The 37-Year-Olds Are Afraid of the 23-Year-Olds Who Work for Them

We usually have jokes going back and forth about our giant, unfathomable 10 year+ age gap. Maybe that's part of it though. We don't think of it as all that important or meaningful, we have fun with it, and our working conditions are pretty nice to start with so there's not much to rebel against.

Overall I'm more afraid of the older people I work with if I were to use such a word. I'm pretty tired of convention over experimentation in the work place. I don't think strictly remote is inherently better than strictly office, but I know having options is superior that not having them. My friends and family are currently at the mercy of older people with old ideas around this matter, and yeah, that's much scarier than young people with new ideas that they care about.

Generally I think you're better off listening to young people and thinking a lot about what they're up to, just as much as respecting the wisdom of older people. And of course, all that is because we as individuals are so often wrong. We can benefit a lot from those around us being right for us sometimes, old or young.

Unfortunately for Gen Z, they are not the first generation to think they are too smart or too good for their jobs/hours immediataly out of college. "I finished all my work, can I leave?" is just asking for more or more complex work.

These people are entry-level performing entry-level jobs, and have no distinction between "a family member died/my child is sick so I can't come to work" and "I don't feel great, so I'm gonna skip class today".

The world is not changing. All of this will go away. This doesn't mean that Gen Z's attitudes about corporate apathy are wrong, but there are some bridges companies don't want to burn, and that righteous sort of "bend the world to my will" attitude tends to fade with experience once you see the trail of wreckage you've left behind.

Sure, it would be great if we could all work 3 hours a day, make great money, and do whatever we wanted with our lives, but wishing for that won't make it so, and while there is not a _direct_ correlation between time worked and salary, "I put in the minimum amount of effort then leave instead of improving thing" doesn't get you much further than living with your parents while you complain about how unaffordable the world is.

When I worked in medical in the early 90's we had a few "mental health days" off per year. When I worked in other industries they were called "floating holidays" instead. In addition to vacation/sick days. It was about flexibility, needed in the real world.

I've worked in internet and entertainment companies, which typically require long hours. It was one reason they offered things like yoga classes and ping-pong tables, they improve productivity in the long run. Being overly-strict about these matters doesn't help, and was old-fashioned already by the year 2000.

Not certain that increased politics in the workplace is a good thing. Seems to be a function of increased polarization in society supported by the media. How that turns out remains to be seen, but I suspect the struggle is not all that new either. How did the "Berkeley generation" from the late sixties adapt into the workplace?

Finally, didn't really get the reference to the "laughing-sobbing" emoji. A few articles via google imply it might something to do with politics. But none of the ones I read bothered to define which symbol it was.

I haven't seen this. It's still very much "do what we tell you, or else".

Delegating to your boss? I don't know about that. It sounds like the bosses just aren't strict. Many others would straighten you our. I've been ranked low in "organizational savvy" for way less.

Where's the fear part? What exactly are they afraid of, not being cool?

https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/gen-z-workers-baffle-old...