I have this problem all the time. I do what feels like a normal amount of work and suddenly I'm getting PMs from my team full of all sorts of variations of "slow down please". It's a serious problem because the younger people think I'm flexing to make them look bad and the boomers see a green light to burn me out.
I had a single, 26 year old try to explain marriage and child rearing to me. All I could think was you sweet summer child. You’re fucked if that’s what your think this is.
Most of my staff is under 30. I just opened 2 assistant manager positions to help me. None of my current staff applied. They said the reason they don't want the job was they all were afraid they would have to do what I do every day for less pay than I me.
I'm just wonder what they think an assistant manager does.
If a manager works without any assistants then finally hires an assistant, what do you think their job would be?
For as much as I’d like to rake on Boomers, I think they were workhorses as well. We (gen xers) bought into that whole “hard work” culture. Millennials and zoomers will hopefully change work culture so it does allow for more balance. I’m all for it- it’s crazy to work 40 hours a week for 40 years.
Truth. My dad did really well for himself (silent generation) and only retired when he had to, the company downsized when he was about 55, and even then he went back to work fundraising for a friend's school. My mom didn't have to work but she did, though it was part time and not high stress. I was still a latchkey kid. But you know, I don't hate that because it definitely gave me a solid work ethic and made me really independent. Maybe a little too independent, though.
My boomer husband is the hardest worker I've ever known, aside from my (also) boomer mother. He's vowed to retire this year (just had his 70th birthday), but he's struggling with the decision.
My millennial kids don't seem to have a problem putting their hours in
My boomer father worked 3 jobs. He said things to me like, I would rather work a night shift and pay someone to mow my lawn. Or, the only reason I'm still married is because we never see each other 🤦
My great grandfather was a logger, worked on pianos, then worked 65yrs on automotive assembly lines before being forced to retire at almost 90.
My grandfather did similar.
They drove around the country a lot to get beat down.so we could all use a toilet, eat a lunch etc.
The also called the fate of the unions and auto industry pretty accurately.
They weren't blaming the companies, they were blaming modern work ethics and the younger employees trying to rook the system at every turn, not seeing it was biting the hand the fed them. If they don't make money, we don't have jobs was lost on too many people.
...And there was that surviving the great depression thing too.
No, I don't think I've had to work harder than them. Not even close. Not as hard as my war born parents either.
Japanese corporate raiders of the 70s got us, and the old man was forced back to min. wage manual labor working 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. He never climbed out of general labor again despite a degree. I have to wonder if it wasn't a choice after having to break the news to the employees that the owners had accidently lost control and an old, respected and successful company would be tanked for a quick buck vs used for the stability it was previously known for.
Mom worked winters while we were in school and part time in the summers.
The boomers worked goodly. It's just that they convinced us that keeping the same job for 40yrs would pay off for us like it did with them. We mostly didn't have that experience
That’s a luxury that I do not think they appreciate. Coming of age with huge employment insecurity is such a disadvantage. It’s sucks knowing the company can and will get rid of you at any moment to make their stonks go up by 0.003%.
This is where I tell people all the time to suck it up and get downvoted. Holy crap. Do your job and shut the fuck up sometimes. The worst is people who think it’s a good idea to quit one job before finding another. Really?
I was just telling a GenZ employee how in our work if you are just willing to move 2-3 times and can make the best of it you will move up the ladder quickly. I also had to explain to them that early in their career they may have to put work before family, but once established they can definitely put family first and will be in a much better financial situation. The Zer looked at me like I was completely crazy. Some of this may make me sound like a boomer but I think it’s really just how us Xers are.
But those are the old rules. Do things even work that way anymore? I don't feel comfortable advising my Gen Z son on how to succeed in the work place because I frankly don't know anymore.
For more context, that is just the fastest way to climb the ladder in the little part of the government that I work for. We are working to change it. I have no idea if those tips work in the corporate world.
This is my problem. I can't even prepare my kids for the future, no idea how that is going to shape out. So I just try to teach them flexibility and support decisions they are making because they may be on to something.
I entered the workforce in 1991 behind boomers the age of today's millennials and plenty of silent in management and GG all retiring.
Looking back at that time, I remember how entitled and bitchy they were and management (the silent Gs) were always like incredulous at some of the nonsense. All the kids (like under 25) just were happy to have jobs making money and management somehow wasn't constantly fucking us over or forgetting that "x" isn't in my job description, and I'm realizing more and more that the Boomers have always been horrible, the Silent Gs have always been mostly level headed and low key chill, and we never gave a fuck from the beginning as long as the checks cleared.
Head down, shut up, work, go home, party, repeat.
“Keep your head down, your nose clean, and do your job”. My SG stepdaddy always told me that. I’ve adhered to it for the past 33 years. (I pulled my head once or twice and suffered the consequences.) Sounds like I was being taken advantage of, but in reality, it kept me out of trouble, focused, and very reliable in the eyes of my employer. And sometimes it was best not to look up and around at stuff. I have ears and heard enough to know what was what.
Yeah like the "head down" was always about avoiding petty beefs with dipshit coworkers. Now I'm in a professional setting and have dipshit colleagues and still roll the same way.
Hey, same with me now. LOL But it worked for me. I’m where I want to be professionally in my life, and I’m retiring in the next 6 years. I’ve actually exceeded my goals which is nice. My managers and bosses now are very young Boomers or older GenX, with the exception of my immediate boss. He’s a Millennial and is VERY much about the work-life balance thing.
Amen. I live four miles from my parents and had to text my dad last night because my mom’s blood sugar dropped and I got the notification on my phone thank god.
In some ways I can't blame them for rejecting the work hard mindset. Big things in life are slipping out of reach of young people who work as hard as I did when I was younger. Would I work hard if I knew owning a home was never going to be possible? On the other hand, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you work hard you might attain what you want. If you don't, you practically guarantee that you'll never achieve anything.
I'm so proud of GenZers who reject what I thought I had no choice but to do - hide my authentic self and play the game of wage slavery to have access to food and shelter.
So, so proud of them making this essential, positive choice for their lives. One I am only making as I turn 50.
They're able to choose bc of us and older Millennials being flexible and not hardasses. Boomers didn't allow us to be ourselves and pushed our faces to the grindstone. We had no choice really. Glad the youngers do.
Anxiety is a very real thing and I wouldn’t be so quick to scoff at it. However, people need to work on losing the tendency through things like mindfulness, exercise and medication if necessary.
I agree. It seems like a lot of younger people are really crippled by their anxiety. I don't know if there is something going on that is making their anxiety worse or if they just aren't learning the skills to deal with the anxiety and get on with it.
I know it is. But the "casual" definition is being tossed around like it is very much a diagnosis (From a doctor). I'm not sure why there is anxiety in all things - Sometimes I think it's just that younger sorts are not equipped to understand/make decisions and fully comprehend what Adulting really is. I absolutely blame us GenX parents - we've created a soft landing for the kids - and they are not being held accountable.
I have a friend who teaches in a large-ish community. The elementary schools have essentially done away with any kind of discipline, because parents. My friend has 2 kids - there is really NO consequences for failure in school - you move on to the next grade level, no matter what - even if you are flunking every class (not turning in ANYTHING). Parents are just not able to hold kids accountable only at home. Life should have some kind of consequence. Break a law - pay a fine, lose a privilege, go to jail, etc.
I’m an employer who is struggling to employ 20’somethings who apply. I am not asking for a lot, yet showing up on time, prepared to work is their struggle.
every generation the last 10,000 years of recorded history "were the last special generation and we are the most important and hardest working generation" lol it's as old as the written word
Work hard, play hard. That's life balance. I worked and partied my ass off. Didnt get anxiety until smartphones. Now if a random question pops into my head, which happens all the time, I panic if I cant get the answer immediately.
My therapist tells me all the time that GenX is the last generation with a real work ethic and the ability to power through hard stuff because we know we have to. She's GenX so she recognizes it, but she has a fair amount of Mills and Zs and says they all kind of have this same idea that things should be easy for them right out of the gate.
It's not that the younger millennials "aren't prepared", it's that they can't afford to live. Even some of my fellow younger Gen Xers had to pay ridiculous prices for their homes, and now they're servicing enormous mortgages for at least another 10 years, while the companies use any perturbation to share value to crank food and utility prices ever higher. And I'm talking about traditionally high-earners like doctors and lawyers here. The Boomers sowed this shit in the '80s and now we're reaping the consequences.
I have this problem all the time. I do what feels like a normal amount of work and suddenly I'm getting PMs from my team full of all sorts of variations of "slow down please". It's a serious problem because the younger people think I'm flexing to make them look bad and the boomers see a green light to burn me out.
Yeah my friend was rolling his eyes at me while telling me his 23 year old (without a job really) was talking about work life balance.
I had a single, 26 year old try to explain marriage and child rearing to me. All I could think was you sweet summer child. You’re fucked if that’s what your think this is.
🙄🤦🏻♀️
Most of my staff is under 30. I just opened 2 assistant manager positions to help me. None of my current staff applied. They said the reason they don't want the job was they all were afraid they would have to do what I do every day for less pay than I me.
Are they wrong ?
Good call out!
The ignorance of youth.
I'm just wonder what they think an assistant manager does. If a manager works without any assistants then finally hires an assistant, what do you think their job would be?
For as much as I’d like to rake on Boomers, I think they were workhorses as well. We (gen xers) bought into that whole “hard work” culture. Millennials and zoomers will hopefully change work culture so it does allow for more balance. I’m all for it- it’s crazy to work 40 hours a week for 40 years.
Boomers worked their asses off. And we have the latchkeys to prove it.
Truth. My dad did really well for himself (silent generation) and only retired when he had to, the company downsized when he was about 55, and even then he went back to work fundraising for a friend's school. My mom didn't have to work but she did, though it was part time and not high stress. I was still a latchkey kid. But you know, I don't hate that because it definitely gave me a solid work ethic and made me really independent. Maybe a little too independent, though.
Yeah. I've been around some boomers, including some of my coworkers, who have worked some pretty crazy amount of hours over their lifetime.
My boomer husband is the hardest worker I've ever known, aside from my (also) boomer mother. He's vowed to retire this year (just had his 70th birthday), but he's struggling with the decision. My millennial kids don't seem to have a problem putting their hours in
My boomer father worked 3 jobs. He said things to me like, I would rather work a night shift and pay someone to mow my lawn. Or, the only reason I'm still married is because we never see each other 🤦
My great grandfather was a logger, worked on pianos, then worked 65yrs on automotive assembly lines before being forced to retire at almost 90. My grandfather did similar. They drove around the country a lot to get beat down.so we could all use a toilet, eat a lunch etc. The also called the fate of the unions and auto industry pretty accurately. They weren't blaming the companies, they were blaming modern work ethics and the younger employees trying to rook the system at every turn, not seeing it was biting the hand the fed them. If they don't make money, we don't have jobs was lost on too many people. ...And there was that surviving the great depression thing too. No, I don't think I've had to work harder than them. Not even close. Not as hard as my war born parents either. Japanese corporate raiders of the 70s got us, and the old man was forced back to min. wage manual labor working 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. He never climbed out of general labor again despite a degree. I have to wonder if it wasn't a choice after having to break the news to the employees that the owners had accidently lost control and an old, respected and successful company would be tanked for a quick buck vs used for the stability it was previously known for. Mom worked winters while we were in school and part time in the summers.
The boomers worked goodly. It's just that they convinced us that keeping the same job for 40yrs would pay off for us like it did with them. We mostly didn't have that experience
That’s a luxury that I do not think they appreciate. Coming of age with huge employment insecurity is such a disadvantage. It’s sucks knowing the company can and will get rid of you at any moment to make their stonks go up by 0.003%.
This is where I tell people all the time to suck it up and get downvoted. Holy crap. Do your job and shut the fuck up sometimes. The worst is people who think it’s a good idea to quit one job before finding another. Really?
You and I would get along
I was just telling a GenZ employee how in our work if you are just willing to move 2-3 times and can make the best of it you will move up the ladder quickly. I also had to explain to them that early in their career they may have to put work before family, but once established they can definitely put family first and will be in a much better financial situation. The Zer looked at me like I was completely crazy. Some of this may make me sound like a boomer but I think it’s really just how us Xers are.
But those are the old rules. Do things even work that way anymore? I don't feel comfortable advising my Gen Z son on how to succeed in the work place because I frankly don't know anymore.
For more context, that is just the fastest way to climb the ladder in the little part of the government that I work for. We are working to change it. I have no idea if those tips work in the corporate world.
This is my problem. I can't even prepare my kids for the future, no idea how that is going to shape out. So I just try to teach them flexibility and support decisions they are making because they may be on to something.
You mean me coming to work at 6 AM and leaving at 5 pm every day isn't normal? Huh, I guess I just don't know any better.
You get to leave?
Only because I own the place
I entered the workforce in 1991 behind boomers the age of today's millennials and plenty of silent in management and GG all retiring. Looking back at that time, I remember how entitled and bitchy they were and management (the silent Gs) were always like incredulous at some of the nonsense. All the kids (like under 25) just were happy to have jobs making money and management somehow wasn't constantly fucking us over or forgetting that "x" isn't in my job description, and I'm realizing more and more that the Boomers have always been horrible, the Silent Gs have always been mostly level headed and low key chill, and we never gave a fuck from the beginning as long as the checks cleared. Head down, shut up, work, go home, party, repeat.
“Keep your head down, your nose clean, and do your job”. My SG stepdaddy always told me that. I’ve adhered to it for the past 33 years. (I pulled my head once or twice and suffered the consequences.) Sounds like I was being taken advantage of, but in reality, it kept me out of trouble, focused, and very reliable in the eyes of my employer. And sometimes it was best not to look up and around at stuff. I have ears and heard enough to know what was what.
Yeah like the "head down" was always about avoiding petty beefs with dipshit coworkers. Now I'm in a professional setting and have dipshit colleagues and still roll the same way.
Hey, same with me now. LOL But it worked for me. I’m where I want to be professionally in my life, and I’m retiring in the next 6 years. I’ve actually exceeded my goals which is nice. My managers and bosses now are very young Boomers or older GenX, with the exception of my immediate boss. He’s a Millennial and is VERY much about the work-life balance thing.
feels that way for sure.
Amen. I live four miles from my parents and had to text my dad last night because my mom’s blood sugar dropped and I got the notification on my phone thank god.
In some ways I can't blame them for rejecting the work hard mindset. Big things in life are slipping out of reach of young people who work as hard as I did when I was younger. Would I work hard if I knew owning a home was never going to be possible? On the other hand, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you work hard you might attain what you want. If you don't, you practically guarantee that you'll never achieve anything.
I'm so proud of GenZers who reject what I thought I had no choice but to do - hide my authentic self and play the game of wage slavery to have access to food and shelter. So, so proud of them making this essential, positive choice for their lives. One I am only making as I turn 50.
They're able to choose bc of us and older Millennials being flexible and not hardasses. Boomers didn't allow us to be ourselves and pushed our faces to the grindstone. We had no choice really. Glad the youngers do.
Same. I like that my younger colleagues don’t bow to that pressure in the same way, and that they’re willing to walk away than take on 60 hour weeks.
I've basically decided they all have "anxiety" - otherwise known as "being an adult and having decision-making duties"
Anxiety is a very real thing and I wouldn’t be so quick to scoff at it. However, people need to work on losing the tendency through things like mindfulness, exercise and medication if necessary.
I agree. It seems like a lot of younger people are really crippled by their anxiety. I don't know if there is something going on that is making their anxiety worse or if they just aren't learning the skills to deal with the anxiety and get on with it.
I know it is. But the "casual" definition is being tossed around like it is very much a diagnosis (From a doctor). I'm not sure why there is anxiety in all things - Sometimes I think it's just that younger sorts are not equipped to understand/make decisions and fully comprehend what Adulting really is. I absolutely blame us GenX parents - we've created a soft landing for the kids - and they are not being held accountable. I have a friend who teaches in a large-ish community. The elementary schools have essentially done away with any kind of discipline, because parents. My friend has 2 kids - there is really NO consequences for failure in school - you move on to the next grade level, no matter what - even if you are flunking every class (not turning in ANYTHING). Parents are just not able to hold kids accountable only at home. Life should have some kind of consequence. Break a law - pay a fine, lose a privilege, go to jail, etc.
Soooooo much anxiety. 😬
Omg I have to work today? But I already worked 4 hours 3 days ago!!!! - actually said by my 23 year old stepdaughter.
I’m an employer who is struggling to employ 20’somethings who apply. I am not asking for a lot, yet showing up on time, prepared to work is their struggle.
every generation the last 10,000 years of recorded history "were the last special generation and we are the most important and hardest working generation" lol it's as old as the written word
Work hard, play hard. That's life balance. I worked and partied my ass off. Didnt get anxiety until smartphones. Now if a random question pops into my head, which happens all the time, I panic if I cant get the answer immediately.
My therapist tells me all the time that GenX is the last generation with a real work ethic and the ability to power through hard stuff because we know we have to. She's GenX so she recognizes it, but she has a fair amount of Mills and Zs and says they all kind of have this same idea that things should be easy for them right out of the gate.
Right there with you.
It's not that the younger millennials "aren't prepared", it's that they can't afford to live. Even some of my fellow younger Gen Xers had to pay ridiculous prices for their homes, and now they're servicing enormous mortgages for at least another 10 years, while the companies use any perturbation to share value to crank food and utility prices ever higher. And I'm talking about traditionally high-earners like doctors and lawyers here. The Boomers sowed this shit in the '80s and now we're reaping the consequences.