
Underpaid And Unappreciated: Why More Millennials Have Less Loyalty To Their Employers

“I'm too fly for this s**t," a voice declared in the back of my head about two years ago as I sat across from a team of middle-aged managers who were debating about a tea party invitation I created. “I just feel like 'Keep Calm and Tea Party On' might be a trigger for these women in recovery. Why don't we just call it a 'Mother's Day Tea'?" one manager suggested as I felt the creativity being sucked from me one dry suggestion at a time.
The non-profit I worked for was hosting a tea party for the women in drug and alcohol recovery we served, and while management debated over Times New Roman font and the temptation of too good of a time (You didn't know? Tea parties do one thing: Pop…like Chris Brown's pelvis during a Michael Jackson tribute), other staff who worked directly with these women on a daily basis made failed attempts to remind everyone that we should focus on ways to highlight the progress these women had made rather than argue over whether a party invitation would send someone nosediving into a coke binge.
Seriously, the way these women were debating the invitation, you would've thought a million-dollar deal with Lipton was on the table, not a simple celebration honoring local women who were making steps to be better mothers.
For the next two years, I was employed as a Communications and Outreach Coordinator at a small parenting non-profit that consisted of more of the same. I spent my days defending any creative idea I dared to present and was always told that my ideas were “too edgy". Infographic? Too modern, let's stick with that pie chart from Microsoft Word 2003. A funny parenting meme on to lighten the mood every Friday on social media? Nope, parents don't need to laugh. Let's talk about the suicide epidemic instead. When crippling budget cuts hit this past year, staff went into a spiral of panic and management checked out of boosting morale and actually managing the organization because they were too busy battling anxiety about their own job security. Before long, it was common knowledge that management would die in their offices clinging to their Times New Roman while any remaining staff would be lucky to be employed there for longer than three years.
I never planned to stay at the organization for the rest of my career when I initially applied, but for the first few years there were opportunities to grow and I felt like I was in a position to be mentored by my superiors. But sometime before my last year I “peaked" and it seemed that although management wasn't receptive to change, they also didn't have fresh ideas of their own to offer. Once I learned that not only was I not growing, but that the organization as a whole was stagnant, what was once a three-year plan turned into a three-month plan. A recent study revealed that I am not alone in my lack of loyalty. In their fifth annual global millennial survey, Deloitte, a multi-national professional services firm found that two in three young professionals expect to quit their current jobs by 2020. The survey also found that women were slightly more likely than men to leave their job in the next five years.
When it comes to the millennial workforce, these pros ain't loyal (See what I did there?) but why exactly are they so quick to leave their entry-level opportunities behind? Turns out, many of them were once optimistic grads like me hoping that their education and passion would land them in a position to make a difference in the world. Unfortunately what many of us are learning is the cold, hard truth of the corporate ladder: As much as we want to make a difference, most people still just want to make money.
“This year's survey results also show Millennials are steered by strong values at all stages of their careers; it's apparent in the employers they choose, the assignments they're willing to accept, and the decisions they make as they take on more senior-level roles," writes David Croickshank, Deloitte Golbal Chairman, “They want to work for organizations that have a purpose beyond profit, and they want those organizations to provide opportunities to develop leadership skills."
When I realized that my organization had reached a level of complacency where creating new leaders wasn't as much of a priority as cutting management a paycheck, I knew it was time to make my exit. It was a sobering thought as I watched my mother retire after 30+ years working for the same company she had been at since I was born. As she picked out a 32" TV as a parting gift for her years of service, I thought about how my professional career would more than likely be littered with decades spent in different positions at different companies. And as terrifying as the lack of job stability can sometimes be, I must admit it's a bit liberating to feel like if you hate your job you can leave it and not necessarily end up begging for change on the train. Admittedly after repeatedly being shut down by management and figuratively “sent into a corner" to keep busy and not be threatening, I checked out and started looking for other opportunities.
At happy hour, there was always a common theme among friends and colleagues of the same age: We all were working more than one job at a time and no one had stayed at one job longer than five years. Many might say millennials are flighty or entitled and disregard “paying our dues" before landing our dream jobs, but I would argue that many of us are just frustrated from trying to bring new ideas to organizations and individuals who fear change. We all won't be Mark Zuckerberg, but you can't discount all of the thirty-somethings who are building blogs, designing apps and using their imagination to challenge tradition and find new ways of doing things that make the world better one “edgy" idea at a time. And the one thing I love about being a millennial is the mindset that you don't have to choose between being employed and happy.
[easy-tweet tweet="You don't have to choose between being employed and being happy." via="no" usehashtags="no"]
The survey also revealed key differences between men and women when it comes to job satisfaction. 48% of the women surveyed said they felt overlooked for potential leadership positions contributing to the idea that gender bias in the workplace is still a very real thing, even if it's only perceived. Women also were more likely to consider work/life balance and having a sense of meaning in their work while men solely focused on product and performance. While some might say women should get up out their feelings and focus on the work, I think there's something to be said about wanting what you do to make a difference in some way.
I wasn't the type of employee to stop being a team player every time management didn't give me the green light on an idea I thought was great. I felt that I had played my part in the first few years grabbing coffee, working after hours (sometimes for free), and being accessible at any time via cell phone. I took it all as the grunt labor that comes with an entry-level position. Despite budget cuts that created what was often a very bitter working environment, I tried to find fulfillment in the parts of my job I still could and go above and beyond to make sure I was doing my part.
Nonetheless, I saw my layoff coming a week before it happened. I had packed up my desk secretly days before and made my peace with the whole idea of being unemployed before approaching my boss with a talk she was hesitating to have, “I can't log into the company accounts, so is there something you want to discuss with me?" I asked, refusing to have my time wasted as she attempted to wait until the end of the work day to give me the news. Immediately she grabbed for tissues before grabbing my release papers before she uttered, “It's just this money situation."
There's no love lost and I refused to take the layoff personally, but one crucial lesson I learned about job loyalty is that it's not worth your time to invest in any company that isn't investing in you.
[easy-tweet tweet="It's not worth your time to invest into any company that isn't investing in you"]
True leaders don't shut down or dismiss ideas, but find ways to make them better. And most importantly, the best leaders put the value and morale of their team before their own fragile egos. Maybe I do sound like an entitled millennial, but one thing I remain confident in is that no one should have to spend eight hours of their day somewhere they hate for the rest of their life. Building a stable career is as much about how a company can benefit you as much as it about what you bring to the table, and sometimes a paycheck isn't always enough.
Writer, sexual health superhero, and #BlackGirlMagic and #BlackBoy curator regularly featured on @Madamenoire. Toya can usually be found in between her earbuds, listening to trap music and refreshing her browser for concert tickets. Tweet her @thetruetsharee.
Devale Ellis On Being A Provider, Marriage Growth & Redefining Fatherhood
In this candid episode of the xoMAN podcast, host Kiara Walker talked with Devale Ellis, actor, social media personality, and star of Zatima, about modern masculinity, learning to be a better husband, emotional presence in marriage, fatherhood for Black men, and leading by example.
“I Wasn’t Present Emotionally”: Devale Ellis on Marriage Growth
Devale Ellis On Learning He Was a ‘Bad Husband’
Ellis grew up believing that a man should prioritize providing for his family. “I know this may come off as misogynistic, but I feel like it’s my responsibility as a man to pay for everything,” he said, emphasizing the wise guidance passed down by his father. However, five years into his marriage to long-time partner Khadeen Ellis, he realized provision wasn’t just financial.
“I was a bad husband because I wasn’t present emotionally… I wasn’t concerned about what she needed outside of the resources.”
Once he shifted his mindset, his marriage improved. “In me trying to be of service to her, I learned that me being of service created a woman who is now willing to be of service to me.”
On Redefining Masculinity and Fatherhood
For Ellis, “being a man is about being consistent.” As a father of four, he sees parenthood as a chance to reshape the future.
“Children give you another chance at life. I have four different opportunities right now to do my life all over again.”
He also works to uplift young Black men, reinforcing their worth in a world that often undermines them. His values extend to his career—Ellis refuses to play roles that involve domestic violence or sexual assault.
On Marriage, Family Planning, and Writing His Story
After his wife’s postpartum preeclampsia, Ellis chose a vasectomy over her taking hormonal birth control, further proving his commitment to their partnership. He and Khadeen share their journey in We Over Me, and his next book, Raising Kings: How Fatherhood Saved Me From Myself, is on the way.
Through honesty and growth, Devale Ellis challenges traditional ideas of masculinity, making his story one that resonates deeply with millennial women.
For the xoMAN podcast, host Kiara Walker peels back the layers of masculinity with candid conversations that challenge stereotypes and celebrate vulnerability. Real men. Real stories. Real talk.
Want more real talk from xoMAN? Catch the full audio episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don’t miss the full video drops every Wednesday on YouTube. Hit follow, subscribe, and stay tapped in.
Featured image by YouTube/xoNecole
My personal relationship with birth control pills is a bit of an odd one. Back when I first became sexually active (I started having sex with my first boyfriend a couple of months shy of 19), I took them for a couple of months, didn’t like how they made me feel, and so I quit using them altogether (and got pregnant almost immediately after). The rest of my adult life, I stayed off of the pill and pretty much only used condoms (and even then, not consistently — SMDH).
And yet here I am, now, all these years later, back on them again: surprise, surprise.
These days, it's for a completely different purpose, though. Now that I am in the hopefully latter stages of perimenopause (I’m not sure because my mother had a full hysterectomy at 29, her mother died at 53 and I don’t deal with my paternal grandmother because…chile… ) — although I have always had relatively easy cycles and I could definitely set my watch to them, about two years ago, my periods started to show up whenever they felt like it and it was damn near a crime scene once they did.
It was driving me crazy, and so, my nurse practitioner recommended that I take progestin-only pills to shorten, if not completely stop, my cycle: “After a year or so, we can wean off and see if you are entering into menopause on your own.” (Whew, perimenopause, chile.)
Although the first five months of being on this particular pill made me wonder if it was worth it to take this approach, I actually re-upped for another 12-month cycle because the extra progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone) has benefitted me in other areas as well because I am sleeping more soundly and my weight is more stabilized (by the way, when these things are “off,” they are signs of low progesterone levels). However, I did ask my nurse practitioner if, once I do decide to wean off of the pill, would there be any issues.
Her response is what inspired me to write this article because, until she said “post-birth control syndrome” to me, I had no idea there was such a thing. Anyway, if you give me a sec, I’ll explain to you what it is and why you should care if hormone-related birth control is currently a part of your life.
Yes, Post-Birth Control Syndrome Is a Very Real Thing
Okay, so it’s important to always remember that the way that birth control works is it “manipulates” your hormones so that you can significantly reduce your chances of conceiving. This means that taking them could result in some side effects including nausea; weight gain; headaches; irregular periods and/or spotting; increased stress; depression; blurry vision; breast tenderness, and/or a lowered libido.
That said, even though birth control pills are basically 99 percent effective (when taken correctly and consistently), if the side effects that you are experiencing are making you close to miserable, you should absolutely share that with your healthcare provider because…what’s the sense in preventing pregnancy when you don’t even feel up to having sex because you don’t feel good or your sex drive is shot? More times than not, your provider can find you another pill brand or option that will help you to feel more like yourself.
With that out of the way, think about it — if going on the pill can produce side effects, why would going off of it…not? And this is where post-birth control syndrome comes in.
For the most part, it’s what can happen to your body once you decide to come off of birth control. Typically, the symptoms will last anywhere between 4-6 months and, although the symptoms seem to present themselves most intensely as it relates to going off of the pill, any hormone-related birth control (like IUDs, injections, patches, the ring or implants) could produce similar outcomes.
Outcomes like what?
- Irregular cycles
- Breakouts
- Excessive gas and/or bloating
- Weight gain
- Anxiety and/or depression
- Fertility issues
- Migraines and/or headaches
- Shifts in your libido
- Sleeplessness/restlessness
- Hair loss
Whoa, right? And if a part of you is wondering, “Okay, if this is indeed the case, why have I not heard of this syndrome before?” It’s because it’s not a term that conventional method uses nearly as much as alternative medicine does. Still, it makes all of the sense in the world that if your body has to adjust to an uptick in hormonal intake, it would also need to adjust to removing those extra doses of hormones from your system as well. COMMON. DAMN. SENSE.
Anyway, if you were thinking about taking a break from birth control and taking all of this in has you feeling a bit…let’s go with the word “trepidatious” about doing so, I totally get it. There are some things that you can do to make experiencing post-birth control syndrome either a non-issue or a far more bearable one, though.
7 Home Remedies That Can Make Coping with Post-Birth Control Syndrome Easier
1. Take a multivitamin.Something that’s fascinating about what going off of birth control can do is it sometimes has the ability to lower your nutrition levels as it relates to certain vitamins and minerals; this is especially the case when it comes to vitamins B, C, E and minerals like magnesium, selenium and zinc. So, if you don’t currently take a multivitamin, now would be the time to start (along with consuming foods that are particularly high in those nutrients as well).
2. Up your vitamin D intake. Speaking of nutrient levels, a vitamin level that commonly drops after going off of birth control isvitamin D. This is hella critical to keep in mind as a Black woman since many of us tend to be naturally deficient in the vitamin as-is and vitamin D is important when it comes to fighting off diseases, regulating weight and keeping your moods stabilized (for starters). So, make sure that your multivitamin has vitamin D in it. Also make sure to consume vitamin D-enriched foods like fatty fish, eggs, mushrooms, yogurt and fortified orange juice.
3. Drink herbal teas. Since going off of birth control will cause your hormones to be all over the place for a season, consider drinking some herbal teas that will help to stabilize them. Black cohosh contains phytoestrogen properties, Chasteberry can help to level out your prolactin levels and green tea can help your hormones out by helping to balance out your insulin (which can sometimes directly affect them).
4. Keep some ibuprofen nearby. The headaches and migraines? Until those subside, you and ibuprofen are probably going to become really good friends; although I will add that ginger tea and inhaling essential oils like chamomile and lavender can help to ease migraine-related symptoms too.
5. Do some meditating. Waiting for your hormones to get back on track can be stressful as all get out. That said, something that can get your cortisol (stress hormone) levels to chill out is to meditate. If meditation is new for you, check out “7 Meditation Hacks (For People Who Can't Seem To Do It).”
6. Get massages. As if you needed an excuse to get a massage, right (check out “12 Different Massage Types. How To Know Which Is Right For You.”)? However, there is some evidence to back the fact that regular massages (somewhere around once a month) can help to lower your stress, boost your dopamine, increase blood flow and drain your lymphatic system so that you will have more energy.
7. Sleep/rest more. There is plenty of scientific research out here which says that sleep deprivation can throw your hormones out of whack — and since your hormones are already trying to stabilize themselves, you definitely need to get 6-8 hours of sleep and not feel the least bit guilty about taking naps sometimes too.
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Post-birth control syndrome may not be the most pleasant thing about getting off of birth control yet it is manageable. So, now that you know all about it, you can feel more confident about taking a birth control break (or getting off altogether) — without the surprises that can come with doing it. Give thanks.
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