The most rebellious generation in US history was the
Founding Fathers. By declaring independence, they revolted against British
rule. The second most rebellious generation would be baby boomers. They protested
the system and Vietnam War. The next generation to rebel may have a greater
social impact than the Founding Fathers or baby boomers. That generation would
be
the Millennials.
While our Founding Fathers reaped the benefits of their
rebellion, free love, narcotics and alcohol derailed the baby boomers’
movement. In fact, baby boomers
eventually assimilated into the system they were against. They now lead
government and some of the largest corporations in the world. However, under
their leadership, the divorce rate is at an all time high. Along with the
increased divorce rate, they have laid off record numbers of employees from
corporate America. Furthermore, they are the most disengaged in today’s
workforce.
Between divorce and layoffs, society appears to be
experiencing dysfunction at many levels. Many who find it difficult to survive
in today’s environment are incarcerated in the profitable prison system. At the
same time, many of those who avoid prison find themselves dependent on
psychiatric drugs to cope.
The Millennials, also known as echo boomers, will inherit
the current conditions. While echo boomers are at the stage in life where they
figure out who they are and what they want to accomplish personally and
professionally, they have an opportunity to create a much different fate than
their predecessors.
As it stands, because most marriages end in divorce,
Millennials have witnessed the rise of the single parent household. One side
effect of the broken family is the proliferation of gangs. The gang has become
a substitute family, which in turn, increases violence and trafficking. The
other crisis to which echo boomers have been exposed is the hard work, loyalty
and dedication their parent(s) has demonstrated on their job. Yet, when the economy
weakens, they have seen the corporation offered no loyalty in return. Their parent(s) was laid off to protect and increase profits.
When you examine these phenomena, it may explain why
Millennials are being characterized as narcissistic job hoppers. They have not
seen the benefits of marriage or job loyalty.
With all that said, there is no reason echo boomers will be
different than baby boomers. Eventually, they will have families and be forced
to assimilate. Furthermore, most people repeat their childhood. Your ability to
cope with life is a reflection of the family/environment you were raised in.
This could spell a higher divorce rate and further lay offs. On the other hand,
instead of continuing this cycle, they could rebel, disrupt the pattern, create
great marriages and place higher value on employees in an organization.
While it will require a new outlook on life, Millennials
have the possibility to disrupt the existing pattern. If the echo boomers
wanted to stage the greatest rebellion, they would develop the most essential
skills to make marriage work. With that said, in one or two generations,
divorce could be eliminated from our social structure. Without divorce,
children would be raised in stable households. That alone would result in less
stress, a peaceful society and a more productive workforce.
In addition, if echo boomers structured organizations to withstand economic cycles, they would not have to repeat layoffs. As we have
seen, layoffs only exacerbate economic downturns and increase the need for more
layoffs which puts more stress on married couples. Because we have not
discovered a more efficient way to run businesses, does not mean it is not
possible. A more effective corporate structure would be analogous to the Wright
Brothers. Before they built a machine that could leverage the laws of
aerodynamics, flying was impossible. They had to build a structure called an
airplane that was able to take advantage of the laws of aerodynamics. The same
holds true for the corporation. We will have to discover new organizational
structures that make it more expensive to layoff employees than it is to keep
them.
If Millennials were to take a stand for having great,
workable marriages and building companies that are capable of averting recessions,
they would have orchestrated the greatest and quietest rebellion in world
history, without ever protesting, fighting or burning cities. If they are able
to make it happen, no one would have ever seen it. It would have happened in
the comfort of their homes and the efficiency of their offices.
What do you think the first steps should be to make this a
reality?
What do you think? I’m open to ideas. Or if you want to
write me about a specific topic, let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment