Bosses Are Firing Millennials Left and Right (And Honestly, We See Why)

The job market is rapidly changing, and millennials are facing the brunt of this, wondering if they will ever be able to move beyond living paycheck to paycheck and find job stability.

As an entitled generation that has also had to weather some significant upheavals at work, millennials are getting fired in droves. With a focus on building wealth over building a career, those born between 1981 and 1996 are finding they're not as secure as they once thought.

Moreover, their approach to work leaves much to be desired and is a big reason why the generation is getting laid off in droves.

Here are 11 reasons why millennials are getting fired.

Coming of age during the great 2008 Financial Crisis and weathering the COVID-19 storm, millennials are stressed and burned out from work.

This constant pressure has caused some ill effects, namely a lack of drive and ambition to work hard. So, many workers in this age cohort are just skating by in a constant state of stress, not ideal for producing good work.

Millennials struggle with crucial soft skills, especially coming out of the work-from-home lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many companies have return-to-office mandates. A lack of problem-solving, clear communication, and teamwork skills is driving upper management to look elsewhere.

Given the rash of layoffs this year, many millennials fear getting let go due to a number of socioeconomic factors. Since they're generally lacking skills seen in previous generations and struggling with burnout, their anxiety levels seep into everything they do. That is not a great environment for productive work.

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Many companies are eliminating traditional management structures and reducing the number of middle managers. That leaves out a lot of potential job opportunities and room for advancement. The reduction in jobs is pretty significant, with layoffs for millennial managers rising over 400% from early 2022 to late 2024.

The massive adoption of artificial intelligence has caused many companies to cut staff, leading to tens of thousands of lost jobs.

With AI now booming across the nation, even more companies will likely downsize. While many millennials are well-versed in AI tooling, many companies are trying to improve efficiency by reducing headcount, leaving employees in the lurch.

Industries like manufacturing, retail, and construction, which are often entry points for early-career professionals, are shedding jobs amid recession fears.

Given the shaky nature of the economy, many early-career workers are often the first to go. This means that many millennials across many different industries are getting let go.

Many millennials expect instant gratification and a quick move up the ladder at their companies, something that does not resonate with older leadership. Many older workers refer to this as "Trophy Kid Syndrome" since millennials were likely to receive participation trophies and rewards for just showing up, rather than for quality work.

Millennials tend to live in the moment and not plan for the future, which can impact potential longevity at a company. Having the ability to think like your boss is critical to making an impact at work, and it's something the millennial generation is lacking.

Since they're disengaged from making a long-term difference in their work, they struggle to see how their day-to-day activities make an impact, leading to stagnation.

Millennials grew up always getting their way and trying to reshape work culture to become more flexible and autonomous. Well, corporate culture is fighting back, and there are expectations for (at least) a basic hierarchy in terms of management and organization. This causes friction between workers and upper management.

Many US companies have offshored large numbers of employees over the past 15 years as the rest of the world has become more digitally connected. Since many white-collar jobs can now be done remotely, companies can look for talent all over the world, lessening opportunities for millennials.

Since millennials move around jobs so frequently and have little connection to their place of work, they aren't as focused on doing good work over a long timeframe.

This means they've been more focused on their career advancement in changing companies every few years and moving up the corporate ladder, so they're less inclined to be agreeable with their current manager.

The millennial generation has struggled to adapt to the changing socioeconomic conditions of the modern job market. With a focus on self-improvement and building wealth through side hustles, millennials have eschewed the normal career arch of previous generations.

Still, they make up a massive portion of the current workforce in the United States at 35%, yet struggle to stay engaged at work, with only 29% of the cohort reporting total engagement.

That points to a big mismatch in purpose, values, and workplace culture, which is a big contributing factor as to why millennials are getting laid off at such high rates.