Millennials are the "I can't be expected" Generation

Millennials are the “I can’t be expected” generation

Millennials are the “I can’t be expected” generation. Most of them have a general sense of entitlement which is frankly quite baffling. They behave as though everything is someone else’s responsibility and they balk at the very notion of having to do things for themselves, clean up after themselves, and take responsibility for their own choices and behavior. I never did like this quality in people in general, and I certainly cannot be expected to like this quality in millennials.

Before you get your crusty panties in a bunch (I know – too late and “no, you”) and start defending yourself because you don’t do this or you’re not a millennial just because you’re young, let me start off by talking about my daughter who also thinks she’s not a millennial and doesn’t do the things they do (except, as it turns out, she does). Pretty much the only quality pertaining to millennials that my daughter does not possess is the tendency toward tardiness and truancy. Parents might be surprised to learn that if they model responsible behavior such as being on time, that their children might also pick up this habit. Additionally, my daughter has experienced first hand my irritation at people who are late and the resulting domino effect of this tardiness. The following paragraph illustrates my point.

A few days ago, my father’s caretaker was 30 minutes late. It was her first day dealing with my father, who, unbeknownst to her, is an asshole. He expects everyone to automatically know what he wants without being told. To make matters worse, he is extremely particular about just about everything under the sun and it would behoove a new caretaker to try and learn about these idiosyncrasies, especially when dealing with the elderly. Had this caretaker been on time, I would have had 10 minutes to warn her about my father and brief her on some of his preferences. However, since she was 30 minutes late, I had to leave as soon as she arrived and let her sink. And she did sink. I subsequently was 17 minutes late to work. So, then her sorry ass excuses of “this was a last-minute assignment” (she knew about this assignment the day before when she agreed to take it) and “child care issues” became my problem and my excuse. Remember the daughter I mentioned in the last paragraph? I am not removed from understanding the responsibility of being a parent, and in fact have been a single parent for the past 6 ½ years, but my problem is not my employer’s problem. Repeat after me millennials: My problem is not my employer’s problem.

My daughter has been bugging me about wanting a cat for as long as I can remember. There were a variety of reasons why I could not get one for her for the longest time, but this past July, we adopted a kitten. If you guessed that I ended up being the one to take care of the kitten, you would be right. She cannot be expected to clean his litterbox it seems, because she never does. The only time the box gets cleaned is every other weekend when she goes to visit her dad and I find the time to clean it myself. The last time I cleaned it, it was absolutely disgusting. She also cannot be expected to get up and feed her cat early in the morning, or to stop playing video games long enough to do so either. About the only thing I can say that she does is spend time with him because she is home all day every day sleeping, eating, and playing video games while I am away at work all day and often gone in the evenings for various reasons including auditions, rehearsals, work-related events and Tuesday night movies.

One of the requirements for getting the cat was to clean up her room, which was not too much different than how it looks now. Her room was a cluttered, messy fire hazard. My kids always blamed each other for the mess and clutter, or they blamed the fact that they had to share a room, but now it is just her and the cat. She had it clean and organized for a little while, but now it’s back to being a cluttered, messy disaster zone that looks like it was in the path of Hurricane Maria. Guess who she blames now. Of course - the cat.

Things are not too much different at work, except for the fact that I like my job, I like my bosses, and I like some of my co-workers. All but one of the co-workers I’m not as fond of are millennials. They seem to think I’m the maid, while the one who is not exactly a millennial, but just as annoying, seems to think the office cleans itself I guess. We do have a cleaning crew, but they only come once a month. If I let the office go until then, the office would be a mess and I would have an unhappy boss.

There are notes all over the place in the office that are based on things these millennials have done. Above the sink in the breakroom is a note that says to not put trash in the trash can if there is no bag, and tells them where the bags are. There is another note on the microwave that says that if your food or drink explodes all over the microwave, to clean it up (I had to clean up exploded oatmeal). There is another note on the bottom of the refrigerator door that says not to put items there because it is not a shelf. There are other such notes in the office. And this past week, a co-worker complained that one of the other female employees had peed on the floor.

I am admittedly a messy eater. I try not to be, but it is just the way I am. I have accepted it and I subsequently take responsibility for it as well and clean up after myself. After cleaning up after these millennials for the past several months, I no longer feel bad about my being messy because I don’t hold a candle to them. From what I hear, they get upset when their parents ask them to do things also. I guess, like my daughter, they can’t be expected to not eat like a pack of ravenous wolves, to not pee on the floor, to clean up after themselves, to pitch in with housework at home or work, or do too much of anything else. Well, don’t expect to make as much money as I do anytime soon ladies.

Personal venting aside, there is additional evidence in the news that millennials are a strange breed of humans. Besides some poor life choices like marrying my ex-husband or racking up student loan debt obtaining a few master’s degrees, some of the dumb things I did as a young person was shaving the hair off of my arms (arms, not arm pits) and flipping an illegal U-turn on a railroad track. Dumb things millennials today do include eating tide pods and driving blindfolded as part of something known as a Bird Box challenge. I guess they can’t be expected to use good judgment either.

I use the phrase “can’t be expected” because this is my daughter’s favorite thing to say whenever I ask her to do something. I can’t be expected to keep my room clean when my brother who no longer lives here and my cat keeps messing it up. I can’t be expected to get a job because I applied at Starbucks a year ago and they didn’t hire me. I can’t be expected to apply other places. I can’t be expected to take the bus. I can’t be expected to turn on the porch light when you’re coming home late. I can’t be expected . . . fill in the blanks. Well, I can’t be expected to like millennials.