Millennials are often labeled as being entitled, and while I don't support this stereotype, this story made me think otherwise:
It all started with this summer intern (let's call him Mike) who felt like the dress code was too strict.
"I felt the dress code was overly strict but I wasn't going to say anything, until I noticed one of the workers always wore flat shoes that were made from a fabric other than leather, or running shoes, even though both of these things were contrary to the dress code."
Jealous of this worker, Mike spoke to his manager, who confirmed that there was no leeway allowed under the dress code.
And that's where it all goes downhill.
Mike felt angry by the "hypocrisy" of his manager, and after finding out that other interns felt the same way, they grouped up to write a proposal.
The proposal was accompanied by a petition signed by every intern (minus one who refused to sign), and given to the managers. The interns asked for "a more business casual dress code," outlining the types of footwear they felt were more appropriate, along with a request that the group "not have to wear suits and/or blazers in favor of a more casual, but still professional, dress code."
The next day, these interns were called into a meeting and informed that they were being fired. (No surprise!)
It gets better.
The manager concluded the meeting by telling them that the worker who was allowed to disobey the dress code was actually a former soldier who lost her leg.
What made me scratch my head was Mike's reaction to this news:
"You can't even tell, and if we had known about this we would have factored it into our argument."
Seriously, what were they thinking?? What is your thought about millennials? Do you agree with the stereotype?
Complaining about the dress code isn't a classy move, but firing the entire intern group is a ridiculous overreaction to the issue. The best way to address this issue is to call the interns into the office, tell them why a dress code exists and why it's implemented, and then to send them back to work.
Managers often react this way to junior employees raising complaints, especially from the intern level. They think that junior guys have no right to raise issues, essentially because they're not important and they don't know any better. This happens a bit less in banking (at least in the places I've worked) because of smaller project teams, but many employees take pride in taking advantage of interns' lack of power (e.g. get me a cup of coffee, go buy my lunch, do pushups on the floor until you puke, etc.)
Honestly, that just reeks of insecurity. What's the merit of "showing interns their place"? Being rude is one thing, but going through the effort of putting together a petition and hoping to discuss with the management team means that they respect their superiors and are willing to work something out. It does not mean that they believe they are entitled. If they felt entitled, they would just walk in the next day in casual clothes and not have bothered with the petition process at all.
If your interns are openly hostile, rude or uncommitted to the learning process, they should be let go at the end of the program. If they are polite, respectful, and have demonstrated interest in learning the business, they should be given a return offer. Firing interns should result only from abuse of privileges or illegal activity.
I would never work in a place that fired interns because of a petition circulated about dress code.
every time I see your profile pic I want to punch it in the face.
Says the Gorilla with Taylor Swift as a profile picture.
Reads too much like an urban myth invented by someone trying to make a point without supporting evidence.
Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and believe the conclusion that millenials are super-entitled anyway. Kids these days!
What does the story have to do with millennials? If it's even true, it sounds far more like something that could happen with any group of entitled young adults without the life experience to know better. It could have happened in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, etc.
Also, I agree that it's an absurdly stupid reaction to the situation. As 7xEBITDA said, it's a perfect learning opportunity about both the dress code and, more importantly, how to property address complaints at work. Learning how to be a professional is literally the point of an internship. They're not going to contribute any value in 3 months - they're to be groomed.
Clearly someone who is writing up a petition to change a dress code is wasting a ton of their time and could spend it on learning and oh working too. I personally don't mind the conservative dress code rules probably because I'm used to it. Most places don't require you to wear a tie so what's the big deal with wearing a shirt and pants and shoes that are "uncomfortable".
seriously, the conservative dress codes are horse shit tho. Look at all of the top performing hedge funds - do those guys wear suits (or even biz casual) every day? F*ck no. Most of the hedgies I see on trips wear hoodies and boat shoes to their meetings. These stodgy dress codes are total anachronism and I suspect they will rapidly liberalize at the major firms over the next 5 yrs.
Be honest - you're just talking about Bobby Axelrod in Billions
They get to wear boat shoes because they're not in the business of looking good. Their job is to generate returns...they're not representing a company, impressing clients, etc.
x
Yeah I mean i get that you need to dress up if you meet clients. I'm at a giant long-only manager on the equity research side and we literally never meet clients. I'll suit up if I have a management team coming through, although I rarely wear a tie for these mtgs anymore. But it's the silly dress code on days where you don't have any meetings that really tilts me. Some days I know i'm going to be grinding excel or listening to earnings calls all day and there's literally no point in looking presentable. I mean would it kill them to allow blue jeans on fridays?! It's funny because when I was in the consulting world before b-school we were pretty damn casual AND we would meet clients all the time. Nice jeans and a polo shirt were the norm. Some days senior guys would wear shorts and sandals before heading to the golf course. Once I switched over to the investment mgmt world everyone is so high on themselves that it's all about the Ferragamo shoes and Hermes ties. It's so fcking stupid. I guess most of these ppl came up through the banking / PE ranks so it's somewhat ingrained on them... but this is Silicon Valley for f*cks sake! And the 21st century!!
I definitely view conservative dress codes as a source of sustainable competitive DISadvantage for the companies that have them. If they want to do that, fine, but don't be surprise when ppl jump ship left and right for 5% more $$ and a better culture.
So, what's the reasoning behind firing the interns? Did managers simply lack creativity in an appropriate, life-teaching form of punishment? Personally, I am young and went to a non-target and am from a middle class American background, so I don't have any guidance on what managers are thinking half the time. They're just in their little worlds walking around with their implied and explicit authority to fire your ass. Never really do get it
This has to be a joke.
It really makes you think about interview processes. How the fuck did immature kids with critical thinking and judgement this bad get an offer in the first place?
That's a really good question.
I can somewhat corroborate the story, read it around three few weeks ago. The story originated from some a blog post detailing a reader's "horrific" intern story. To paraphrase the opinion of the author of said post, interns are like guests and therefore need to abide by the rules and dress professionally. That they're in audition mode and should be mindful of it.
Now I personally don't like dress codes either, the firing of all the interns was uncalled for. The response to the interns' petition by the managers was woefully ill-conceived. Immaturity from both sides, really -- on the side of the intern class for being entitled, and on the side of the managers for being short-sighted, reactionary twits.
Wait.... you are corroborating the story based on a post you read on an internet blog? Does that mean you're also in a position to corroborate the 9/11 conspiracy?
Maybe he's got the missing tapes to Watergate, as well.
sorry, it sounds like losers who got the roles because of networking, not a generalization of millennials. it's one of those things in which performance attributes don't win as much as networking...
petitions are immature.
I'm chilling at the office on this beautiful Friday wearing an un-tucked short-sleeve Hawaiian shirt with baby blue chinos and brown loafers. Business professional can suck it.
A petition? This is hilarious if true. Must have been so much fun to fire these whiny little sh1ts.
The one intern who refused to sign must be feeling really lucky, but also sad because now he's going to have to do a lot of the work of the other interns.
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