TEXTE 15 : MILLENNIALS

According to Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the Institute of Student Employers, employers find it difficult to manage younger employees' expectations. "Employers tell us that top of their issues list is managing the expectation of new graduate hires," says Isherwood. He feels that this could be due to "a perceived sense of entitlement". "New graduate hires have limited work and life experience," he adds, "so whatever their perception of work or what they feel they have a right to, they will need to gain knowledge and experience to progress." Generational differences in education could be another reason for this tension, says Susy Roberts, the founder of people development consultancy Hunter Roberts. Roberts says older generation were taught to do "their own research, show their workings," and explain how they reached their answers. "For millennials, the education system has been entirely different," Roberts says. "Group-work is encouraged, research is no longer conducted alone in libraries, and debate and discussion form the basis of lessons, lectures and seminars." Translated into the workplace, older generations can find this way of working "incredibly alien," says Roberts. "They were taught to think for themselves, find their own facts and stand on their own two feet." Roberts says that in view of this, it's "easy to understand why millennials can seem entitled" to older generations. "But they’re not – they’re just different."