How often do you have a box delivered to your home?
In this age of online shopping, I would guess it happens on a regular basis.
Now imagine the labels prevent you from opening the box.
No matter how much you rip, tear or cut at that box, it simply will not open.
Labels bind.
At a minimum, as I wrote in a LinkedIn post, Labels Mask the Possibilities.
Our Love of Labels
I’ve written before about The Lunacy of Labels. They can also be interesting and fun. I shared in both posts that I often label myself.
- Boomer
- Old Lady Walking
- Middle Child of 7
What brought me back to this topic has been the avalanche of articles regarding millennials.
Okay, maybe it’s my own corner of the world that seems obsessed with dissecting how best to work with millennials (also referred to as Generation Y).
Unlike boomers (people born between 1946-1964), the birth dates for millennials is a hot debate.
Pew Research Center defines millennials as those born between 1981 and 1997. Other definitions are broader (between the early 1980s to the early 2000s).
Labels, Labels and More Labels
Regardless of which definition you choose, millennials have been receiving a lot of press because in 2015 they “took over” the top spot from baby boomers.
Millennials are now “the nation’s largest living generation.” Some have characterized millennials as:
- Lazy
- Narcissistic
- The Me-Me-Me Generation
Come on. Don’t you think that’s a tad harsh?
If no two children in a family have exactly the same characteristics, why would we think an entire generation does?
A Tale of Two Millennials
A good example of individual differences was captured in the hoopla over the 25-year-old Yelp employee. She was fired when she complained in an open letter to the CEO about her salary.
The Business Insider shared a 29-year-old millennial’s response to the fired Yelp employee.
- Two individuals
- A mere four years apart in age
- Two different views on work and pay status
We are each unique. Don’t we deserve to be viewed that way?
A Closing Slap
I opened my LinkedIn account this morning to a notification regarding a new post about how the fired Yelp employee is not a millennial. She really should be labeled generation 9/11 (Gen Z, iGen).
*Head hitting keyboard*
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Live…Laugh…Love
Here’s one that works- Millennials are flocking to Bernie Sanders’ political meetings. Yet, they fail to show up to vote….
That’s the one label that works for me. (Yes, I have a son who is a millennial- the others are in Gen X or Gen Y- I stopped paying attention when that label failed to deliver sufficient relevance.
But, you are right most labels fail. After all, one of the most common labels (epithets?) that we hear from politicians is Muslim- as if they are all terrorists.
Ah, so many labels., so little time, eh, Roy? 😉
for boxes… when I”m made queen of the world, one of my first edicts will be those who make packaging have to open it.
Re the now ex yelp employee – management hates it when worker bees talk pay… I’m anti-secrecy and I hope she sues them and wins.
Not sure how to label this old lady 😉
Old lady writing? 😀 And as far as packaging, living with an almost 93-year-old woman you discover how ridiculous packaging really is. Although I am sure no spring chicken, at least I don’t have arthritic hands – yet. 😉
LOL Cathy, my head would have been on the keyboard, too. Semantics and nonsense is what it boils down to!
Millennials — or rather the prolific discussion on how to reach them, sell to them, recruit them — makes the rest of the world look old. Did anyone give two shits about reaching the Gen Xers? The Gen Yers? Not like this.
I don’t like labels, either. Stereotypes in general often cause harm. My kids are both millennials. Neither of them would act like the 25-year-old woman (girl, dare I say?) who bitched about her salary to the CEO. They don’t feel entitled. They know hard work, and they know that even if you work hard, you don’t always get what you want, but you get that much closer to a different goal.
Semantics and nonsense sounds like the perfect description. 🙂 Like I said, all of this can be fascinating to watch. The changing world has definitely made for different experiences but those experiences are still unique. See the individual – not the stereotype.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Lori. 🙂
Labels really do, bind, Cathy…even when they are up for debate.
I am a Gen X-er and have yet to find a definitive start (or end) date for the generation. Some sources say Gen X starts in 1960 and other that says it starts in 1966. NatGeo’s new series, Generation X, uses 1961 as the starting point.
Honestly? It’s probably a state of mind. I know a lot of people born in the early 60s and none have ever felt part of the Baby Boomer generation.
Paula, I’m not really sure why I have embraced the boomer label other than I guess for a sense of community. Even though I hate to be “one of the crowd.” I never said my logic makes sense. 😉