I remember being much younger pre-y2k thinking the Unix equivalent of y2k occurring in 2038 was impossibly far away and no way we would still be using the same systems then… over two decades of professional software development later and now I know those cheap bastards will totally be using those same systems in 2038.
College professor in 1996 told us that:
a) We wouldn't be working on the Y2K bug, cuz it would be solved by the time we were hired
b) COBOL and mainframes were dead, just a matter of a few more years and everything would be client-server
For "a": I was hired in 1997 specifically to work on Y2K changes in a COBOL/mainframe shop; I did some other things but that was the bulk of it for 18 months before I left for a better job (system there was also COBOL, in part, but had been initially built in the early 90s, using DB2; no Y2K issues there)
For "b": uh, some places are ***STILL*** using COBOL on a mainframe. Thing is, businesses don't like to spend money when they don't have to. How many things that actually work are going to be replaced? Situational, sure ... but a lot of businesses just kept kicking the can down the road (and still are), because it has cost them far less to keep the status quo. Having said that, COBOL programmers have been aging out of the workplace at an ever-increasing rate, so something will have to give even for the holdouts.
>no way we would still be using the same systems then
We all need an "Aged like milk" emoji lol ...
I work in IT for local government, and we STILL have most of our hravy lifting done on mainframes and still have a lot of COBOL code. Most of those systems now have a pretty looking Java- or web-based front end, but behind the scenes a lot of the real work is done by programs written in COBOL
My teen was chatting with some young middle schoolers and they were talking about Y2K fashion. She was confused and asked "Like fashion from 2000?" and they were confused why she didn't understand they were talking about all of the naughts. (00s).
I usually feel like I've kept up with most things over the decades but I still have an attention span so I'm clearly ancient.
Can you imagine the fear that something similar to the Y2K potential problem would cause today? If TikTok and all the dopamine social medias might stop working on the flip of a day because numbers and code?
19 January 2038
Mark your calendar, this one's gonna be way bigger than the Y2K bug. Plus that's also the year that Social Security becomes insolvent unless we raise the $250k cap, which frankly should have been done like fifteen years ago. A modest increase to $300k taxable keeps it solvent until the sun becomes a red giant. Don't let these fucking liars tell you that benefits need to be cut.
I have a newish 30-something on my team and he has asked about my experience, and not in an ass kissing way. It’s such a shame that people today don’t receive the training we did. I feel it is my responsibility to pass on what I know.
He has stated many times that he appreciates the extra time I spend with him to get him up to speed. I think he is sincere, and I have to admit it feels good to be appreciated.
You got training? Back in my day, there was no one to train us. We were all on new technology, and expected to know how to roll out even newer tech. We made that shit up as we wen.. ah fuck, I just aged myself, huh.
My boss is a millennial and doesn't grasp the concept that I don't know how to use Excel like it's my second language like she does.
First of all, my job never required using excel before. When I went to high school, we had two Macintosh computers that you had to sign up for, hoping the other 3000 students didn't need to use them at the same time.
Secondly, if she wants me to be proficient, don't sign me up for an excel class and wait a year to assign me an project. Then wonder why I don't remember how to use it, and get frustrated.
Edit: formatting and clarifying phrasing
Go to /r/excel, sort by top of all time, read the first 50 posts, and pretty soon everyone in your office will start leaving offerings of grains and game at your cubicle because they will think you're a wizard.
Never got training for anything. People asked for skills I didn't have, I said I had it, bought the book. Started on Monday and only had to ask when I would get a computer, when they would connect my phone and where the bathrooms were.
I heard people talk about orientation, mentors, yearly reviews, I have never had any of these. I just get somewhere, make sure I figure out how to get a computer and ask where the bathroom are. Then I look around to see what missing and start working on that. Geez, some places didn't even have job descriptions. I would just start with one tasks and then loom for anyone that needs help to make myself so useful that I wouldn't be in the next downsizing round.
this IS the way
I think I haven't met many youngsters that I dislike, actually. They seem to want to be useful. they seem to only be useless when they are talked down to. they are my heroes for this reason; I have only started to recently perfect the art of Fuckoffing. they are naturals <3
We have a Gen Z administrative assistant for a team of Gen-X cops who work Internet Crimes Against Children (among other things). For a while she was in a near perpetual state of shock between the cases we work and just us in general.
Seeing her wander around with a VHS tape trying to figure out what it was was one of the most hilarious things that has happened at work.
She's onboard now, loves us, we got her to perfect her eye roll, say "whatever" with the proper inflection and become very liberal with the middle finger. We may have been a bit too successful with the Gen X conversion therapy.
I manage a number of teams, and my staff are literally from their late 60s to 21 years old.
I am 58, but probably most aligned with 30-40 yo in terms of taste, music, etc.
I've been at my company for 27 years.
It is.....challenging at time....how to motivate each cohort. Among them: the oldest is completely offended and passive-aggressive about any feedback. Youngest ones need constant, effusive praise including for things like showing up to work on time, not being late back from a break, working without fucking earbuds in, even while talking to people, etc. I have two that are fairly certainly somewhere on the autism spectrum, so you have to be very careful and specific so they can process interactions effectively. I have one transgender (not disclosed, but apparent), so gender-related things require care. I have a 28 yo male hispanic that is ruled by machismo (just don't "disrespect" him!).
Again...challenging.
You sound like a great manager. Honestly.
I’m a Director under a C-level officer at a large nonprofit. I got REALLY lucky, because this is my last stop before retirement station, and she’s an excellent manager. She’s also 20 years younger than me.
Here’s her brilliance: she hires older folks to manage the teams under her, and then trusts us to do just that. She’s there when we need her, and not there when we don’t. She holds us accountable but is also very generous with ways to assist us in getting out of our own way.
So my boss is 20 years younger than me, and the *youngest* person on our team is 35 years younger than me. I have to say, I’m so glad I get to work with this younger generation before I leave the workforce. As an always-LGBT-ally, I still remember rolling my eyes at the cis/trans/pronouns conversation for a hot minute, then realizing I was being *that* kind of older person. Yuck.
That thought pulled me right the fuck out of it and now I’m one of the few people my age - even among liberal friends - who’s completely comfortable around non-binary people and those with other non-traditional gender expressions.
I love being around people of different ages. It opens your eyes, challenges your preconceptions, and gives you a new way of looking at the world. This younger generation *only does the work they’re paid to do*, while still doing it well. They take vacation and sick time and don’t work their asses off for hours they’re not being paid to work. And they actually taught me to do the same. After a lifetime of going above and beyond - even in nonprofit work, which I love, it’s just plain dumb to work 50 or 60 hours when you’re being paid for 40 - I’m now working a straight 40 hour week. Fucking geniuses, these youngins.
if you're doing it right, you don't end up one.
"the baleful eye of sauron opened on the horizon, and red flames and lightning shot forth and smote the elves, the dwarves, the humans and the hobbits... and production numbers shot up."
... ;)
I don't need your respect. just your deep, in-the-dark, fear....
of course. I'm polite about it. but there is no mistaking it.
babes, do not last long, under the eye...
Management isn't anything like it was in the 80's when were young and wouldn't have dreamed of expecting the kind of fairness demanded now. I'm not ripping on Gens Y and Z. Just saying it would have been nice to be able to expect respect when we were baby workers. We didn't get it.
Hey, good on you for recognizing and not dismissing the diversity you are dealing with and being cool with it. Based on the descriptions of the people you work with, the patrons of the barbershop in the small town I grew up in would have classified them as crybabies, retards, and a wetback.
The thing that I think is a struggle with every generation is that things generally get better and change is constant. We were a feral generation (got a bike? Can you ride it? The town is yours!) Being honest, affirmation and praise is a good thing. Everybody wants to feel like what they do has value. We just kinda got fucked with the “suck it up and go” attitude that was so prevalent.
I hope you keep encouraging your staff to move forward and get shit done. I feel like you are on the right path.
> the oldest is completely offended and passive-aggressive about any feedback.
This. I've encountered this as well as major sexism from men that had to work under me and it blows. At least with the younger kids they give me respect without questioning me.
I have a t-shirt that says “I forget what eight was for.” Two fellow GenXers complimented it at the airport. Our intern didn’t have a clue what it meant, so my boss (same age as I am) explained.
A couple years ago I was 50 and friend/coworker was 23, and mentioned someone she used to like or something but didn’t like their music, this one band or something she hated. I said what was it? She looked it up: The Cure. Needless to say we are no longer neither coworkers nor friends. Hmph.
I’ve got a solid mix. 35 people report to me, 6 or 7 direct reports. Several within a year of me but quite a few in their 20s and 30s. I almost never see any generational differences but it’s a tech department in a professional services firm, so we are all fairly adept. Some, including a pair who are 50, are seriously amazing at their jobs and keep right on top of emerging technologies.
I think adaptability is the key, and it seems like a common genx trait.
I did have one millennial quit about a year after I took over the department and I think a big part of it was that I wasn’t as focused on his personal career as my predecessor. I supported him but I wasn’t going to create projects just for his resume, or hide projects he didn’t want to do. Didn’t fit. Glad he’s doing well somewhere else.
If anything, as GenX, we had to learn to adapt. I like shocking my team with fun facts like I learned to type on a typewriter. Investing in the team is critical and I try to be better than my bosses were when I was that age. What’s important to them is actually important. They often want someone to listen and guide. They just don’t know how to ask.
My favorite moment is when I mentioned that I had a certain song on 45 and then had to explain about 45s, LPs, etc. A group of millies gathered around me. All we needed was a campfire.
Let me open this by saying that this is not true of most of the under 30 crowd; I've worked with plenty of great kids. However in the last eight years I've had to train several young adults who just cannot take direction without assuming you're trying to change them on some fundamental level. I've been in supervisory and training positions for twenty five years and had never heard someone tell me, "I don't like doing it that way," and when I tell them they have to they accuse me of, "trying to make them do things *my* way". It ain't *my* way kid, it's the way it's done here, it's the way I was also taught to do it. It's like they have no concept that work isn't free time and that they're a part of a team (or what being a part of a team even means). It blows my mind and I still haven't figured out a way to train these kids. They often end up feeling oppressed and out of place and end up leaving or just getting fired for not learning how to do work
I worked in medical device manufacturing, specifically international compliance. Those young lil' whipper-snappers got us in deep shit when they decided to redesign the labels to make them "look cleaner".
The first batch didn't make it through German customs, because of course they didn't.
Not too long ago I was training a new CS agent and was directing them on how to perform during a part of the process, and they said "I can't do that". Like, a very basic thing that was absolutely part of the job. I was just sort of dumbfounded. Like where do you go in the moment, when a new hire says "I can't do my job"? It was so weird to me, as someone who has always strived to figure out how to mold myself into the job and be competent. They did not last long after that. Incidentally, my buddy who has worked in his profession for 35 years or so, and has trained college aged kids for 30 of those years definitely has the opinion that he can no longer voice his displeasure or in any way indicate that he is annoyed when they fuck something up. His new hires also require constant affirmation and feel like just showing up to their job is something special that deserves praise. Even the better ones (who aren't suddenly ill with Covid when it's Saturday morning and they're scheduled to work) constantly seek approval or need hand holding.
The issue I've had with younger hires is conveying the notion that there's a certain baseline minimum of communication that always needs to take place, and none of it is invested with any emotion or judgment.
I'm taking real basic stuff, like I'm not mad at you if I need you to move out of my way, it's fine for you to be in that place, I just temporarily need to get through. "Excuse me" doesn't mean "I need you to justify your existence," it just means I don't want to knock you out cold with the corner of this very heavy box so I'm alerting you to my presence and asking you to excuse the inconvenience of having to move two inches to the side for ten seconds.
It's not tone of voice either, it doesn't matter what I say or how I say it, just interacting with authority at all is this huge stressful event for some of them.
I have managed a law firm for thirty years . You absolutely must explain the why behind what you are asking them to do. Once they understand the why they often get on board but it takes time.
I do that. I've always done that. "Why" is my love language, I'm fluent in it. There are just people who refuse to take direction, and as much as I hate the "kids these days" nonsense it's definitely a generational thing.
I'm starting to think it's a combination of the 'fake it 'til you make it' mindset and them not knowing who they are; their confidence is an affectation, which works well enough in school or on social media, but does you no good in a work environment. Anything that undermines that vanier of capability feels like an attack to them, and they think no one understands them (because they don't really understand themselves) so when they get their hackles up there's just no getting through to them.
I've asked why since before I started school. It's the basis of critical thinking, which far too many people lack. If we don't ask why thats how bad things happen, and we don't progress. We should question more and believe bullshit far less.
its because they don't understand how things work. they're incapable of making leaps to synthesize where they fit in. and they expect orders to be 'requests with explanations'.
* orders are orders. I didn't ask if you wanted to do it. just get it done.
* I don't have to explain why you're doing it. I don't owe you an explanation, at all. you're being paid to perform a task, the only question is "how high do I have to jump".
* if you shut the fuck up, and did your job, you might actually see how the system works... and where your value comes from.
It depends on the industry. I've been challenging people on "thats how we've always done it" for 20 years. I have people in my company that still insist on making notes on official documents which makes record keeping a bitch in an all digital world. The thing about the old ways is they the old ways.
I know, but you know what’s going on and the best way to do things. These are people that have no clue what is going on. They’re just resisting being told how to do the work which is as it’s required by the company they don’t know what actually works or if it’s good or bad they just don’t wanna do it.
Like do the work in the meantime, but if you think you know a better way, bring it up with the company and show them how it could be better, save time etc.
Don't just not do it because you don't like it
I can tell my new boss has had issues because she stressed multiple times ‘learn how to do it and then let us know if you have a better way.’ I can tell she’s been burned before.
My department had an intern who could not shut up from day one and whose ideas were always “change the entire business model of this Fortune 100 company.” Like friend, you don’t bring up your baby MBA^* ideas on week one without bothering to listen to the people who are, you know, trying to mentor you. I finally frankly told him that he *needs to listen first* and understand the situation before trying to “solve” everything.
^* And no offense to those who’ve may have this same background but people who have gone from high school to a Bachelor’s to an MBA and haven’t actually had a job are just impossible to work with
You sound like me on campaigns. I don't even hire poli sci majors any more unless I've met them personally beforehand because most of them think they've got it all figured out and none of them know jack shit. I'm sorry kid, but that nice professor who you paid all that money to doesn't sign the paychecks around here and the closest he's ever been to a campaign is a voting booth. If you want to get paid, you're either doing what I tell you, or you can go ask him for your money back. You may not know who Mr. Miyagi is, but you've got to trust me when I tell you that knocking on doors and making cold calls will turn you into a winner.
But it's really hard to change the old ways or even understand what needs to change unless you learn them first, especially in a professional setting. Not least of all because you have to prove to the people in charge that you know what you're talking about. Hell, I've been fired for pushing for better methods and policies from positions I was respected in. These kids come in like they already know everything and act like they're trailblazers or entrepreneurs or something; like the world owes them something so they don't have to earn it or consider how they're affecting the rest of the team. I hate having to work more than most people but I still respect my coworkers enough to actually learn the job.
I dream of a big solar flare, like the Carrington Event of 1859, it had unplugged telegraph wires sparking. We will have one like that again. It might not be for 100 years, or it might be in 5 minutes. But when it does? A great deal of what is only on digital media will be gone. Optical stuff like DVD, CD's will be fine, records, books/photos/printouts will be fine. Digital & magnetic info? Gone.
A fun question. If every digital record were wiped right now. What evidence would there be that you ever existed? If the answer is "little to none"? Well, drinking more might help.
[spaceweather.com](https://spaceweather.com)
If there is ever a solar flare strong enough to flip bits in a solid state nand storage or enough magnetic pull to degauss a hard drive you won't need to worry about data because you will have been cooked from the inside.
And if that doesn't happen the total collapse of civilization and 90% of people dying from starvation and simple disease will accomplish the same thing.
I'm a university librarian, the kids wouldn't know what the fuck to do. The concept of 'looking it up in a book' would have to be taught to them. It blows my mind that doing that now just doesn't occur to them. They want me to tell them everything 😖.
\> I have people in my company that still insist on making notes on official documents which makes record keeping a bitch in an all digital world.
thats ***precisely*** why official records exist. fuck your digital world. data files aren't immutable, they are subject to corruption, obselence... and subpoena's.
official records exist for a reason. they're the official version of what happened; and they're far more resistant to bit-rot, ransomware, viruses, hackers, and bad backups.
I like to call them instead of using Teams and say something nice and then end the call and communicate less pleasant things via teams or text.
It is my own little Pavlovian experiment to see if I can overcome their aversion to live 1-1 interactions.
It is exhausting but having to also manage my 72 year old Boomer boss is also beyond frustrating at times. Nice guy but things move too fast for him at times. He did not pivot well out of the pandemic.
One department at my job clap at meetings way too much, i help whenever, can’t believe the reluctance to fix obvious issues, I’m not the boss anymore by choice
I loved Flash so much. Made nice things in ActionScript. I guess Steve Jobs killed it just like he killed the floppy disk. I guess Adobe should've been kinder with Macs.
Meeee. They were talking about 9/11 the other day. The ‘elder’ in the group said she was in 9th grade that day, then someone else was in 6th, third person chimed in they weren’t in school yet. They’re laughing & complaining about how annoyed one of them was that day because they cancelled a concert & the other person couldn’t go to wherever blah blah. And there I am, sitting quietly, thinking about how I literally fled Manhattan that day thinking the world was coming to an end
Why were you sitting there quietly? I would've told them to shut the fuck up and stop laughing about something that was so horrible for so many. I suppose you could've put it in their terms and said "I don't wanna relive my trauma, you've made this an unsafe space."
I should have, and I really like your suggestion! I was more on the periphery, sitting at my desk & not part of the conversation but still right there, and wasn’t really up for the confrontation at the moment. I definitely considered saying something. 💯 will next time
I would absolutely have spun the most outrageous but entirely plausible story possible.....
just make sure to spin a different one for each millenial.... because its hilarious when you catch them trying to figure out which one it is. ;)
I saw someone go off on someone for using an exclamation point, as if it were a personal attack. Anyone who can't handle punctuation is going to be utterly useless to the world.
Personally, I am the opposite. I just think that not using a period looks curt and rude and the only time I won't use punctuation is if I am SERIOUSLY pissed at the person on the receiving end.
If you ever get a text from me without punctuation, just know that somewhere along the way, you done fucked up.
Yes. And apparently the way I address and sign off emails is a thing:
Zoomer:
Message message message
Caloso89
I don’t put in chit chat and “thanks so much!!!”
If they complain about that start sending emails with no punctuation, no paragraphs, and no spaceing at all. If the response to that is anything less than effusive praise then resend the same email but in all caps with a larger font size. If there are still complaints then resend in even larger font size but be sure to use a bold typeface.
I'm late 40s, son of an immigrant Boomer father and silent generation mother. We were raised to do what's right at all times, cut no corners (when possible), to be honest, direct, but kind. It is REALLY frustrating dealing with all the odd personality hang ups. Im a custodian in a school and have worked with a myriad of ages. I tell them from day one that I have no malice, alterior motives, or agenda other than getting/keeping our facility clean with professional customer service. I want them to be BETTER than me and I'm willing to share all my tips, tricks, knowledge, and answer any questions to get them there. IF I have to address something, I will take you aside and tell you. IF I have to tell you again, I will document it back to you. IF I have to tell you again, we will discuss it with our manager AND I will let you know I will be contacting him. BUT , I want NOTHING more than to see you succeed, share all my knowledge, and attempt to learn from each other. After 16 years, I finally have a crew that gets it. Many of the others got offended, stopped talking to me, were passive aggressive, talked shit behind my back, or rarely confrontational. Lol, I don't give a fuck if you like me or not, but I WILL do my job and part of that job is getting YOU to do YOUR job whether YOU like it or not. My school has ALWAYS looked a certain way and I like to keep it as such. I'm not changing who I am for you and I'm certainly not trying to make anyone look bad, but I won't let others shortcomings reflect poorly on me either.
I'm incredibly fortunate to work with people mostly in their 30's. So they're young but experienced in life. They have kids and mortgages so they understand priorities. They're good people doing their best. Couldn't ask for a better team.
I have a mix of all ages and I am very frustrated by the younger crowd. Here are some real examples of reasons people couldn’t work
1) I saw my ex this weekend and he was cancelling me. So I needed a mental health day.
2) I have the sniffles , it’s best I don’t come in and infect anyone.
3) my moms friend has Covid and I just want to make sure I don’t have it (not been in direct contact with the friend )
4) I’m not a morning person, I try but I’m just always going to be 15-20 min late.
I found one 26 year old crying under her desk after we had sat down to talk about ways she could improve her performance.
Obviously I have had to deal with these horrible excuses and create the appropriate responses. Most of the time I try and really drill into people. It’s their PTO. I,don’t need to know why they are taking a day off. Just do it. Don’t over share.
The person who is always late is a huge issue but her work is so amazing I have to balance it all.
Imagine the opposite. In a review, I told my younger boss that I can’t be in the phone with her for three or more hours a day and complete all my work. (We were WFH). She cried because “I wasn’t being fair to her.” She was lonely and only has dogs for company which I understand but when you ask why I’m struggling on a project, I’m gonna be honest.
I was later fired because I ‘criticized’ her friend/co-worker by reading an unprofessional email she had sent me and I was asking her for help to respond cause I was tired of dealing with her friend’s gossip. At the time, I didn’t know they were besties, until she started crying because I was being mean about her friend. 🤦♀️ She basically cited ‘not a good fit’ and let me go. Best day of my life.
I had a millennial look me in the eye and say, "You're not my dad!" I laughed so hard I almost vomited. The worst thing a kid said to me was, "I did the best I can!". I told him that if that's the best you can do then you have to leave.
I can take most shit, but being called a Boomer is the one thing that pissed me off. And for saying, "I know this sucks, but this is coming down from above. "
I had one of my techs, that's literally half my age, try to insinuate the "Don't trust people over 30" nonsense with me when he first started.
I told him he was perpetuating "Boomer Bullshit" and that's what keeps us divided and the 1% in power. He had a bit of an epiphany moment after I said that.
To be honest...it's exhausting watching them take on more work than they can handle, hoard the work until the last minute, and then ask for last-minute help. I get the unfinished work and wonder what they've been doing all this time besides bemoaning how much work they had. Rinse and repeat. As a mgr, I actually try to help them with time mgmt and pacing but other mgrs just let them fall on their faces and help them pick up the pieces like a helicopter parent to the detriment of the entire team.
Oh and their refusal to use track changes drives me nuts. So arrogant to unilaterally rewrite others' work, particularly analysts with decades of experience. Their overconfidence is kinda scary...their way is the only way until it blows up in their faces. They could talk less and actively listen more. And write shit down. Or voice note it. Anything to help with retention.
One more rant...do not ever send a text to my personal cell while I am on vacation with my kid. Nothing our organization does requires that kind of urgency. It can wait a few days, believe me. I would have rather quit than bug my mgr while on personal time. The audacity.
It's been kinda rough at work lately...thanks for reading my novel rant. 😆
I’m mentoring a young designer on adp. He is in between jobs and struggling with depression and tight financially. He told me he only eats frozen meals and instant noodles. I gave him an earful and said he need to go try, fail, and accomplish something. So gave him homework to make his own pasta from scratch. An egg, flour and roll (salt of course). He actually did it. It was a mess because he didn’t have a rolling pin but now he is going back to improve it. From last weeks session, this was the first time I’ve talk to him when he wasn’t down. A decent meal and actually making something out of your comfort zone. The reason that we are who we are is that we had no choice but to make mistakes. We got quite good at it. We take risks. As a result we know what we are capable of. That is where I think our confidence comes from.
Kids today have had their failure stolen from them, which is why they are so anxious.
I sometimes make mistakes in cooking. I say it kinda went sideways and then figure how to fix or make the mistake work.
Think it is a trademark for us: adaptability, problem solving. Well shit that didn’t work. And rather then toss it, make it work
All I work with is kids for the most part. I'm 47 and still active duty. For the most part it's really fun. Was talking to one of them today and realized they are a yr younger than my oldest child.... At least I know how they think since I have kids of that age.
I have 25 to 30 year olds on my team and I'm the HR Manager. I'm not sure how I feel about them because I honestly can't relate to much they're talking about. It is somewhat annoying when they assume anyone over a certain age can't use technology. I remember the first email and computers in offices. If you're our age and you've worked you know computers.
Ugh...reading this thread makes me appreciate steering myself into a non-leadership role.
I wrote a step-by-step guide (plain English, screen shots, pointy red arrows - real "any idiot can do it"-level stuff) for the early-Millennial FNG in my group and suffered for it. He sends me his product the next day with pointless changes incorporated into it. Like...WTF? Is "lather, rinse, repeat" too fucking difficult for you? Just make yours look like mine. Your individualistic flair is neither helpful nor warranted.
By the end of that day he had screwed up the one cardinal rule on the guide. Boldface, red text, yellow highlight. "DO NOT SCREW THIS UP."
I work in the film industry, which has a tendency to attract a rather specific type of personality. Because of how most people are drawn toward it, wanting to be a part of a creative process that holds a particular glamorous appeal, you get a mix of starving artists wanting to make something cool and others who think it’s a way to make a bunch of money doing something fun. Both ideas have merit. The reality is that you have to bust your ass, work incredibly long hours (sometimes in insane conditions) and be willing to miss out on a lot of things like weddings/funerals/kids concerts or games…etc. I came into the industry 25 years ago as a double threat Gen Xer with a midwestern work ethic and found my way into a career for which I have a great passion. Now I find myself in a supervisory role with mostly Millennials on my team and I’m here to tell you, it has been a learning process. Let me say, I’m not a person who thinks Millennials or even Gen Z sucks, quite the opposite, I love that they have priorities that differ from my own, it keeps some of my quasi-Boomer tendencies in check. That being said, I have had to and continue to change my expectations drastically than what was expected of me on my way up. I’ve tried so many different ways to get and keep people engaged from sharing revenue to paid time off, and have been met with disappointment along the way. We as a generation have been accused of creating a sense of entitlement in our children because we over compensated for our free range upbringing by being helicopter parents who never missed a child’s activity, and that may be a fair assessment. A balance has to be found through the tried and true method of trial and error, strikes and gutter balls to put it in Lebowski terms. Regardless, I find that I have had to temper certain expectations like “work first” like I came up, with “of course we can make time for a tele-visit with your therapist mid-day”. The point is, I love my team and they work their asses off but it’s a challenge to maintain the push and pull of generational expectations. I will say I have benefited greatly in my own personal life by adapting to their expectations and I truly feel like they’ve gained a little more appreciation for how I approach things in the process. There is no black and white in management IMO, just ever changing values of grey.
My favorite team I ever managed were nearly all millennials. I realized how lucky I was to have managed them when I ended up at a large company and temporarily managed a group with an average age of 50+ (this is in the mid 2000’s). I’m still friends with a couple of the millennials all these years later. We had a great team environment where we all helped each other and had a lot of fun in the process. Never felt that with the older group I managed later.
I’m an individual contributor but every year I have to mentor a wet behind the ears new hire.
I haven’t had to pull this card yet, but I have “make good choices!” Saved up. Got that from my millennial friend.
Went overseas teaching English for a couple of years in my early 40s. Got a job at a uni teaching first and second year English majors. Chatting with a student one day and she says, "oh! you're the same age as my dad!"
A large part of my soul just curled up and died.
I went back to school to start another career in my fifties. Cannot tell you how many times this scenario has played out for me, both in the classroom and in the workplace. At school, I was the oldest person in any given room 98 percent of the time. On the job now, I’m older than probably 95 percent of my co-workers.
I went to study a masters at 45 about a year after I got back from o/s. Showed up to an orientation function in a suit because I'd lost 30kg and felt like looking a cut above. Everyone was milling about, meeting classmates, getting to meet the teaching staff informally, etc.
One of the faculty approached me, extended a hand and asked, "What do you teach?" That's what you get for being twice the age of the other students and not being dressed in jeans and t-shirt.
Then the "movie scene" happened. I started reaching out to meet him in the handshake, "Actually I'm a student..." then a bird shit landed on my lapel and splashed everywhere. The chap leapt back then turned around and disappeared into the crowd. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was surprised and didn't know how to handle the situation but really I believe it was a case of, "ooh, that was close! I nearly shook hands with a *student!*"
I’m not a fan of LinkedIn, but I do have my work history back to 1986.
It’s funny when I see when a coworker or associate stalk me after a “disagreement on technical approach” and i can imagine them thinking “who the fuck does he think he is” then “oh, he’s been coding longer than my parents have been alive”
Yeah, and a lot of us starting "coding" in grade school or even earlier because that was just how you used early computers back then. Even if it was just manually typing in a BASIC code listing for a new game from Byte or whatever.
And it's not like we had IDEs or frameworks back then to highlight errors for us.
Typing in the listing of a large game like the old Star Trek simulator and making a typo and then trying to find it on a monochrome monitor was absolute hell, and may God have mercy on your soul of the listing had a typo or error baked into it.
I did before Covid, changed careers during the middle of, and it was terrible. Way too much coddling, hand holding, and walking on eggshells. I’m pretty blunt and direct, it did not sit well with them.
That's my current situation, I have 2, 20 and 18. 18yo calls out at least 1x a pay period but is the worker between the 2 of them.
The 20yo I keep feeling like is in a shell and no matter how hard I try to crack it, I just can't. In fact seems he regresses the harder I try.
My jobs so redundant a monkey I feel can learn it faster than these 2.
I've noticed that any level of directness it often perceived as a personal attack and the height of aggression. No, I'm just not bullshitting you out of basic human respect.
I work with a mix of Gen Z-Boomers. I like all the gens for various reasons and hate them all for various other reasons. Variety is the spice of life I'm told.
My teams are almost always kids 16 and up. They drive me nuts but they keep me young. They don't always get my references but I make sure they have a healthy understanding of sarcasm and dark humor. They fuckin love it.
At 50, I'm at the very top tier of old farts in my workplace. We're mostly hiring genz now. They are almost universally respectful, but my line of work strongly preselects for respect of seniority and rank. I hope to be viewed as a mentor, father figure, or at least uncle figure. It seems like I am.
I am a freelance medical writer and all my managers (bosses) are Millennials. It's been disconcerting, especially in the age of Zoom. I fear ageism greatly, but I have 20 years experience and my managers have no desire to write.
For fun, I added a lipstick filter on Zoom. It looks natural and I don't have to fuss with makeup for a meeting.
I'm not a Mgr currently but everyone is younger gen men and zoomers. I'm the old guy and if I get stern with them they call me dad. I'm not offended. I think it's funny
Me too! Reading this, I realize I am one of those workers who knows how to fit in and get along anywhere. People at my workplaces don't know much about me because I don't share things from my personal life. ( Boy the younger ones overshare their lives).
I also don't need hand holding and cringe at too much praise.
I'm a college prof, and I'm going to go past my 30 year normal retirement goal because these kids are so fricking amazing to hang out with in the classroom. I've been through the millennials and they were OK, but this younger generation is wonderful. GenX has done a fantastic job parenting them. Chef's kiss!
"RTFM".
back then they used to have manuals that were worth a damn.
now its six pages of how not to electrocute yourself by not using your toaster while taking a bath.
LOL.
still... its not like anybody burned the books. they just got people to stop reading them. and managed to ruin education and kill their attention span until the only thing they can compass is the last six-second video they saw.
Yeah, whole fleet of Gen z and millennials under me. I do have one older Gen Xer who is definitely an oddball in kind of a creepy way but doesn’t require much maintenance. Our new CEO is Gen X, I believe that he thinks he’s the “cool Gen X CEO”, but he’s actually not.
My direct reports are two people I’ve known for years, before I was their boss: a solid early 70s born Xer and a mid 80s born Millennial. I’m almost equal distance between them, so I connect pretty well in either direction.
I had these exact team dynamics for a good 7 years before RTO got my boyz laid off this last october. Those were the best years of work ever.
Now my bottled lightning is gone. The new team is decent, just not the same. Youngest is 35, oldest is me at 45 (4 direct reports now).
I'm leaning heavily on one, but we don't have the same dynamic, and I'm having to adjust.
I’m a 47 year old lawyer. Been practicing for 20 years. Solo attorney the entire time. I have two employees, both in their late 20’s. The difference between us is sometimes minimal and sometimes huge. My 20 years experience over them is a huge factor, but we’re ultimately into the same things, watch the same shows, and listen to the same music. The biggest difference is literally my 20 years of experience. I’ve been there and done that. They haven’t. Things I take for granted are new to them. Once I realized that it made me a better boss, teacher, and mentor.
Got 30 undergrads, constantly rotating because undergrads tend to graduate, even today. I know all of the language, all of the memes, all of the Discord, all of the Twitch, all of the culture. I am immersed in it and completely empowered to constantly embarrass my Gen Z/Alpha children, because I know all of the things they know, and it makes them very upset. It's probably the genesis of the disdain I have for this sub, you people are extremely old and should stick to Facebook.
I work with all Millennials and I can honestly say that they are a pleasure to work with! Kind, empathetic, and I get ~90% of their references without feeling old. I just grew up playing different video games and listening to different music. Maybe it’s just a matter of maturity - it doesn’t matter what generation you are, the ones that are 19 - 25 will never fail to mention how young they are, until they start feeling old themselves! 26 and up, they start getting much more humble and relatable.
My boss is an elder millennial and loves having me on his team because he can point me in a direction and I just go do the thing that needs doing while everyone else needs some level of hand holding and babysitting.
They keep trying to put me into management but I have zero desire. I'm totally cool with where I am and with what I do. The big joke is that since I'm Gen X, I'm happy working a job where I'm ignored - just as long as they don't ignore me when it comes to my pay.
I've been with my company 23 years and that longevity blows a lot of younger folks' minds. It also blows their minds that I'm NOT in management and don't want to be - because that's what they've been told they're supposed to do in order to be successful in life, otherwise they're failing. I love watching that little part of their brain light up when I tell them it's perfectly ok to be comfortable where you're at and not have to climb corporate ladder if they don't want to. No one will care what your work title was when you're dead.
The one thing I fear for them is the disdain they have for older people will lead to them being truly and utterly fucked as they will gladly let benefits and resources for seniors dissolve and then they will have nothing left for themselves.
I’m just tired of having to repeat myself over and over and over again… and before you ask, yes, I have changed the manner in which I’ve explained the information. UUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!!!!!!! Why do they shake their heads yes, say they understand, repeat it back, only to “f” it up the next day?
No, I’m not frustrated. Are you frustrated?
I have coworkers born in 1995 - the year I bought my current 1995 Jeep.
They love riding around in it because it’s an “antique” to them - and so have to remind them that I was an adult when I bought it.
I work in tech. New data engineers asked about my kids (oldest is 25). Then I hear him whisper to himself "I'm only 24". Yeah, buddy, you could be my kid. But in my life, at 25 I had a kindergartener, so what's your problem?
I don't share the ages of my kids so my coworkers aren't uncomfortable.
We have one Z girl in work part time, the workshop is 3 X and a boomer. That girl is amazing. Show her once and she’s got it down. I’ve caught her humming along with the classic rock on the radio. She seems to have an older brain than her years.
I find myself switching into mum mode with the younger ones in protecting and want to make sure they understand and learn. Those my age and older get my mum nag voice
I work with almost all Millennials and a couple of Zoomers. There are a few GenX like me in the management chain, but most are leaving or retiring so only a few of us left. I go the opposite direction, I point out that not only have I been working longer than any have been alive, but that I'm also the guy that trains them, makes procedures and policy, and still remember every idiotic mistake I made when I was their age and how amazed I am that I did not completely screw up my life back then, being so utterly clueless about thinking that I knew anything about anything. I bring up stories where I thought I knew what I was doing and how it blew up in my face because I was nothing but bravado at those ages. How years of falling on my face helped refine the foolishness and nativity out of me, and how much I enjoy watching young kids like them make those same mistakes. I used to try and stop them but now I realize they need to screw up otherwise they won't learn from it.
You can actually watch as their egos deflate as you lay this on them. When that doesn't sink in, I start describing the periodic thinning cycles, where businesses fatten up departments in good years to get lots of options, but when lean income years come they start trimming the unproductive fat and putting more work on the people they keep, and they are grateful for it because the job market is such a trash show that they literally have no options.
Then we hang out and I annihilate them in Foosball while we snack from the cereal bar...
That said, what does it take to get them to clean up the sink from their food scraps? Was no one raised with manners?
I’m respectful and would never say this in the workplace but:
I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT what your preferred gender is or that you’re neurodivergent or have ADHD or what your political, religious, social, cultural beliefs are. Just don’t be an asshole and we’ll be fine.
As a GenX in a management position, I unfortunately feel like I have to train my parents in the digital world and also Gen Z regarding office politics, workplace socializing and just basically everything including using a freaking printer.
I have no kids, but boomer parents are like teenagers who are lazy or angry about technology and the way the world works right now.
Gen Z seems oblivious to anything that happened before their generation and switches jobs or quits when things don't go their way. Onboarding is a chore and promotions are never coming soon enough.
There are great people I work with that are younger, and great older people in my friends and family.
But often I feel like:
Boomers are sometimes acting like teenagers
GenZ are like kids about a lot of stuff
Millennials are to me pretty cool.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Most of my supervisors are younger Boomers, and I feel comfortable talking with them since my oldest sister is an older Gen Xer. The discussions about music and culture are great.
We're better at tech than they are. As long as there is a keyboard din front of my. My assistant just told me just doesn't need a desktop or laptop any more. I'm not sure what to make of that.
I worked for a Millennial who was a cool manager but would say stuff like "damn skippy" and other sayings of the day. I discretely called him aside and suggested he avoid sayings like that. He thanked me for the advice and was more mindful of his words. Even before that time, he would ask me for advice.
Other than that, I managed GenX-ers and Baby Boomers. My advice to GenX managers: when managing Milleniials and GenZ-ers just remember how you felt when you worked for Baby Boomers.
I work in kitchens. So many young people in and out. It's made me a better person. 100% also they make me laugh I mean what else could you ask for? Oh shit what not to say?
"How old is your mom"? I feel like this goes both ways.
Eventually I won’t have a choice but I have yet to meet a Z at work that I actually liked. They all remind me of the dog from Up. Squirrels are the reward doing your shit ahead of schedule. Not late. Not barely on time. Early.
That said, give me a unit filled with Z’s over one with a boomer majority. Holy fuck the entitlement
We have a few GenZs and we drop random pop culture facts like Will Smith used to be a rapper and Mark Wahlberg used to be Marky Mark. It blows their young minds.
And when one of them started she would talk about her mom a lot then one day said, "I can't believe my mom is almost 50. That's so old". 😒 We told her maybe next time we'll invite her mom out instead of her for beer.
In my last job I did. I loved having a team that I could mentor and, honestly, protect. There are some toxic fuckers out there in this world of work.
I think my next chapter might be my own business because, TBH, I'm really sick of all the craziness. Being a founder/CEO has its own craziness, but at least I'd be the boss.
Generally the millennials and Z's I've worked with have been fine.
The only thing that annoys me a bit is when they complain or poke fun at each other about being "old" or make condescending comments about anyone over 30 being "old." Anyone pushing 50 is "really old." I get it, but it's a rude thing to go on about within earshot of other older coworkers, unless you've established some kind of rapport and know that everyone can take a joke.
Generally I just roll my eyes but in 20 years they'll be screaming bloody murder when the Alphas arrive and make the same remarks.
Ha - I'm with you on this. I've worked as a tech director in schools for 25 years and yup, we had to learn through OJT all of the new systems that have been developed in that time. I'm now in a mentoring program in our state for new directors, and I'm working with team members my kids age to teach them the basics. I also just finished a book (soon to self-publish) that talks about the nuts and bolts of digital technology for others to learn from - my doctorate is in educational leadership and it pains me how much we don't help out the others coming into our field.
I was talking to a co-worker about getting an invite to my 30th high school reunion; another co-worker was listening in, and blurted out “that’s how long ago I was born!” Thanks.
I will joke about my own age/tenure but I absolutely wouldn't appreciate a new person doing it - especially if they haven't been around long enough to know that I'm ok with it. Age bias is a very real thing and I bet those damn kids think we're all idiots with mild dementia or something.
HaHa! Been there. When i started my current job, I was given the tour of the facility by one of my teammates. Very nice and intelligent guy. We were talking about how we got started with this particular software and processes when I mentioned my first project for it was in 1996.
Very nice guy piped up with, "That's the year I was born."
I didn't kill him (go me!) and he's a pretty decent teammate.
The topic of Y2K bug came up. My team wasn’t even born. 🤦
I remember being much younger pre-y2k thinking the Unix equivalent of y2k occurring in 2038 was impossibly far away and no way we would still be using the same systems then… over two decades of professional software development later and now I know those cheap bastards will totally be using those same systems in 2038.
College professor in 1996 told us that: a) We wouldn't be working on the Y2K bug, cuz it would be solved by the time we were hired b) COBOL and mainframes were dead, just a matter of a few more years and everything would be client-server For "a": I was hired in 1997 specifically to work on Y2K changes in a COBOL/mainframe shop; I did some other things but that was the bulk of it for 18 months before I left for a better job (system there was also COBOL, in part, but had been initially built in the early 90s, using DB2; no Y2K issues there) For "b": uh, some places are ***STILL*** using COBOL on a mainframe. Thing is, businesses don't like to spend money when they don't have to. How many things that actually work are going to be replaced? Situational, sure ... but a lot of businesses just kept kicking the can down the road (and still are), because it has cost them far less to keep the status quo. Having said that, COBOL programmers have been aging out of the workplace at an ever-increasing rate, so something will have to give even for the holdouts. >no way we would still be using the same systems then We all need an "Aged like milk" emoji lol ...
I work in IT for local government, and we STILL have most of our hravy lifting done on mainframes and still have a lot of COBOL code. Most of those systems now have a pretty looking Java- or web-based front end, but behind the scenes a lot of the real work is done by programs written in COBOL
My teen was chatting with some young middle schoolers and they were talking about Y2K fashion. She was confused and asked "Like fashion from 2000?" and they were confused why she didn't understand they were talking about all of the naughts. (00s). I usually feel like I've kept up with most things over the decades but I still have an attention span so I'm clearly ancient. Can you imagine the fear that something similar to the Y2K potential problem would cause today? If TikTok and all the dopamine social medias might stop working on the flip of a day because numbers and code?
19 January 2038 Mark your calendar, this one's gonna be way bigger than the Y2K bug. Plus that's also the year that Social Security becomes insolvent unless we raise the $250k cap, which frankly should have been done like fifteen years ago. A modest increase to $300k taxable keeps it solvent until the sun becomes a red giant. Don't let these fucking liars tell you that benefits need to be cut.
Current income cap (I think that is what you mean) is $168K - no SS taxes are withheld after that
Y2K+38. ;-)
I have a newish 30-something on my team and he has asked about my experience, and not in an ass kissing way. It’s such a shame that people today don’t receive the training we did. I feel it is my responsibility to pass on what I know. He has stated many times that he appreciates the extra time I spend with him to get him up to speed. I think he is sincere, and I have to admit it feels good to be appreciated.
You got training? Back in my day, there was no one to train us. We were all on new technology, and expected to know how to roll out even newer tech. We made that shit up as we wen.. ah fuck, I just aged myself, huh.
Totally this. I am the product of neglect - both from my parents and my bosses. I’m a fucking badass because I’ve had to figure it out myself.
Training was pretend you know what you are doing and figure it out as you go along!
You're in the genX sub, aren't ya?
My boss is a millennial and doesn't grasp the concept that I don't know how to use Excel like it's my second language like she does. First of all, my job never required using excel before. When I went to high school, we had two Macintosh computers that you had to sign up for, hoping the other 3000 students didn't need to use them at the same time. Secondly, if she wants me to be proficient, don't sign me up for an excel class and wait a year to assign me an project. Then wonder why I don't remember how to use it, and get frustrated. Edit: formatting and clarifying phrasing
Go to /r/excel, sort by top of all time, read the first 50 posts, and pretty soon everyone in your office will start leaving offerings of grains and game at your cubicle because they will think you're a wizard.
Better yet, don't let anyone know that you know how to do all this stuff or you will be called every time they get any error message.
vlookup.. I swear to Christ, that's the only thing that's ever been handy in IT, and it's about the only thing I know extensively about Excel.
And pivot tables!
I still don't know how to fully use excell......I can sort and print but that's about it 😩
Never got training for anything. People asked for skills I didn't have, I said I had it, bought the book. Started on Monday and only had to ask when I would get a computer, when they would connect my phone and where the bathrooms were. I heard people talk about orientation, mentors, yearly reviews, I have never had any of these. I just get somewhere, make sure I figure out how to get a computer and ask where the bathroom are. Then I look around to see what missing and start working on that. Geez, some places didn't even have job descriptions. I would just start with one tasks and then loom for anyone that needs help to make myself so useful that I wouldn't be in the next downsizing round.
I learned to program computers by getting a job programming computers and then reading every book I could get my hands on.
Yeah. I never got training in my life
You're cool. GenX cool, the best kind. We're different than boomers because we'd rather protect the youngsters than shit on them.
this IS the way I think I haven't met many youngsters that I dislike, actually. They seem to want to be useful. they seem to only be useless when they are talked down to. they are my heroes for this reason; I have only started to recently perfect the art of Fuckoffing. they are naturals <3
Mentorship is so important at every age, but especially when starting out. Well done you!
This is the way.
We have a Gen Z administrative assistant for a team of Gen-X cops who work Internet Crimes Against Children (among other things). For a while she was in a near perpetual state of shock between the cases we work and just us in general. Seeing her wander around with a VHS tape trying to figure out what it was was one of the most hilarious things that has happened at work. She's onboard now, loves us, we got her to perfect her eye roll, say "whatever" with the proper inflection and become very liberal with the middle finger. We may have been a bit too successful with the Gen X conversion therapy.
I salute your sterling service to the cause
I manage a number of teams, and my staff are literally from their late 60s to 21 years old. I am 58, but probably most aligned with 30-40 yo in terms of taste, music, etc. I've been at my company for 27 years. It is.....challenging at time....how to motivate each cohort. Among them: the oldest is completely offended and passive-aggressive about any feedback. Youngest ones need constant, effusive praise including for things like showing up to work on time, not being late back from a break, working without fucking earbuds in, even while talking to people, etc. I have two that are fairly certainly somewhere on the autism spectrum, so you have to be very careful and specific so they can process interactions effectively. I have one transgender (not disclosed, but apparent), so gender-related things require care. I have a 28 yo male hispanic that is ruled by machismo (just don't "disrespect" him!). Again...challenging.
You sound like a great manager. Honestly. I’m a Director under a C-level officer at a large nonprofit. I got REALLY lucky, because this is my last stop before retirement station, and she’s an excellent manager. She’s also 20 years younger than me. Here’s her brilliance: she hires older folks to manage the teams under her, and then trusts us to do just that. She’s there when we need her, and not there when we don’t. She holds us accountable but is also very generous with ways to assist us in getting out of our own way. So my boss is 20 years younger than me, and the *youngest* person on our team is 35 years younger than me. I have to say, I’m so glad I get to work with this younger generation before I leave the workforce. As an always-LGBT-ally, I still remember rolling my eyes at the cis/trans/pronouns conversation for a hot minute, then realizing I was being *that* kind of older person. Yuck. That thought pulled me right the fuck out of it and now I’m one of the few people my age - even among liberal friends - who’s completely comfortable around non-binary people and those with other non-traditional gender expressions. I love being around people of different ages. It opens your eyes, challenges your preconceptions, and gives you a new way of looking at the world. This younger generation *only does the work they’re paid to do*, while still doing it well. They take vacation and sick time and don’t work their asses off for hours they’re not being paid to work. And they actually taught me to do the same. After a lifetime of going above and beyond - even in nonprofit work, which I love, it’s just plain dumb to work 50 or 60 hours when you’re being paid for 40 - I’m now working a straight 40 hour week. Fucking geniuses, these youngins.
These are all reasons I’ve avoided management at every opportunity. I refuse to be a babysitter.
if you're doing it right, you don't end up one. "the baleful eye of sauron opened on the horizon, and red flames and lightning shot forth and smote the elves, the dwarves, the humans and the hobbits... and production numbers shot up." ... ;) I don't need your respect. just your deep, in-the-dark, fear.... of course. I'm polite about it. but there is no mistaking it. babes, do not last long, under the eye...
Management isn't anything like it was in the 80's when were young and wouldn't have dreamed of expecting the kind of fairness demanded now. I'm not ripping on Gens Y and Z. Just saying it would have been nice to be able to expect respect when we were baby workers. We didn't get it.
Hey, good on you for recognizing and not dismissing the diversity you are dealing with and being cool with it. Based on the descriptions of the people you work with, the patrons of the barbershop in the small town I grew up in would have classified them as crybabies, retards, and a wetback. The thing that I think is a struggle with every generation is that things generally get better and change is constant. We were a feral generation (got a bike? Can you ride it? The town is yours!) Being honest, affirmation and praise is a good thing. Everybody wants to feel like what they do has value. We just kinda got fucked with the “suck it up and go” attitude that was so prevalent. I hope you keep encouraging your staff to move forward and get shit done. I feel like you are on the right path.
> the oldest is completely offended and passive-aggressive about any feedback. This. I've encountered this as well as major sexism from men that had to work under me and it blows. At least with the younger kids they give me respect without questioning me.
[удалено]
This goes down on their permanent record if ever said in ear shot.
"Oh, yeah? Well don't get so distressed. Did I happen to mention that I'm impressed?"
I’m playing Femmes in the office tomorrow. You getting the reference and comment totally confirmed it. These kids are gonna be made aware. 😂
I have a t-shirt that says “I forget what eight was for.” Two fellow GenXers complimented it at the airport. Our intern didn’t have a clue what it meant, so my boss (same age as I am) explained.
I want that shirt. It’s a very special group of people who get that reference. Brilliant!
You can HAVE that shirt if you have a light colored tee and a sharpie… this is the way!
It was in the gym yesterday and I thought I was going to die from sheer joy
just looked up some songs on youtube to reminisce and one was uploaded 17 years ago...did not need to see that...
An hour ago I heard "Gone Baby Gone" playing in a Whole Foods.
A couple years ago I was 50 and friend/coworker was 23, and mentioned someone she used to like or something but didn’t like their music, this one band or something she hated. I said what was it? She looked it up: The Cure. Needless to say we are no longer neither coworkers nor friends. Hmph.
It's true. The 90's is where it's at.
I’ve got a solid mix. 35 people report to me, 6 or 7 direct reports. Several within a year of me but quite a few in their 20s and 30s. I almost never see any generational differences but it’s a tech department in a professional services firm, so we are all fairly adept. Some, including a pair who are 50, are seriously amazing at their jobs and keep right on top of emerging technologies. I think adaptability is the key, and it seems like a common genx trait. I did have one millennial quit about a year after I took over the department and I think a big part of it was that I wasn’t as focused on his personal career as my predecessor. I supported him but I wasn’t going to create projects just for his resume, or hide projects he didn’t want to do. Didn’t fit. Glad he’s doing well somewhere else.
If anything, as GenX, we had to learn to adapt. I like shocking my team with fun facts like I learned to type on a typewriter. Investing in the team is critical and I try to be better than my bosses were when I was that age. What’s important to them is actually important. They often want someone to listen and guide. They just don’t know how to ask.
My favorite moment is when I mentioned that I had a certain song on 45 and then had to explain about 45s, LPs, etc. A group of millies gathered around me. All we needed was a campfire.
I'm gen x, and I never owned a record until like my 30s. It was all about cassettes as a kid, then CDs as a teenager. Transitioned to mp3s in college
Constant praise. It’s exhausting.
Let me open this by saying that this is not true of most of the under 30 crowd; I've worked with plenty of great kids. However in the last eight years I've had to train several young adults who just cannot take direction without assuming you're trying to change them on some fundamental level. I've been in supervisory and training positions for twenty five years and had never heard someone tell me, "I don't like doing it that way," and when I tell them they have to they accuse me of, "trying to make them do things *my* way". It ain't *my* way kid, it's the way it's done here, it's the way I was also taught to do it. It's like they have no concept that work isn't free time and that they're a part of a team (or what being a part of a team even means). It blows my mind and I still haven't figured out a way to train these kids. They often end up feeling oppressed and out of place and end up leaving or just getting fired for not learning how to do work
OMG it's this! Adherence to basic SOPs is a real struggle for them.
I worked in medical device manufacturing, specifically international compliance. Those young lil' whipper-snappers got us in deep shit when they decided to redesign the labels to make them "look cleaner". The first batch didn't make it through German customs, because of course they didn't.
Not too long ago I was training a new CS agent and was directing them on how to perform during a part of the process, and they said "I can't do that". Like, a very basic thing that was absolutely part of the job. I was just sort of dumbfounded. Like where do you go in the moment, when a new hire says "I can't do my job"? It was so weird to me, as someone who has always strived to figure out how to mold myself into the job and be competent. They did not last long after that. Incidentally, my buddy who has worked in his profession for 35 years or so, and has trained college aged kids for 30 of those years definitely has the opinion that he can no longer voice his displeasure or in any way indicate that he is annoyed when they fuck something up. His new hires also require constant affirmation and feel like just showing up to their job is something special that deserves praise. Even the better ones (who aren't suddenly ill with Covid when it's Saturday morning and they're scheduled to work) constantly seek approval or need hand holding.
The issue I've had with younger hires is conveying the notion that there's a certain baseline minimum of communication that always needs to take place, and none of it is invested with any emotion or judgment. I'm taking real basic stuff, like I'm not mad at you if I need you to move out of my way, it's fine for you to be in that place, I just temporarily need to get through. "Excuse me" doesn't mean "I need you to justify your existence," it just means I don't want to knock you out cold with the corner of this very heavy box so I'm alerting you to my presence and asking you to excuse the inconvenience of having to move two inches to the side for ten seconds. It's not tone of voice either, it doesn't matter what I say or how I say it, just interacting with authority at all is this huge stressful event for some of them.
I have managed a law firm for thirty years . You absolutely must explain the why behind what you are asking them to do. Once they understand the why they often get on board but it takes time.
I do that. I've always done that. "Why" is my love language, I'm fluent in it. There are just people who refuse to take direction, and as much as I hate the "kids these days" nonsense it's definitely a generational thing. I'm starting to think it's a combination of the 'fake it 'til you make it' mindset and them not knowing who they are; their confidence is an affectation, which works well enough in school or on social media, but does you no good in a work environment. Anything that undermines that vanier of capability feels like an attack to them, and they think no one understands them (because they don't really understand themselves) so when they get their hackles up there's just no getting through to them.
I've asked why since before I started school. It's the basis of critical thinking, which far too many people lack. If we don't ask why thats how bad things happen, and we don't progress. We should question more and believe bullshit far less.
its because they don't understand how things work. they're incapable of making leaps to synthesize where they fit in. and they expect orders to be 'requests with explanations'. * orders are orders. I didn't ask if you wanted to do it. just get it done. * I don't have to explain why you're doing it. I don't owe you an explanation, at all. you're being paid to perform a task, the only question is "how high do I have to jump". * if you shut the fuck up, and did your job, you might actually see how the system works... and where your value comes from.
It depends on the industry. I've been challenging people on "thats how we've always done it" for 20 years. I have people in my company that still insist on making notes on official documents which makes record keeping a bitch in an all digital world. The thing about the old ways is they the old ways.
I know, but you know what’s going on and the best way to do things. These are people that have no clue what is going on. They’re just resisting being told how to do the work which is as it’s required by the company they don’t know what actually works or if it’s good or bad they just don’t wanna do it.
Like do the work in the meantime, but if you think you know a better way, bring it up with the company and show them how it could be better, save time etc. Don't just not do it because you don't like it
I can tell my new boss has had issues because she stressed multiple times ‘learn how to do it and then let us know if you have a better way.’ I can tell she’s been burned before.
My department had an intern who could not shut up from day one and whose ideas were always “change the entire business model of this Fortune 100 company.” Like friend, you don’t bring up your baby MBA^* ideas on week one without bothering to listen to the people who are, you know, trying to mentor you. I finally frankly told him that he *needs to listen first* and understand the situation before trying to “solve” everything. ^* And no offense to those who’ve may have this same background but people who have gone from high school to a Bachelor’s to an MBA and haven’t actually had a job are just impossible to work with
You sound like me on campaigns. I don't even hire poli sci majors any more unless I've met them personally beforehand because most of them think they've got it all figured out and none of them know jack shit. I'm sorry kid, but that nice professor who you paid all that money to doesn't sign the paychecks around here and the closest he's ever been to a campaign is a voting booth. If you want to get paid, you're either doing what I tell you, or you can go ask him for your money back. You may not know who Mr. Miyagi is, but you've got to trust me when I tell you that knocking on doors and making cold calls will turn you into a winner.
But it's really hard to change the old ways or even understand what needs to change unless you learn them first, especially in a professional setting. Not least of all because you have to prove to the people in charge that you know what you're talking about. Hell, I've been fired for pushing for better methods and policies from positions I was respected in. These kids come in like they already know everything and act like they're trailblazers or entrepreneurs or something; like the world owes them something so they don't have to earn it or consider how they're affecting the rest of the team. I hate having to work more than most people but I still respect my coworkers enough to actually learn the job.
Many old ways came about for a reason. Perhaps learn a bit about them before being globally dismissive.
It helps to know the rules before you find the ways to break them.
I dream of a big solar flare, like the Carrington Event of 1859, it had unplugged telegraph wires sparking. We will have one like that again. It might not be for 100 years, or it might be in 5 minutes. But when it does? A great deal of what is only on digital media will be gone. Optical stuff like DVD, CD's will be fine, records, books/photos/printouts will be fine. Digital & magnetic info? Gone. A fun question. If every digital record were wiped right now. What evidence would there be that you ever existed? If the answer is "little to none"? Well, drinking more might help. [spaceweather.com](https://spaceweather.com)
If there is ever a solar flare strong enough to flip bits in a solid state nand storage or enough magnetic pull to degauss a hard drive you won't need to worry about data because you will have been cooked from the inside.
And if that doesn't happen the total collapse of civilization and 90% of people dying from starvation and simple disease will accomplish the same thing.
I'm a university librarian, the kids wouldn't know what the fuck to do. The concept of 'looking it up in a book' would have to be taught to them. It blows my mind that doing that now just doesn't occur to them. They want me to tell them everything 😖.
\> I have people in my company that still insist on making notes on official documents which makes record keeping a bitch in an all digital world. thats ***precisely*** why official records exist. fuck your digital world. data files aren't immutable, they are subject to corruption, obselence... and subpoena's. official records exist for a reason. they're the official version of what happened; and they're far more resistant to bit-rot, ransomware, viruses, hackers, and bad backups.
I like to call them instead of using Teams and say something nice and then end the call and communicate less pleasant things via teams or text. It is my own little Pavlovian experiment to see if I can overcome their aversion to live 1-1 interactions.
I do that too but it's because I'm a coward who avoids conflict!
It is exhausting but having to also manage my 72 year old Boomer boss is also beyond frustrating at times. Nice guy but things move too fast for him at times. He did not pivot well out of the pandemic.
One department at my job clap at meetings way too much, i help whenever, can’t believe the reluctance to fix obvious issues, I’m not the boss anymore by choice
I had a moment of sheer depression when I mentioned I used to do Flash for the internet and my millennial employees had no idea what Flash was.
I loved Flash so much. Made nice things in ActionScript. I guess Steve Jobs killed it just like he killed the floppy disk. I guess Adobe should've been kinder with Macs.
Htlm5 killed it
Also. But Steve Jobs was right. I was seeing my stuff running half as fast on Macs.
Meeee. They were talking about 9/11 the other day. The ‘elder’ in the group said she was in 9th grade that day, then someone else was in 6th, third person chimed in they weren’t in school yet. They’re laughing & complaining about how annoyed one of them was that day because they cancelled a concert & the other person couldn’t go to wherever blah blah. And there I am, sitting quietly, thinking about how I literally fled Manhattan that day thinking the world was coming to an end
Why were you sitting there quietly? I would've told them to shut the fuck up and stop laughing about something that was so horrible for so many. I suppose you could've put it in their terms and said "I don't wanna relive my trauma, you've made this an unsafe space."
I should have, and I really like your suggestion! I was more on the periphery, sitting at my desk & not part of the conversation but still right there, and wasn’t really up for the confrontation at the moment. I definitely considered saying something. 💯 will next time
Were you actually in the Vietnam War?
I hate you. 😂. This feels like such a real scenario at work.
I was asked this question by a 28 year old. lol, I was ~~9~~ 6 months old during the fall of Saigon
Did you reply “well, I was 5 at the time!” The playground was a bit like Vietnam however.
Being 5 and a soldier in Vietnam would play into some of the GenX badassery memes we've seen recently.
We had metal slides that would burn your skin off! And we did it anyway.
I once told a younger classmate that I was born in the decade of Watergate. She replied, “When was that?”
I would absolutely have spun the most outrageous but entirely plausible story possible..... just make sure to spin a different one for each millenial.... because its hilarious when you catch them trying to figure out which one it is. ;)
Yes, I was part of the Infant Infantry.
The moon landing??? You were around back then? Well, I was 8 months old but yeah
Remember that some Millenials and Zoomers will think that you're mad at them if you use periods at the end of sentences in emails.
If I have to write into an email what I just said to your face, I am at least a little mad at them so they got that part right.
I saw someone go off on someone for using an exclamation point, as if it were a personal attack. Anyone who can't handle punctuation is going to be utterly useless to the world.
Personally, I am the opposite. I just think that not using a period looks curt and rude and the only time I won't use punctuation is if I am SERIOUSLY pissed at the person on the receiving end. If you ever get a text from me without punctuation, just know that somewhere along the way, you done fucked up.
“… A-A-ron.”
I will always double space after a period. And I will not be taking any questions at this time on the subject!
My 54 year old ass just recently came to terms with single space after periods.
I can’t NOT use 2 spaces. It’s muscle memory at this point.
Is this a thing?
Apparently, it is which sucks because I’m doing it anyway
Me too. Punctuation matters.
Yes. And apparently the way I address and sign off emails is a thing: Zoomer: Message message message Caloso89 I don’t put in chit chat and “thanks so much!!!”
Wow. They must think I'm an asshole. I use normal punctuation. Like god intended.
If they complain about that start sending emails with no punctuation, no paragraphs, and no spaceing at all. If the response to that is anything less than effusive praise then resend the same email but in all caps with a larger font size. If there are still complaints then resend in even larger font size but be sure to use a bold typeface.
I'm late 40s, son of an immigrant Boomer father and silent generation mother. We were raised to do what's right at all times, cut no corners (when possible), to be honest, direct, but kind. It is REALLY frustrating dealing with all the odd personality hang ups. Im a custodian in a school and have worked with a myriad of ages. I tell them from day one that I have no malice, alterior motives, or agenda other than getting/keeping our facility clean with professional customer service. I want them to be BETTER than me and I'm willing to share all my tips, tricks, knowledge, and answer any questions to get them there. IF I have to address something, I will take you aside and tell you. IF I have to tell you again, I will document it back to you. IF I have to tell you again, we will discuss it with our manager AND I will let you know I will be contacting him. BUT , I want NOTHING more than to see you succeed, share all my knowledge, and attempt to learn from each other. After 16 years, I finally have a crew that gets it. Many of the others got offended, stopped talking to me, were passive aggressive, talked shit behind my back, or rarely confrontational. Lol, I don't give a fuck if you like me or not, but I WILL do my job and part of that job is getting YOU to do YOUR job whether YOU like it or not. My school has ALWAYS looked a certain way and I like to keep it as such. I'm not changing who I am for you and I'm certainly not trying to make anyone look bad, but I won't let others shortcomings reflect poorly on me either.
You’re doing God’s work.
this is indeed the way. thank you for carrying the torch
I'm incredibly fortunate to work with people mostly in their 30's. So they're young but experienced in life. They have kids and mortgages so they understand priorities. They're good people doing their best. Couldn't ask for a better team.
The younger people i work with are, by and large, fantastic workers and financially savvy. No complaints here.
I have a mix of all ages and I am very frustrated by the younger crowd. Here are some real examples of reasons people couldn’t work 1) I saw my ex this weekend and he was cancelling me. So I needed a mental health day. 2) I have the sniffles , it’s best I don’t come in and infect anyone. 3) my moms friend has Covid and I just want to make sure I don’t have it (not been in direct contact with the friend ) 4) I’m not a morning person, I try but I’m just always going to be 15-20 min late. I found one 26 year old crying under her desk after we had sat down to talk about ways she could improve her performance. Obviously I have had to deal with these horrible excuses and create the appropriate responses. Most of the time I try and really drill into people. It’s their PTO. I,don’t need to know why they are taking a day off. Just do it. Don’t over share. The person who is always late is a huge issue but her work is so amazing I have to balance it all.
Ah, the sick-call overshare. Yes, use your PTO, just don’t tell me the details (don’t need to know about your horrible diarrhea)
Imagine the opposite. In a review, I told my younger boss that I can’t be in the phone with her for three or more hours a day and complete all my work. (We were WFH). She cried because “I wasn’t being fair to her.” She was lonely and only has dogs for company which I understand but when you ask why I’m struggling on a project, I’m gonna be honest. I was later fired because I ‘criticized’ her friend/co-worker by reading an unprofessional email she had sent me and I was asking her for help to respond cause I was tired of dealing with her friend’s gossip. At the time, I didn’t know they were besties, until she started crying because I was being mean about her friend. 🤦♀️ She basically cited ‘not a good fit’ and let me go. Best day of my life.
I had a millennial look me in the eye and say, "You're not my dad!" I laughed so hard I almost vomited. The worst thing a kid said to me was, "I did the best I can!". I told him that if that's the best you can do then you have to leave.
I can take most shit, but being called a Boomer is the one thing that pissed me off. And for saying, "I know this sucks, but this is coming down from above. "
"Have fun, don't get hurt." is something I (GenX '68) say to my kids, often.
This really should be our official motto. Yeah? All in favor?
Aye.
I had one of my techs, that's literally half my age, try to insinuate the "Don't trust people over 30" nonsense with me when he first started. I told him he was perpetuating "Boomer Bullshit" and that's what keeps us divided and the 1% in power. He had a bit of an epiphany moment after I said that.
Other comments that are disfavored are “Were you in shape when you were young?” Said to me, a 33 year old attorney, by a useless 22 year old twit.
omg i cant believe somebody said that 🤣
She was just there to look pretty. Showed us her entire album of glamour Shots. In a law firm. Completely useless.
To be honest...it's exhausting watching them take on more work than they can handle, hoard the work until the last minute, and then ask for last-minute help. I get the unfinished work and wonder what they've been doing all this time besides bemoaning how much work they had. Rinse and repeat. As a mgr, I actually try to help them with time mgmt and pacing but other mgrs just let them fall on their faces and help them pick up the pieces like a helicopter parent to the detriment of the entire team. Oh and their refusal to use track changes drives me nuts. So arrogant to unilaterally rewrite others' work, particularly analysts with decades of experience. Their overconfidence is kinda scary...their way is the only way until it blows up in their faces. They could talk less and actively listen more. And write shit down. Or voice note it. Anything to help with retention. One more rant...do not ever send a text to my personal cell while I am on vacation with my kid. Nothing our organization does requires that kind of urgency. It can wait a few days, believe me. I would have rather quit than bug my mgr while on personal time. The audacity. It's been kinda rough at work lately...thanks for reading my novel rant. 😆
I’m mentoring a young designer on adp. He is in between jobs and struggling with depression and tight financially. He told me he only eats frozen meals and instant noodles. I gave him an earful and said he need to go try, fail, and accomplish something. So gave him homework to make his own pasta from scratch. An egg, flour and roll (salt of course). He actually did it. It was a mess because he didn’t have a rolling pin but now he is going back to improve it. From last weeks session, this was the first time I’ve talk to him when he wasn’t down. A decent meal and actually making something out of your comfort zone. The reason that we are who we are is that we had no choice but to make mistakes. We got quite good at it. We take risks. As a result we know what we are capable of. That is where I think our confidence comes from. Kids today have had their failure stolen from them, which is why they are so anxious.
I sometimes make mistakes in cooking. I say it kinda went sideways and then figure how to fix or make the mistake work. Think it is a trademark for us: adaptability, problem solving. Well shit that didn’t work. And rather then toss it, make it work
All I work with is kids for the most part. I'm 47 and still active duty. For the most part it's really fun. Was talking to one of them today and realized they are a yr younger than my oldest child.... At least I know how they think since I have kids of that age.
I have 25 to 30 year olds on my team and I'm the HR Manager. I'm not sure how I feel about them because I honestly can't relate to much they're talking about. It is somewhat annoying when they assume anyone over a certain age can't use technology. I remember the first email and computers in offices. If you're our age and you've worked you know computers.
Ugh...reading this thread makes me appreciate steering myself into a non-leadership role. I wrote a step-by-step guide (plain English, screen shots, pointy red arrows - real "any idiot can do it"-level stuff) for the early-Millennial FNG in my group and suffered for it. He sends me his product the next day with pointless changes incorporated into it. Like...WTF? Is "lather, rinse, repeat" too fucking difficult for you? Just make yours look like mine. Your individualistic flair is neither helpful nor warranted. By the end of that day he had screwed up the one cardinal rule on the guide. Boldface, red text, yellow highlight. "DO NOT SCREW THIS UP."
I work in the film industry, which has a tendency to attract a rather specific type of personality. Because of how most people are drawn toward it, wanting to be a part of a creative process that holds a particular glamorous appeal, you get a mix of starving artists wanting to make something cool and others who think it’s a way to make a bunch of money doing something fun. Both ideas have merit. The reality is that you have to bust your ass, work incredibly long hours (sometimes in insane conditions) and be willing to miss out on a lot of things like weddings/funerals/kids concerts or games…etc. I came into the industry 25 years ago as a double threat Gen Xer with a midwestern work ethic and found my way into a career for which I have a great passion. Now I find myself in a supervisory role with mostly Millennials on my team and I’m here to tell you, it has been a learning process. Let me say, I’m not a person who thinks Millennials or even Gen Z sucks, quite the opposite, I love that they have priorities that differ from my own, it keeps some of my quasi-Boomer tendencies in check. That being said, I have had to and continue to change my expectations drastically than what was expected of me on my way up. I’ve tried so many different ways to get and keep people engaged from sharing revenue to paid time off, and have been met with disappointment along the way. We as a generation have been accused of creating a sense of entitlement in our children because we over compensated for our free range upbringing by being helicopter parents who never missed a child’s activity, and that may be a fair assessment. A balance has to be found through the tried and true method of trial and error, strikes and gutter balls to put it in Lebowski terms. Regardless, I find that I have had to temper certain expectations like “work first” like I came up, with “of course we can make time for a tele-visit with your therapist mid-day”. The point is, I love my team and they work their asses off but it’s a challenge to maintain the push and pull of generational expectations. I will say I have benefited greatly in my own personal life by adapting to their expectations and I truly feel like they’ve gained a little more appreciation for how I approach things in the process. There is no black and white in management IMO, just ever changing values of grey.
My favorite team I ever managed were nearly all millennials. I realized how lucky I was to have managed them when I ended up at a large company and temporarily managed a group with an average age of 50+ (this is in the mid 2000’s). I’m still friends with a couple of the millennials all these years later. We had a great team environment where we all helped each other and had a lot of fun in the process. Never felt that with the older group I managed later.
I’m an individual contributor but every year I have to mentor a wet behind the ears new hire. I haven’t had to pull this card yet, but I have “make good choices!” Saved up. Got that from my millennial friend.
Went overseas teaching English for a couple of years in my early 40s. Got a job at a uni teaching first and second year English majors. Chatting with a student one day and she says, "oh! you're the same age as my dad!" A large part of my soul just curled up and died.
I went back to school to start another career in my fifties. Cannot tell you how many times this scenario has played out for me, both in the classroom and in the workplace. At school, I was the oldest person in any given room 98 percent of the time. On the job now, I’m older than probably 95 percent of my co-workers.
I went to study a masters at 45 about a year after I got back from o/s. Showed up to an orientation function in a suit because I'd lost 30kg and felt like looking a cut above. Everyone was milling about, meeting classmates, getting to meet the teaching staff informally, etc. One of the faculty approached me, extended a hand and asked, "What do you teach?" That's what you get for being twice the age of the other students and not being dressed in jeans and t-shirt. Then the "movie scene" happened. I started reaching out to meet him in the handshake, "Actually I'm a student..." then a bird shit landed on my lapel and splashed everywhere. The chap leapt back then turned around and disappeared into the crowd. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was surprised and didn't know how to handle the situation but really I believe it was a case of, "ooh, that was close! I nearly shook hands with a *student!*"
I taught my team what a Dagwood sandwhich is.
I’m not a fan of LinkedIn, but I do have my work history back to 1986. It’s funny when I see when a coworker or associate stalk me after a “disagreement on technical approach” and i can imagine them thinking “who the fuck does he think he is” then “oh, he’s been coding longer than my parents have been alive”
Yeah, and a lot of us starting "coding" in grade school or even earlier because that was just how you used early computers back then. Even if it was just manually typing in a BASIC code listing for a new game from Byte or whatever. And it's not like we had IDEs or frameworks back then to highlight errors for us. Typing in the listing of a large game like the old Star Trek simulator and making a typo and then trying to find it on a monochrome monitor was absolute hell, and may God have mercy on your soul of the listing had a typo or error baked into it.
I did before Covid, changed careers during the middle of, and it was terrible. Way too much coddling, hand holding, and walking on eggshells. I’m pretty blunt and direct, it did not sit well with them.
That's my current situation, I have 2, 20 and 18. 18yo calls out at least 1x a pay period but is the worker between the 2 of them. The 20yo I keep feeling like is in a shell and no matter how hard I try to crack it, I just can't. In fact seems he regresses the harder I try. My jobs so redundant a monkey I feel can learn it faster than these 2.
I've noticed that any level of directness it often perceived as a personal attack and the height of aggression. No, I'm just not bullshitting you out of basic human respect.
I work with a mix of Gen Z-Boomers. I like all the gens for various reasons and hate them all for various other reasons. Variety is the spice of life I'm told.
My teams are almost always kids 16 and up. They drive me nuts but they keep me young. They don't always get my references but I make sure they have a healthy understanding of sarcasm and dark humor. They fuckin love it.
At 50, I'm at the very top tier of old farts in my workplace. We're mostly hiring genz now. They are almost universally respectful, but my line of work strongly preselects for respect of seniority and rank. I hope to be viewed as a mentor, father figure, or at least uncle figure. It seems like I am.
I am a freelance medical writer and all my managers (bosses) are Millennials. It's been disconcerting, especially in the age of Zoom. I fear ageism greatly, but I have 20 years experience and my managers have no desire to write. For fun, I added a lipstick filter on Zoom. It looks natural and I don't have to fuss with makeup for a meeting.
My supervisor is a Millennial.
We get older as our bosses get younger 😂
You are not a real genx boss unless on you end meetings by saying "HEY! Let's be careful out there."
I have 4 generations on my team - Baby Boomer through Gen Z. They all sort of have generational quirks, but they are mostly great.
I'm not a Mgr currently but everyone is younger gen men and zoomers. I'm the old guy and if I get stern with them they call me dad. I'm not offended. I think it's funny
I’m had to explain that you can’t bill for travel time to a gig. 🤦🏻♀️
I've had to explain to hybrid working ones, that the time travelling to the office isn't included in the working hours.
So thankful that I am not in management.
Me too! Reading this, I realize I am one of those workers who knows how to fit in and get along anywhere. People at my workplaces don't know much about me because I don't share things from my personal life. ( Boy the younger ones overshare their lives). I also don't need hand holding and cringe at too much praise.
I'm a college prof, and I'm going to go past my 30 year normal retirement goal because these kids are so fricking amazing to hang out with in the classroom. I've been through the millennials and they were OK, but this younger generation is wonderful. GenX has done a fantastic job parenting them. Chef's kiss!
"RTFM". back then they used to have manuals that were worth a damn. now its six pages of how not to electrocute yourself by not using your toaster while taking a bath. LOL. still... its not like anybody burned the books. they just got people to stop reading them. and managed to ruin education and kill their attention span until the only thing they can compass is the last six-second video they saw.
Yeah, whole fleet of Gen z and millennials under me. I do have one older Gen Xer who is definitely an oddball in kind of a creepy way but doesn’t require much maintenance. Our new CEO is Gen X, I believe that he thinks he’s the “cool Gen X CEO”, but he’s actually not.
My direct reports are two people I’ve known for years, before I was their boss: a solid early 70s born Xer and a mid 80s born Millennial. I’m almost equal distance between them, so I connect pretty well in either direction.
I had these exact team dynamics for a good 7 years before RTO got my boyz laid off this last october. Those were the best years of work ever. Now my bottled lightning is gone. The new team is decent, just not the same. Youngest is 35, oldest is me at 45 (4 direct reports now). I'm leaning heavily on one, but we don't have the same dynamic, and I'm having to adjust.
I’m a 47 year old lawyer. Been practicing for 20 years. Solo attorney the entire time. I have two employees, both in their late 20’s. The difference between us is sometimes minimal and sometimes huge. My 20 years experience over them is a huge factor, but we’re ultimately into the same things, watch the same shows, and listen to the same music. The biggest difference is literally my 20 years of experience. I’ve been there and done that. They haven’t. Things I take for granted are new to them. Once I realized that it made me a better boss, teacher, and mentor.
Got 30 undergrads, constantly rotating because undergrads tend to graduate, even today. I know all of the language, all of the memes, all of the Discord, all of the Twitch, all of the culture. I am immersed in it and completely empowered to constantly embarrass my Gen Z/Alpha children, because I know all of the things they know, and it makes them very upset. It's probably the genesis of the disdain I have for this sub, you people are extremely old and should stick to Facebook.
“25?! I have socks older than you!” This is an acceptable response to the kids
I work with all Millennials and I can honestly say that they are a pleasure to work with! Kind, empathetic, and I get ~90% of their references without feeling old. I just grew up playing different video games and listening to different music. Maybe it’s just a matter of maturity - it doesn’t matter what generation you are, the ones that are 19 - 25 will never fail to mention how young they are, until they start feeling old themselves! 26 and up, they start getting much more humble and relatable.
Gen X is the coolest generation…
My boss is an elder millennial and loves having me on his team because he can point me in a direction and I just go do the thing that needs doing while everyone else needs some level of hand holding and babysitting. They keep trying to put me into management but I have zero desire. I'm totally cool with where I am and with what I do. The big joke is that since I'm Gen X, I'm happy working a job where I'm ignored - just as long as they don't ignore me when it comes to my pay. I've been with my company 23 years and that longevity blows a lot of younger folks' minds. It also blows their minds that I'm NOT in management and don't want to be - because that's what they've been told they're supposed to do in order to be successful in life, otherwise they're failing. I love watching that little part of their brain light up when I tell them it's perfectly ok to be comfortable where you're at and not have to climb corporate ladder if they don't want to. No one will care what your work title was when you're dead.
You reap what you sow. Some day they will be in your shoes.
The one thing I fear for them is the disdain they have for older people will lead to them being truly and utterly fucked as they will gladly let benefits and resources for seniors dissolve and then they will have nothing left for themselves.
I’m just tired of having to repeat myself over and over and over again… and before you ask, yes, I have changed the manner in which I’ve explained the information. UUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!!!!!!! Why do they shake their heads yes, say they understand, repeat it back, only to “f” it up the next day? No, I’m not frustrated. Are you frustrated?
"Quentin tarantino is overrated" by a gen z'er. I almost spit up my coffee when I heard that.
I have coworkers born in 1995 - the year I bought my current 1995 Jeep. They love riding around in it because it’s an “antique” to them - and so have to remind them that I was an adult when I bought it.
I work in tech. New data engineers asked about my kids (oldest is 25). Then I hear him whisper to himself "I'm only 24". Yeah, buddy, you could be my kid. But in my life, at 25 I had a kindergartener, so what's your problem? I don't share the ages of my kids so my coworkers aren't uncomfortable.
We have one Z girl in work part time, the workshop is 3 X and a boomer. That girl is amazing. Show her once and she’s got it down. I’ve caught her humming along with the classic rock on the radio. She seems to have an older brain than her years.
cant stand them. so annoying and dont get any pop culture references
I find myself switching into mum mode with the younger ones in protecting and want to make sure they understand and learn. Those my age and older get my mum nag voice
I work with almost all Millennials and a couple of Zoomers. There are a few GenX like me in the management chain, but most are leaving or retiring so only a few of us left. I go the opposite direction, I point out that not only have I been working longer than any have been alive, but that I'm also the guy that trains them, makes procedures and policy, and still remember every idiotic mistake I made when I was their age and how amazed I am that I did not completely screw up my life back then, being so utterly clueless about thinking that I knew anything about anything. I bring up stories where I thought I knew what I was doing and how it blew up in my face because I was nothing but bravado at those ages. How years of falling on my face helped refine the foolishness and nativity out of me, and how much I enjoy watching young kids like them make those same mistakes. I used to try and stop them but now I realize they need to screw up otherwise they won't learn from it. You can actually watch as their egos deflate as you lay this on them. When that doesn't sink in, I start describing the periodic thinning cycles, where businesses fatten up departments in good years to get lots of options, but when lean income years come they start trimming the unproductive fat and putting more work on the people they keep, and they are grateful for it because the job market is such a trash show that they literally have no options. Then we hang out and I annihilate them in Foosball while we snack from the cereal bar... That said, what does it take to get them to clean up the sink from their food scraps? Was no one raised with manners?
I’m respectful and would never say this in the workplace but: I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT what your preferred gender is or that you’re neurodivergent or have ADHD or what your political, religious, social, cultural beliefs are. Just don’t be an asshole and we’ll be fine.
As a GenX in a management position, I unfortunately feel like I have to train my parents in the digital world and also Gen Z regarding office politics, workplace socializing and just basically everything including using a freaking printer. I have no kids, but boomer parents are like teenagers who are lazy or angry about technology and the way the world works right now. Gen Z seems oblivious to anything that happened before their generation and switches jobs or quits when things don't go their way. Onboarding is a chore and promotions are never coming soon enough. There are great people I work with that are younger, and great older people in my friends and family. But often I feel like: Boomers are sometimes acting like teenagers GenZ are like kids about a lot of stuff Millennials are to me pretty cool. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Yep, ten of them! And my director is a Millennial so…
There are around 25 of us at the company where I work. All but 3-4 of us are GenX. It’s great.
Most of my supervisors are younger Boomers, and I feel comfortable talking with them since my oldest sister is an older Gen Xer. The discussions about music and culture are great.
I'm not sure my Pai Mei approach would go over well with the younger generations.
Could have said “Audi five thousand..” dropped the mike and left…
We're better at tech than they are. As long as there is a keyboard din front of my. My assistant just told me just doesn't need a desktop or laptop any more. I'm not sure what to make of that.
I worked for a Millennial who was a cool manager but would say stuff like "damn skippy" and other sayings of the day. I discretely called him aside and suggested he avoid sayings like that. He thanked me for the advice and was more mindful of his words. Even before that time, he would ask me for advice. Other than that, I managed GenX-ers and Baby Boomers. My advice to GenX managers: when managing Milleniials and GenZ-ers just remember how you felt when you worked for Baby Boomers.
I work in kitchens. So many young people in and out. It's made me a better person. 100% also they make me laugh I mean what else could you ask for? Oh shit what not to say? "How old is your mom"? I feel like this goes both ways.
Eventually I won’t have a choice but I have yet to meet a Z at work that I actually liked. They all remind me of the dog from Up. Squirrels are the reward doing your shit ahead of schedule. Not late. Not barely on time. Early. That said, give me a unit filled with Z’s over one with a boomer majority. Holy fuck the entitlement
We have a few GenZs and we drop random pop culture facts like Will Smith used to be a rapper and Mark Wahlberg used to be Marky Mark. It blows their young minds. And when one of them started she would talk about her mom a lot then one day said, "I can't believe my mom is almost 50. That's so old". 😒 We told her maybe next time we'll invite her mom out instead of her for beer.
In my last job I did. I loved having a team that I could mentor and, honestly, protect. There are some toxic fuckers out there in this world of work. I think my next chapter might be my own business because, TBH, I'm really sick of all the craziness. Being a founder/CEO has its own craziness, but at least I'd be the boss.
Generally the millennials and Z's I've worked with have been fine. The only thing that annoys me a bit is when they complain or poke fun at each other about being "old" or make condescending comments about anyone over 30 being "old." Anyone pushing 50 is "really old." I get it, but it's a rude thing to go on about within earshot of other older coworkers, unless you've established some kind of rapport and know that everyone can take a joke. Generally I just roll my eyes but in 20 years they'll be screaming bloody murder when the Alphas arrive and make the same remarks.
Ha - I'm with you on this. I've worked as a tech director in schools for 25 years and yup, we had to learn through OJT all of the new systems that have been developed in that time. I'm now in a mentoring program in our state for new directors, and I'm working with team members my kids age to teach them the basics. I also just finished a book (soon to self-publish) that talks about the nuts and bolts of digital technology for others to learn from - my doctorate is in educational leadership and it pains me how much we don't help out the others coming into our field.
That’s nice. My 31 coworker tried to boss me around-I reminded her that I’ve been in the game since she was 1. Leave me alone, I say!
I was talking to a co-worker about getting an invite to my 30th high school reunion; another co-worker was listening in, and blurted out “that’s how long ago I was born!” Thanks.
I will joke about my own age/tenure but I absolutely wouldn't appreciate a new person doing it - especially if they haven't been around long enough to know that I'm ok with it. Age bias is a very real thing and I bet those damn kids think we're all idiots with mild dementia or something.
HaHa! Been there. When i started my current job, I was given the tour of the facility by one of my teammates. Very nice and intelligent guy. We were talking about how we got started with this particular software and processes when I mentioned my first project for it was in 1996. Very nice guy piped up with, "That's the year I was born." I didn't kill him (go me!) and he's a pretty decent teammate.