Youth fiction
Are millennials as honest as we'd like them to be?Millennials are a dishonest bunch. They’ll lie to get work, they’ll lie at work, and they may even work at lying.
What gives? Have the younger generations at last developed fire-retardant underwear? (The answer is yes) Or are pesky Millennials just unprincipled liars, cheats and thieves?
Well, actually, yeah. They are. Maybe not the thieves bit (or are they?) but the whole lying thing. Millennials have less respect for work, and generally attach less importance to it, according to surveys. This helps them justify taking more spontaneous sick days. One survey showed 69% of them are willing to lie at work to take an impulsive trip, compared to 45% in other age-groups.
With much higher levels of social media use, younger generations are immersed in something rather like a white lie echo chamber. Facebook and Instagram present every night as a fairy tale, rather than the rapid descent into anarchy and regrettable decisions it probably was.
Culturally, it just seems to have become a little more acceptable to primp yourself up a bit. 28% of 18-34 year olds lie about their work, double the level 45-54 year olds. Younger generations are quite happy to show off a ‘MySpace angle” of their entire lives, not just their faces.
80% think it’s acceptable to lie in order to prevent embarrassment, compared to 57% of Baby Boomers. And 46% admit to talking on a phone even when nobody is on the other end of the line.
Actually, we don’t know if this shows them up as lying masterminds, that they should see psychiatrists, or whether other age groups are just lying on surveys on lying.
When the going gets tough
There may be another reason Millennials have been clocking up an increase on the lying front. Times having been tough in recent years, especially for many young people, and competition for jobs has been at an all-time high. It’s easy to see how increased competition and financial difficulties might lead to telling a few white lies along the way.
So maybe those two years you spent helping orphans in Africa was actually looking after your neighbours kids for a week. Or your “Excel expertise” is actually how you once completed a few word searches really fast.
If you’re an inveterate, spineless liar (a sign you’ll be successful in life!) be careful — turns out lying on your CV is fraud, and your prospective employer may even press charges, as several hapless people have found out.
You’re not safe in the office either, as some research suggests Millennials are more than five times as likely to take credit for somebody else’s work as a baby boomer, and far more likely to ditch work friends for a promotion. Cold.
Of course, when it comes to hiring, the interview is the best place to nip the hiring of liars in the bud. “I see that where we asked you to name a challenge you overcame, you’ve listed a time you fought Mike Tyson atop Mount Everest to be the World Heavyweight Champion. Could you tell me more about that?”
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