As young people, we’re programmed to rebel. Preferably against everything our parents stand for: their politics, diet, language, life choices and – above all – their careers. Media has successfully fed on this trope for centuries. We either don’t care enough, or we care about the wrong things (avocados, overseas trips, etc). The solution is always the same: renounce creativity! Choose a career! Grow up already! The refrain is so predictable the cosmos has to be groaning.

Arguably more interesting are those who don’t follow the pattern. Those who’ve been inspired by – prepare yourselves – their parents. And we don’t mean inspired by their parents’ trust fund to buy ten investment properties by the age of 23; we mean people genuinely stirred by their parents’ work to rise to similar heights in their adulthood, and beyond.

Because these days, young people are redefining what it means to succeed. A landmark 2015 survey based on more than 500 millennials found that rather than leeching off their parents and devoting their lives to Netflix, young people were more inclined to save and succeed than ever before – while also rethinking what form that success takes. We’re also dictating the way we want to work, prioritising efficiency, flexibility, and a lifestyle altogether more conducive to general happiness (as fun as slaving away from nine to five is). And the workplace is reflecting this change, as freelancing becomes the norm and industries move from labour to screen intensive.

For young people looking to enter this new beast of a workplace, following the footsteps of your parents is no longer a simple act – it’s a challenge and a statement, all rolled into one.

Growing Up, Facing Challenges And Kicking Goals

When you think of AFL, you might picture blokes in tiny shorts kicking around a ball. You may not consider the work environment as somewhere women thrive. But it’s happening – and people like Natalle Brown are leading the way.

Growing up the daughter of a football top dog in Melbourne, Collingwood Football Club membership strategy manager Natalle had the perfect opportunity to rebel. Instead, she’s followed her dad – Michael Brown, CEO and general manager of big-name operations like Hawthorn Football Club and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup – into the world of sport. But – as you’d imagine – as a woman working in 2017, she faced a different set of challenges than her dad did in building a career.

Challenge number one? The gender imbalance in the industry. While it can be nothing short of intimidating to get a job in a male-dominated workplace such as football management, Natalle dove right in, redefining what it means to work in sports.

“When I started in 2005 there weren’t many women in sport. It was a boys’ club – you had to be cruel to be kind. These days, you won’t get away with even a bar of that.”

And there’s no doubt that the presence of a woman like Natalle in a high-profile job in the industry is a big part of changing attitudes.

As for challenge number two? It’s one many millennials are familiar with: having an (often undeserved) reputation for being a generation of entitled employees. Luckily, there’s an obvious way to overcome this one in the workplace: by working hard and proving the naysayers wrong.

“Everyone thinks the sports industry is glamorous, but in reality it’s incredibly hard work,” says Natalle. So model employee behaviour from your parents’ generation (like staying back to get the job done, leaving diva behaviour at the door, and being flexible) still apply.

Rather than compete against her dad’s laurels (who has time?), Natalle says they’re definitely on the same team.

“Dad never said to me: don’t pursue this industry, it’s tough and unfair. [He] wholeheartedly supports that drive to do what I’m passionate about,” she says.

And she paints a rosy picture for the future of the industry, saying it’s the younger generation who are taking the lead.

“More young dynamic people are coming in who have this different way of operating. They move at a completely different pace. They want to make things happen.”

What does “success” in the workplace look like today?

We’ve got one word for you: multitasking. That seems to sum up what success is all about in the workplace these days, thanks to endless emails, constantly changing technology, and the expectation that employees be the masters of many domains.

As general manager of the recently restored Lido Cinema in Melbourne, Benji Tamir epitomises the numerous demands of the modern workplace, running everything from the venue’s café, rooftop bar and 40 staff to its live music programming and film festivals. He was also involved with the restoration of the quirky 20th-century cinema and its opening. And because he’s following a career path true to his interests (a common millennial trope), he’s 100 percent invested.

Benji never had any pressure to get into the family business of restoring Melbourne’s cinemas – in fact, he’s the only one of his brothers and sisters to try – but he knows he’s privileged to be doing it.

“Film is something I’m genuinely interested in. I’m doing it because I love it,” he says. However, converting a passion into actual cash money isn’t always easy, and breaking into a tough job market takes not only talent but a big dose of luck, too.

Young people in the modern workforce want things done fast, and they’re not afraid to take the lead to get things at the pace they want. So while Benji has spent years working up the ranks since his teenage days serving popcorn, he’s put his own spin on the job.

“For one thing, my dad still uses a pencil, paper and eraser to program the cinemas,” he says.

That’s a vast contrast to Benji’s use of social media and new technologies to bring the old-school movie experience into the 21^st century.

But, like a true millennial striving for meaning in a career, there are moments when (like most of us) Benji has doubts about his career and what ‘being an adult’ involves in this day and age. And with the way the traditional milestones of success – like getting a full-time job, settling down and having a family – have changed over the last generation, that’s totally normal. “I don’t think I’m set in what I’m doing 100 percent yet. I’m still 25, I still have doubts about where I’m going and what I’m doing,” he says.

Photography: Michelle Grace Hunder

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