The Booming Gen Y Narcissism Epidemic
Hi All,
When I present my seminars, and conduct media interviews, I always get complaints or questions about the extreme "sense of entitlement" that Millennial (Gen Y) employees possess. It's a very challenging issue for many companies and managers, and something I offer lots of advice on (but not in this blog today).
And to validate this reality, there is a new book out that details this "epidemic", written by Dr. Jean Twenge and Dr. W. Keith Campbell. And it's appropriately named: "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement".
You can visit their website to learn more about this booming issue, but here is some top line info to chew on from their book website's Q & A section:
Q: What is narcissism?
Narcissism means having an inflated or grandiose sense of self. A narcissist thinks she is special, unique, and entitled to better treatment than others. Narcissists aren't particularly interested in warmth and caring in their relationships. They might enjoy being around people -- and certainly can be charming, flattering, exciting and likable -- but they are in relationships for their own narcissistic needs. Narcissists also spend a good deal of their time and energy doing things to make themselves look and feel good and pumping up their egos. A narcissist might brag, turn all conversations back to himself, try to associate only with important people, want to have the best and newest of everything, or steal credit from others. When things don't go his way, the narcissist might get angry or even violent. Narcissists can be fun to be around in the short term, but awful to work for or be in a close relationship with in the long term.
Q: How do we know there is a narcissism epidemic?
The narcissism epidemic involves two related processes. The first is the rise in narcissism among individuals, and the second is the change in the larger culture's values, beliefs, and practices. We address the cultural-level change later on the page.
An epidemic is usually declared when more individuals are affected than would be expected in a population. If we use the recent past to formulate those expectations, there is clearly an epidemic of narcissism.
We know that narcissism has increased over time among individuals based on several datasets. College students now endorse more narcissistic traits than college students did in the 1980s and 1990s; in one large sample the change seemed to be accelerating after 2002. An Internet sample of the general population also showed higher narcissism scores among younger people than older people. Perhaps most disturbing, a 2005 study using a large, randomly selected sample of Americans found that nearly 1 out of 10 people in their twenties had experienced NPD -- the more severe, clinical-level form of the trait. Only 1 out of 30 people over 64 had experienced NPD in their lifetime -- even though they had lived 40 more years than the people in their twenties and thus had that much more time to experience the disorder. This suggests a large increase in NPD over time.
This is a very serious issue that greatly affects all of us: family members, friends, employers...and Gen Y themselves. The backlash for their success could be huge, and the narcissism they possess could be at the root of it.
But, they weren't "born" like this. As I tell audiences of people over 40 years old (typically senior executives and managers), "You created them! They are your kids! But now that they are someone else's kid working for you, it seems different. Chances are YOUR 24 year old is driving their manager crazy, but they seem 'perfect' to you at home."
One of the co-authors, Jean, was on The Today Show this week, and you can click here to see her interview.
Pick up the book...it's fascinating and filled with amazing research that will make you sit back and realize all the positive feedback, that you CONSTANTLY gave your Millennial as a child, could now be a problem for her/him as they reach adulthood...and have to exist in the real world.
And before any of you Millennials think I'm bashing you, I'm not. I'm a major "Millennial advocate" and spend my time educating companies about you, as well as coach/mentor Millennial employees. But there is info in this book that can also help you! It's not a bashing book.
Bye for now!
Article by Lisa Orrell, Millennial & Generation Relations Expert and courtesy of Lisa's Generation Relations Blog
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