discussion Quick rant - I can’t stand how old people talk about younger people’s work ethic

[Big Bad Wolf]

Cause you ******* are lazy as **** purrr and I’m in my early 20s saying this ffff

[harwee]

39 minutes ago, John Slayne said:

They're mad because they drank the kool-aid and spent way too much time making money for their corporate overlords while their lives passed them by and now they're too old to do anything about it. The most common regret of people on their death beds is that they worked too hard, remember that. 

 

But also, back in their day working hard actually got you somewhere. Nowadays you can have two jobs and it still won't be enough to buy a house, so what's the point of bending over backwards if the returns are going to be minimal? Young people simply act their wage - you pay them minimum wage, they will give minimum effort. As it should be. So many people have been brainwashed into thinking they owe something to their employers, when they really don't.

Also this.

 

I think a lot of older people have that kind of dog-eat-dog energy. Like they put in more time to get ahead or advance their profile, or usurping on someone’s job to look good at work and claim credits. And then call it "work ethic".

 

[Happylittlepunk]

This is true I do think a lot boomers simply don’t understand how much the world has changed and an average people in there 20s or 30s can’t afford a home anymore or pay off there mountains of debts. 
 

however, I do believe Gen-z quits to easily like jobs and careers and life in general. I know the system is extremely bad and exploitive but I also think 90% of the time if you have financial issues it’s really your own fault. I came across too many people just job hoping and not staying anywhere and making minimum wage, over spending on streaming services, door dash, Amazon, Starbucks, going out to eat, vacations etc. I understand if you have a **** degree and you can’t find a job but your not above working at Starbucks or Costco to pay off your debts and only suffer temporarily until you can find a proper job that pays well. 
 

many people are terrible with money and make terrible money choices.

[Gorjesspazze9]

Your 28, you are not young

[madonnas]

I work in a workplace that’s pretty fair to workers (for America’s standards) but I find this to be true.  A lot of middle management (40/50 year olds) has this insane mentality that “good” work involves suffering.  They will deny people vacation hours and take the least charitable interpretation of every rule because they think making people including themselves inconvenienced is the sign of a good worker and is just.  I’m over it.  
 

but even then a lot of people who are 10/20/30 years my senior at work are not as hard of a worker as the younger people.  It’s truly projection a lot of the time too. 

[madonnas]

1 hour ago, Big Bad Wolf said:

Cause you ******* are lazy as **** purrr and I’m in my early 20s saying this ffff

You truly have zero idea how lazy the average Gen x / boomer  is at work  they are just as bad.  

[GentleEarthquake]

Same, like sorry for wanting to live instead of slaving for nothing

[Just a Gay on ATRL]

3 hours ago, madonnas said:

You truly have zero idea how lazy the average Gen x / boomer  is at work  they are just as bad.  

Lol this is a good point - the laziest people I worked with in my career were the older ones. Some of them delegated everything downwards and barely knew how to use certain softwares staff and seniors had to be proficient in to do our jobs.  They acted like know it alls. They were also the rudest and most condescending.

[Capris Groove]

Older people have a Protestant work ethic, which means hard work is seen as a moral value. HARD work, not smart work - meaning it makes you suffer, or tires you out. And resting is seen as lazy, and unproductive.

 

Young people think this is silly, and want more balance in their lives. They want time for their hobbies, friends, and to relax, and don't think there's any shame in that.

 

With that said, young people do have to work harder at work in many ways. Basic admin assistant and receptionist jobs now require a Bachelor's degree just to take calls and make appointments, 3-4 rounds of interviews to get hired, little career growth/upward mobility, faster deadlines and higher targets, the end of real pensions (which the employer used to fund, not the employee), stagnant wages, and a super high cost of living. Both adults in a household also have to work full-time now in order to afford life, and then go home to do their domestic duties.

Edited September 20, 2023 by Capris Groove

[naval23]

yes. I'm never working 5 days a week in my life, 4 days max. That's just too much to devote to something outside of me.

 

I have Wednesdays off and weekends off which is the perfect balance for me. 

 

 

[spree]

I have to disagree with the OP.

 

I find Gen Z to be super lazy.  But maybe, just maybe, it's regional.  When I moved down to Florida from the midwest, I couldn't believe the lack of worth ethic most people had.  Doing as little as possible, taking shortcuts, showing up late, drunk, high, etc.  It happens everywhere, but I was literally shocked when I moved here.   I still feel that way.  Sometimes I feel it's the oppressive heat that turns people lazy.

 

maybe it's because I was in the work force for a good 7-8 years before phones and internet.  When I was Gen Z's age I didn't have those things.  I just had cigarette breaks and that's it.  I wasn't checking a phone in my pocket every minute, or going to the bathroom to check all my notifications.  There wasn't any of that so the only thing you could do was work.

[Bloo]

People making broad generalizations about the work ethic of entire generations are so strange and lacking in nuance. Did the generations that came after the 9-5 standard become more lazy than past generations that worked much longer hours for much less money? Or are they less exploited?

 

Generations are a product of the state of society they grow up in. Young people’s attitudes will change in response to real things like rising student debt and the looming idea that they will never be able to own a home—societal problems that are foreign to past generations. So, let’s focus on that rather than just punch down on generations a whole. It’s just lazy and does nothing. 

[Capris Groove]

1 hour ago, naval23 said:

yes. I'm never working 5 days a week in my life, 4 days max. That's just too much to devote to something outside of me.

 

I have Wednesdays off and weekends off which is the perfect balance for me. 

 

 

What do you do if I may ask?

[CBC]

they didnt have grindr back in then to get sugar daddies so yes it was much harder

[AMIT]

11 hours ago, KKW said:

There is more to life than work and it just comes off that they’re mad we realized it much sooner than they did

Basically. A lot of it is generational envy, like they don't want us having it ''easy'' (even when the actual facts completely contradict this, but they play dumb) because they had to deal with their own shitty bosses/coworkers/soul sucking tasks/corporate bureaucracy, but how is that our fault? 

 

A lot of it is also faux class counciousness btw, and we should be discussing that more. 

[spree]

well if Gen Z is sticking it to Gen X by working less, then how do you afford $2k 1 bedroom apartments in this economy?  Unless you're living with your parents still, which if that were me, I'd take on 3 jobs to not be in that position.