EVENTS War at Work? Generational differences lead to placing workplace blame With four generations working on the plant floor, friction rises at woodworking shops. Thomas Allott offers a strategy to help.

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We then asked them about Millennials. More than 87 percent said Millennials don’t show up on time. 73 percent said they lack respect for authority and 75 percent said they often complain about job difficulty.

• "Cultural unwillingness to take instruction and submit to authority. Too easy to get government benefits."
• "No pride in work."
• "Can't put their phone down for five minutes."
• "Too much pay from our entitlement system for people to not work."
• "Young people not willing to start out and work through the ranks. Government giving programs make people lazy."

Many respondents said schools aren't doing enough to expose students to the trades. Many also said there was pressure for young people to go to college and get urban skills. Others said the image of the woodworking industry ("a dusty old guy in a dark building") isn't helping matters.

We received one very insightful comment that said it isn’t the fault of millennials.

"This industry isn't great at making this field attractive. Programs like the 40 Under 40 awards are excellent and help make this seem relevant. (Stiles University's) Thomas Allott talks about the images that people relate to this industry - a dusty old guy in a dark building. That kind of imagery does nothing but drive intelligent, creative people somewhere else. The old business owners need to learn how to market themselves to a younger crowd and not hold to the iron-fisted management tactics they used 30 years ago. Those just entering the trades are more intelligent than they were, not because they are smarter, but because they have a wealth of resources to educate themselves. The romance of a small, boutique studio producing handcrafted furniture is way more appealing than the vast majority of positions that need to be filled.

Millennials and Gen Z aren't lazy, they need to be challenged. The one common, reoccurring thing that comes up during interviews is that the work is not about the money but being fulfilled in what they do. They are far more driven to start their own company - and fail miserably by the way - than work for someone who barks orders at them. I used to think they were lazy until I started to change my thinking. I have an engineer who is just out of college who can out-edit drawings (correctly) faster than an experienced cabinetmaker who has been using cad for 10 years. I have an entry level cabinetmaker who has a degree from FIT and was successful in the fashion industry but didn't find it creatively fulfilling. He is out there right now putting parts together and thrilled to be learning from the seasoned guys. He works from the moment he comes in until he is told to go home simply because we found someone who would be motivated by that and allowed our senior people to spend the time with him. Saying that Millennials and Gen Z are lazy is lazy thinking."

What do you think? Are Millennials and Gen Z naturally lazier than previous generations? Is it a cultural problem? A parenting problem? Is it the perception of the woodworking and manufacturing industries? Do they just need to be challenged differently? 

How can this be addressed?

Let us know in the comments.