Woman goes on 'millennial rant' when reporter asks what 'perks' they want, and she's spot on

Painting millennials as spoilt, entitled, and lazy has almost become the go-to for media and the public when discussing income inequality that has grown in recent years. It has been repeatedly said so many times that many believe it to be true. A recent poll by Axios and Survey monkey found that a majority of the people do view millennials as "spoiled" and "lazy." Nothing could be further from the truth. The wages have significantly stagnated and not kept up with inflation, reducing the purchasing power of the generation, and at the same time, costs have shot up. This has dissuaded many millennials from starting a family and buying a house among other things associated with the American dream. When one media reporter sought an opinion from a mindset coach on "what perks millennials want in the workplace," Jessie DaSilva unleashed a rant that was shared on TikTok.

DaSilva, who's an intuitive mindset coach and business consultant from Tallahassee, Florida, pointed out to the reporter that millennials wanted better pay and working conditions more than anything else. "The biggest mistake I see is companies assuming millennials want perks, nap pods, snack rooms, free avocado toast, or whatever else," wrote DaSilva. "Those things might seem cool on a company website, but they will never make up for a thrive-able wage, good benefits, vacation time, and the ability to learn and grow with a company."

The video has gone viral as it resonated with so many millennials and has been viewed more than 1 million times. She added that one of the main reasons for the confusion could be attributed to Baby Boomer executives. DaSilva pointed out that millennials needed better pay and wanted to spend time with their family. "First of all, Millennials are currently in their 30s to 40s, which means these are experienced workers likely at the point in their career where they're looking for stimulating, management jobs. Time to spend with a growing family, friends, pets, or aging parents," she wrote.

She also pointed out that millennials, as a generation are highly qualified but started out on low-paying jobs or internships on account of starting their careers around the 2008 recession. "They either took a massive hit to their salaries, were forced to take internships instead of full-time work, or enroll in graduate school programs to live off of financial aid and hope they would be more employable with an advanced degree," she said. She pointed out that most companies rebounded from the recession but still continue to pay low wages to the workers. "Taking pay cuts often affects a person for their entire working career. Now, add student loan payments, generations of chronic burnout, stress, and the negative impacts on their careers, leading to delays in having children," she said.

She called for a minimum of four weeks of vacation time, so they don't need to choose between seeing their families at Christmas or taking a summer vacation. Sick leave that includes openness around the need for mental health days. Plus, paid parental leave that reflects a home where both parents work full-time and don't receive any homemaking support. "If an employer can't provide these options, no number of nap pods or bottomless snacks will make up for it. Plus, a nap pod costs between $8,000 to $12,000, which would go much further on a salary retaining a talented millennial than giving them an afternoon nap," she concluded.