Earlier this year, the CEO of the online crowd-source review company, Yelp, was openly shamed by a disgruntled employee who said the company's meager wages coupled with the high cost of living was leaving her stressed and on the verge of starvation. Per the story, as reported by CareerHMO, the employee posted her rant on the popular blogging platform, Medium.
The young woman, who is part of the millennial generation, is receiving mounting criticism for blasting her boss online. Many employers feel Millennials were raised with a sense of entitlement and are ill-prepared to handle even the most mundane of life's responsibilities.
According to a recent Gallup study, Millennials are in fact lacking the professional skill set needed to do well on the job. But with 50 percent of today's workforce comprised of Millennials, should companies be concerned? Not necessarily.
There's a way to help Millennials surmount their professional challenges and move through the inevitable learning curve faster and effectively: private career coaching.
Oftentimes, companies focus more on teaching their supervisors to be better coaches. But supervisors aren't coaches, and millennial employees need assistance from someone who is fully objective to their needs and development.
With private career coaching, Millennials are free to work through issues with a knowledgeable third party without the fear of on-the-job judgement and criticism. While this may seem like hand-holding, many Millennials have a difficult time dealing with failure and disappointment.
This isn't always a bad thing, however, as it often stems from the Millennials desire to please in order to elicit the praise they're accustom to receiving.
In short, Millennials comprise the first generation of workers who were coached and rewarded their entire lives. From little league football to piano lessons, Millennials learned early on that coaching is an integral part of growing, learning and succeeding.
For this reason, companies hiring Millennials may find it beneficial to explore a corporate wellness plan that includes private career coaching. The return on investment will manifest in higher productivity, greater job satisfaction and definitely less disgruntled bloggers.
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/yelps-employee-scandal-why-companies-should-offer-career-o-donnell
http://www.gallup.com/poll/182306/big-six-college-experiences-linked-life-preparedness.aspx
