More and more job around the world are being offered on a contractual basis. Basically this means that the position you are hired for states upfront that it will last for a fixed amount of time, say three months, six months, a year, etc. This number, however, was much higher for younger workers. That might sound worrisome for job seekers on the hunt for full-time work, but there are reasons for optimism.

They say we’re lazy. Entitled. Delusional. They think our parents’ success has led to our “failure” and that because we had nice things handed to us growing up, we don’t know how to work hard to get nice things ourselves. They don’t understand our ambitious go-getter attitudes, and think we’re foolish for not settling and wanting to be happy. They basically think that we just don’t get it. (Huffington Post)

Are these correct stereotypes of millennials?

Everyone is affected by loss and grief at some time in their life. This applies in the workplace as much as anywhere else. People do not leave their grief at home when they go to work and, of course, loss issues can arise within the workplace as well as outside it. While grief can be an extremely painful experience, it is not necessarily harmful. However, if the needs of the grieving person are not taken into consideration at work, their pain can be intensified and their suffering increased unnecessarily. Also, if the significance of grief is not recognized, the result can be accidents, problems with quality leading to complaints and conflicts and so on. It is therefore important that loss and grief issues are not ‘brushed under the carpet’ in busy workplaces.

Being a victim of crime or violence, being involved in a disaster of some kind, witnessing a horrific incident (someone being killed for example) and being abused are all examples of situations that can lead to a traumatic reaction. Such situations can be devastating for the individual(s) concerned and for the people connected with them. Like loss and grief, trauma can both arise within the workplace and can be brought in by employees who, of course, cannot simply turn off their feelings when they arrive at their place of work each day. A traumatised person can encounter danger at work in two senses: (i) a work setting not attuned to their needs may make the situation worse for that person; and (ii) he or she may pose a threat to others because of their unsettled state of mind and emotional turmoil. It can therefore be a very risky strategy all round to neglect the significance of trauma in the workplace.