The Most-Praised Generation Goes to Work

From a rather telling article in the April 20th edition of the Wall Street Journal, Jeffrey Zaslow makes tangible a reality that's now being felt in workplaces all over the country. He states that childhood in recent decades has been defined by parents who see their job as building self-esteem, by soccer coaches who give every player a trophy, and by schools that promote “student of the month” rather liberally. With a wife as a K12 teacher, I hear this over and over how student's are never wrong, and so the teacher must be at fault. In the workplace, a boss must be unreasonable to ask someone to show up to work on time, or to stay an occasional late night.

Zaslow states “Now, as this greatest generation grows up, the culture of praise is reaching deeply into the adult world. Bosses, professors and mates are feeling the need to lavish praise on young adults, particularly twenty-somethings, or else see them wither under an unfamiliar compliment deficit.”

This is an interesting article for those over twenty-somethings and twenty-somethings alike, as it just might provide perspective regarding differences colleagues have at times. Especially if the two parties really consider what not growing up as they did might really look like. Suffice it to say if I didn’t believe in myself growing up, nobody would. A bit of a twist on today.

Read the whole story here.