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According to the original letter, the writer and other interns did ask their individual managers, and were told no, without repercussion. Their response was to
by sago 10y ago
According to the original letter, the writer and other interns did ask their individual managers, and were told no, without repercussion. Their response was to band together and create a petition to 'argue' their point. The petition, not their discussions with the manager, got them fired.
Taking collective action to try and overturn your manager's decision to enforce pre-existing and clear company rules, is pretty entitled. To do that when you're an unpaid intern, suggests a high degree of entitlement to me.
Whether that justifies millennial bashing, or whether all generations are like that at 18, is another matter.
- foota 10y agoWhy does the fact that they're unpaid interns matter?
- sago 10y agoBecause they do not provide significant value to the company that isn't fungible. They learned how valuable they were to the company: less value than the hassle of dealing with their petition. They dramatically overrated their value, what the company thought it was already giving them, and what they deserved as a result. Entitlement can mean various things, but in terms of acting entitled in the workplace, it's a pretty good example.
- smsm42 10y agoUnpaid internship usually means they need the job more than the job needs them. This is not the best situation to be in, for sure, but that's the power dynamics usually.
- foota 10y agoWhile it's true that in the short term the position benefits the intern more, I think that internships can be a significant part of an effective college grad recruiting program. Not just directly, but from mindshare and word of mouth.
- smsm42 10y agoThis is true, and I've worked in a company that had a very successful internship program and hired very good people as a result of it. However, when people start with pressuring you on dress code being interns, you can't help but wonder how the matters would be developing further... And then you ask - are they really that good that I should take a risk, or it's easier to me to just pass on them? Looks like in this case the decision was "pass".