What’s Not Good About Hiring Younger Workers?

Considering that the retirement age for the reliable baby boomers is fast approaching, it is inevitable for younger leaders get their spot in the corporate world. In comparison to the boomers, many of the younger workers join the workforce after they graduate from college, and most of them haven’t even tried living separately with their parents. While it is true that they are more energetic and enthusiastic about working, they have very unique work habits, which many people consider as disadvantages for employers.

Addiction to Modern Technology
A great majority of younger workers haven’t had any experience using a desk phone. They are more familiar with computers, mobile phones, and the internet. As a matter of fact, they do almost all their daily tasks using the apps in their smart phones. It is also common for young people to rely so much on instant messaging and using social networking sites to communicate with other people. For them, the devices around them are a necessity rather that a distraction from work. The risk here is that they may spend so much time using such technologies that they may already lack the time to focus on their work.

No Pressure to Get Ahead
In the eyes of the younger generation, everyone could be a winner and a hero. Competition for them isn’t something positive, but rather a source of pressure and stress. In fact, what matters for them is the effort they put in to their work. They think that exerting effort alone is enough to be considered valuable. This isn’t a bad thing, of course, but this could mean being less motivated to excel and get better.

Inability to Accept Feedback
With the mindset of being winners and the lack of drive to push harder, young workers typically find it very hard to accept negative feedback. As we all know, a person’s ability to recognize their mistakes and accept negative comments from others is crucial to the development of their skills. Every member of a team also has to be open-minded so that there is always room for improvement individually and as a group.

Lack of Leadership Skills
One of the challenges being faced by organizations these days is the fact that they need to hire young managers and supervisors who will then lead more veteran staff members. The problem with their youth is that they don’t have enough management experience to suitably become a leader. Many young people are also said to lack interpersonal communications skills, which, as we all know, are crucial to building a good relationship among team members. Thus, companies need to find ways to quickly help these younger people develop the necessary skills to become good leaders. Fortunately, there are career coaching centres around that offer counseling services to help mold good and effective leaders.