Shannon Benson
Born: 1986
Nationality: Canadian, teacher
Abu Dhabi resident
Shannon knows she is a millennial. Her understanding of her generation is that it is technology savvy.
What drives her is knowing that she has done the best she can at the end of each day. “Having a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day — that’s what keeps me going,” she said.
The Abu Dhabi-based teacher is happy with her life and looks forward to each day. “I am very happy [in the UAE]. I don’t feel like looking for an alternative, which was what I used to do in Canada.”
The 29-year old believes she possesses most of the characteristics identified with her generation.
She values individualism in a workplace and believes she is enjoying that advantage in her job. “I wouldn’t expect them [employers] to bend over backwards for me but I think it’s important to take the time to know individual employees. It shows you are not just a number in an organisation.”
Money, however, is not a number one driver for Shannon. “I could work somewhere else that pays more but I love where I work. Workplace environment is important to me, more important than money. I would rather be happy each day than miserable 75 per cent of the time.” She left her previous life and employment in Canada because of the lack of work-life balance.
She endorses the importance of specialisation. “A specialist can add more value to an organisation,” she said.
Hayder Al Taee
Born: 1982
Nationality: Iraqi, electrical engineer
Dubai resident
Hayder is not aware that he is referred to as a millennial or Generation Y.
What drives him daily, however, is the desire to learn new things. “if I wasn’t learning something new in my work, I would be bored. I would not be able to cope,” he says.
The 33-year-old is not entirely happy with where he is right now, “I would like to have better opportunities in life and career.”
He may not be aware that he is a millennial but he matches every general characteristic associated with them.
He definitely wants to be treated as an individual in a workplace. “I am different from others, so I feel that’s what I deserve.”
He does not fight shy of being in a leadership position as he believes he has many ideas to better his organisation’s profle.
Whilst he believes in hard work, he needs to have a work-life balance that will enhance his work capability, he said.
Finally, this millennial votes for specialist capabilities. “Being a specialist is more difficult, anyone can be a generalist,” he said.
Paul Szczesiak
Born: 1985
Nationality: British, structural engineer
Abu Dhabi resident
He is aware that he is referred to as a millennial but admitted not knowing what that really means.
He is driven by the idea of “building for the future, making the most of what I have and making a difference, making a mark. I have a lot of opportunity and I have the ability to make a change, to contribute to society”.
He is happy that his employer treats him as an individual and not just a number, and his idea of reaching full potential is to move towards a leadership role. And leadership, he believes, asks of an individual to be a specialist and not a generalist.
He is not overly concerned about high earnings at this point in time. “If my earnings didn’t match my growth in my career, then I would be concerned,” he said. And on the issue of money, “some things are more important than money and titles. Money is a tool, not a goal”, he said, and that fits in well with his ability to create a work-life balance for himself.
Hassan Al Sayegh
Born: 1991
Nationality: Emirati,
sales manager
Dubai resident
He understands that the term ‘millennial’ refers to his generation, but is not familiar with the general characteristics associated with them. What drives him is to not simply accept what he has but to strive for something better.
“UAE’s fast growth... creates that kind of drive. Nothing is impossible,” he says. He wants to be treated as an individual by his employers and he has set his sights on working towards a leadership role “so I can help build my country.” At the moment, he is concentrating on his work with not much of a work-life balance. And he prefers to be a specialist. “It’s more beneficial than knowing a little about various subjects,” he says.
Ryan Al Haddar
Born: 1984
Nationality: Emirati,
project manager
Abu Dhabi resident
Al Haddar is in a happy space in life. “I feel lucky to be an Emirati. Wherever I go in the world, I will never have the opportunities that I have here,” he says. “I want to help make the country the best that it can be.”
On individualism, he says he “left my previous employer because I wasn’t treated as an individual”. He believes that if he is working hard, it is only fair that he be treated on his own merits. Work-life balance is not a priority for him at this stage. “At the moment, I am trying to push myself to achieve my goals, Once I achieve my target, I can look to getting the [work-life] balance,” he says.
