I read a really great article in AdAge yesterday on four stereotypes Millennials may encounter in the job market, and I think Adrienne Waldo hit the nail right on the head. — We DO encounter these stereotypes all the time — both the positive and the negative! [I can't say I really feel the negative ones within my office (we're pretty much all Gen Y-ers at Pyxl), but I hear them constantly all around me, particularly online.]

Entitled. Overconfident. Lazy. Selfish. — all negative Gen Y stereotypes we hear often. The one negative stereotype that truly bothers me the most, however, is that Gen Y is lazy. And the first thought to come to my mind every time is – Lazy?! Are you serious? (Note: I don’t think we’re those other mean words either, but lazy is the one that hurts me the most.)

Adrienne said it really well in the article:

Gen Y — the generation that’s expected to balance full college course loads, part-time jobs, community service and internships, the generation that’s forced to live with their parents so they can pay off their massive student-loan debt, the generation that’s putting off marriage and children to save money — is lazy? Excuse me? I thought about it, and I can see where they get the idea, but it’s on a very superficial level. We want to dress comfortably in the office. We have myriad commitments after work, so we can’t always stay late. We listen to our iPods to drown out the overwhelming noise of working in a cubicle environment. You can see how these things could be misconstrued — sloppy, lazy, unfocused.

I honestly just don’t think we’re lazy…but simply misunderstood.

Aside from the superficial reasons Adrienne discussed in her article, I don’t think you can call us lazy because we have an unwillingness to settle or maybe because we don’t always have the same life goals as older generations. For instance, I know a lot of Millennials who are unemployed right now. It’s not because they’re lazy. It’s because they refuse to settle for a job they hate. And why should they?

And so maybe our life goal isn’t to get rich — but rather to have an enjoyable life. Are you really going to fault us for that? Yeah, we want to work…but we also don’t want work to be our lives. Life is short and you can’t take your money with you when you go!

I’ve also seen things we do get mistaken for lazy when in reality, we’re being efficient! If we can find a faster, better way to do something, should we be faulted? If we get our work done in less time (and still with good quality), why should we be looked down on for not staying late at work?

Overall, the lazy stereotype really bothers me and I don’t think anyone can talk me into believing it’s true. Sure there are a few slackers, but that’s true of any generation! Slackers are NOT the majority of Gen Y and it’s unfair to label us as such!

As a part of this generation, I know of quite a few people who have accomplished a lot in their short lives: started businesses, written award-winning blogs, been promoted to president of a company, etc, etc, etc!

I personally (in the year since my December 2008 college graduation) have started my career in PR, co-founded Social Media Club Knoxville, purchased a home, lead the organization of Knoxville Twestival, started a blog, been quoted on the local news and in the newspaper, spoke at a UT PRSSA meeting, rescued a second dog, walked for Diabetes and helped feed the homeless — not bad for a lazy Millennial, right? (…And yes I wear jeans to work, have five tattoos and listen to music at my desk.)

What do you think about the Gen Y stereotype? I’d love other opinions — from all generations!

And if you’re a Gen Y success story…share with us below! I’d love to have more proof that we’re not a generation of slackers!