The Workforce Generation raised on praise comes to work

Raising kids of the 20-something generation has been all about raising their self-esteem. Parents praised, soccer coaches gave every player a trophy, and instead of naming one valedictorian, high schools named 15 or 20.

Organizations are finding it difficult to praise them enough. One company says its workers receive praise every few minutes says The Wall Street Journal.

Some teachers are taking a different tack. At Kent State University one professor begins the semester by asking, “How many of your parents raised you by saying you can be anything you want to be?” When most students raise their hands, he then asks, “Do you realize that’s a bunch of baloney?” One Iowa teacher tells her class that their entire life, their parents have been saying they are wonderful, the center of the universe. “It’s not true. You are not wonderful. You are one of many.”

In the work world, praise usually follows achievement, a foreign concept to the self-esteem generation that got praise just for existing.