Millennials make their mark during COVID crisis
From Millennial doctors, nurses and paramedics to police officers, teachers and supermarket employees, the young have met COVID-19 head-on even when the going has got tough.
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Cometh the hour, cometh the Millennial.
The generation once seen as the young and the feckless has stepped up in the pandemic, showing it has what it takes to handle a crisis.
Australians in their 20s and 30s have eagerly confronted the biggest challenge of their lives and embraced their responsibilities just as previous generations their age have done in testing times past.
From Millennial doctors, nurses and paramedics to police officers, teachers and supermarket employees, the young have met COVID-19 head-on even when the going has got tough.
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Emergency department nurse Sophia Luperdi, 28, said she had been abused and seen nurses spat on but COVID “made people realise we’ve always been there and always will be”.
“I learnt so much at work and about myself, there were lots of positives … I used to be bitter about being a Millennial but young frontline workers bring a lot of strength and energy and we should be proud of what we’ve achieved,” she said.
Research from Deloitte’s Global Millennial Survey 2020 revealed three quarters of Millennials felt the pandemic had made them more sympathetic to people’s needs and they would take further action to make positive change in their communities.
Social commentator Bernard Salt said Millennials had become “terrific role models” during the crisis.
“We come to appreciate how important these jobs are through the pandemic, essentially done by the young workers of today … this is their time,” he said.
“In the moment they stepped forward, adjusted, adapted and survived, and did it in good humour without being resentful. They made the most of a situation, and that is what is to be admired.”
Kings Cross police constable Madaleine Lau, 27, started the job 14 months ago.
“Looking back to a year ago, I never thought I’d have learnt the skills I have now, but adapting and learning new things is so important when you’re on the front line,” she said.
“Adapting to new developments every day around the state and across the country was tough; we had new jobs we’d never had to do before like enforcing social distancing, that was really different.”
Paramedic Caitlin Ferguson, 27, had a “baptism of fire” starting her career in the thick of the pandemic.
“The biggest challenge during the pandemic was being away from my 2½-year-old daughter. I couldn‘t see her for weeks at a time if I was exposed to someone infectious,” Ms Ferguson said.
“The sacrifice was worth it though; it’s my dream career. I’m really proud of what Millennials have achieved in essential services. I hope other generations see that.”
Youth sociologist at the University of Newcastle Dr Julia Cook said: “Common misconceptions about Millennials are that they’re lazy and entitled … the pandemic is something of a coming of age experience and young people are remarkably adapting to this major period of change.
“It’s really about respect, it’s incredibly important work young people are doing and it’s incredibly important to respect that work, whether it’s in healthcare or stocking supermarket shelves.”
Coles dry grocery manager Mitchell Tai, 24, and Woolworths store manager Juliet Godwin, 26, worked flat out to keep shelves stocked as panic buying hit.
Mr Tai said keeping his Chatswood store stocked “was a fantastic and challenging experience.”
“There’s a lot of young Millennial workers at my store and we’re really proud of what we were able to achieve for our community, who really recognised and acknowledged the work we did getting stock onto the floor.”
Woollies’ Double Bay employee Ms Godwin said Millennials “had the opportunity to show the world we have a strong work ethic to take on huge unpredictable challenges and see it through”.
For high school design teacher Bernadette Huang, 27, teaching remotely taught her adaptability and “ not to feel too stressed if a lesson I’d planned didn’t go so well.”
“But I also learnt to check my students’ wellbeing was cared for rather than just focusing on their academic stuff,” she said.
“It’s humbling to be called a hero but I’m just doing my job. We don’t always have to be acknowledged, doing our part and the best we can do is enough.”