(This was written in response to a Los Angeles Times editorial in June 2006 -- Douglas)

It has become fashionable to bemoan the naiveté, if not outright stupidity of young workers in expecting more from their first jobs than those who came before them, but today's youth are right to expect -- and even demand -- more of their potential employers. My generation, and many before it, was sold a bill of goods that work was something tedious and depressing that you escaped through hobbies, alcohol and finally, retirement. But our complaints are sour grapes. We are simply angry that it took so long for society to figure out that work can, and should be, energizing, exciting and fulfilling. Today's young workers aren't naive. They are simply refusing to walk down the well-worn path that served their mothers and fathers so poorly.

The reality of work has changed. Young workers won't be satisfied with poor paying, low fulfillment jobs anymore, nor should they be. They will seek out companies that are having an impact on the world, rather than simply churning out the next "New Improved Product X". Companies that fail to understand this will find themselves with the least qualified and least motivated section of the work force, while other companies will reap the rewards of the most highly educated, highly motivated and, more importantly, highly fulfilled workforces ever imagined.

Young workers want to work for a company that is changing the world, and the truth is, working in the mail room of an excellent company offers greater rewards, both monetary and spiritual, than being a manager at yet another company that hasn't changed since the Nixon Administration. These workers will drive our country and the world to great new heights, because they are doing something they believe in, not simply taking home a paycheck.

Is it easy? Of course not. Competition will be fierce, companies will be resistant and old codgers, like myself, will call them stupid and naive. Still, the secret has been revealed and cannot be denied any longer. Work doesn't have to be drudgery. It can be the means to a successful and fulfilling life. We should have expected better. Our children are right to demand better.

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