Pressure of the New Generation: The Struggle to make ends meet

Thesis: As the Millennial Generation, also known as Generation Y, begin to move into the work force, there is a rise in the level of dissatisfaction and stress.

Body Paragraph:One struggle that Generation Y must face with on a day-to-day basis are family-work conflicts. Family may be a huge distraction towards young adults and their jobs due to the amount of responsibilities they have within the household. The vice-versa of this is true as well, majority of Generation Y are hard workers so their work responsibilities interfere their family life by making it difficult to find the time that their family needs or wants. Young adults coming home from work are usually exhausted, so they have no energy for family interactions due to having limited control over their work hours and schedule. This brings in an important point, most businesses will set up employees according to their terms. Businesses will try to set up a schedule that will go with the employees’ agenda. However, this is not always the case a business cannot accommodate with every worker’s needs. The odds are workers will be put on a schedule that will not completely flow with their daily duties. By having limited control on their work hours it’s completely up to the worker to decide weather or not they can juggle work into their daily planner. In an article called Social Class and the Experience of Work-family Conflict during the Transition to Adulthood, Ammons and Kelly mention, “Young adults’ exposure to work-family conflicts is affected by the amount of time they are at risk, or engaged in work and family roles, as well as the sources of support available to them in their workplace and families.” With no time on their hands it leads to family conflicts due to the lack of communication between family members. Another predominant cause of family conflict that arises is simply because Generation Y cannot provide the income their family needs. Some members of Generation Y have families at a very young age, with that on their mind; their job comes in between caring for their own children. With young adults having to deal with working at such a young age, there’s a high percentage that they will be working under a low paying job. Low income means less family-support and they begin facing new challenges such as keeping their square meals a day and pursuing their career goals. It is highly unlike for a young adult with children to support their family and aim towards a degree at the same time. Ammons and Kelly also point out, “higher-wage and higher-status jobs tend to have predictable, steady, and secure work hours with more flexibility and greater access to family-supportive policies and benefits, but these jobs often bring intense demands that spillover into family life.” With that being said, having higher-wage does not mean that there will be less conflict and less stress on family life.