Gen Y could change working landscape: Whether change is for better, worse depends on who you ask

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By Austin Light

CHARLOTTE — They’re the newest addition to the workforce, they’ve got new expectations when it comes to work-life balance, and by 2018, they’ll be 81 million strong. Generation Y, or “Millennials” born from 1982 to 2000, could dramatically change America’s working culture, but could they also destroy it?

In an Oct. 20 article written for The Wall Street Journal‘s Market Watch titled, “Death of ‘Soul of Capitalism,’” Paul Farrell predicts the catastrophic death of capitalism and places part of the blame on traits commonly associated with Millennials — including narcissism and a sense of entitlement.

“Once a society becomes successful, it becomes arrogant, righteous, overconfident, corrupt and decadent … wealth inequity and social tensions increase; and society enters a secular decline,” Farrell wrote.

He suggests that the gears powering the collapse already are in motion and that by 2012, the nation will see “the Great Depression 2.”

Some Millennials, on the other hand, believe their generation will be capable of handling any problems of that magnitude that do come to pass. Desiree Kane of Charlotte is the creator of Heroes Rising, a blog about Gen Y in the workplace, and a contributing author to CLTblog.com.

“We get a lot of criticism from older generations, but which younger generation hasn’t?” Kane said. “Being strong-willed and hopeful can be misconstrued as entitlement, and a misunderstanding of the world we grew up in could lead others to think we’re narcissistic.”

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