t trust anyone,
considering what we’ve seen unfold
in corporate America in the last ten years.
The last two years
–Wall St., Madoff, and the decline of Main Street
–make the Enron scandal look like small potatoes.
We will be loyal,
but you have to earn our trust
through consistent “trustworthy” behavior.
We crave this feeling of “safety”
so to those organizations who can create
this atmosphere based on trust,
you will find the most loyal, committed
and hard-working millennial employees.”

This is now true for ALL employees.

As a Gen X’er,
I gave day-to-day loyalty.
I worked for a large quick service restaurant chain.
I had a great job,
and an admiration for the brand.

Then they did something
I couldn’t ethically stomach,
and within days,
I put in my 2 weeks notice.

You earn your employees’ loyalty
one day at a time.
Don’t take it for granted.