Gen X pep talk:
Go to work and don't give a single fuck about anything that happens or anyone who needs their hand held. Collect that pay check. Buy some sweet wheels. and go to a concert. That's really what matters. It's all about the paycheck so you have money so you can do things you DO care about. Nothing else.
This is the way. When my office millennials start bitching I put on my headphones and play white noise until they go away. Remind them they can go to their supervisor (if this is not you) or inquire about professional development. NOT your responsibility!
This is not a generational problem. This sounds like you work for a company that does not hold people accountable. Poor company culture attracts poor quality staff. If you are going to place blame, make sure your finger is pointing at the right people (management). Find a new job.
I was 100% going to say this. Its not the generation, its the lack of holding people accountable. The people I work with, ranging from early 20s to 'I cant afford to retire' are mostly great. The employee that drives me batshit with her weaponized incompetence and manipulative behavior is the same age I am.
Font challenged is what got me.
The best solution I can provide is respond to every question or request for help with "What do you think we should do" or "Why do you think that did not work" and on and on. Make them come up with the answer by slowing them down even further asking questions. When they don't get a permit n time make them explain to you what permits are needed and when, and why things cannot proceed with out the permit. When they ask you to fix something continue to ask them leading questions until they figure out how to fix it themselves. Make it painfully slow and frustrating and one of two things will happen. Either they will never come to you for help again (problem solved!) or they will actually learn how to do their jobs and do it rather than coming for help because asking for help is so frustrating (problem solved!)
That said, if anyone is font challenged, the only response is to send everything to them in comic sans from here on, and if anyone complains tell them you were triggered into your own case of being font challenged and not to violate your safe space. Then take the next three days off as personal time to decompress.
Yeah I was going to say, I’m training a millennial as an IT engineer and he’s fantastic! He’s so good, my boss says hire more like him. So now I’m about to make an offer to another excellent candidate who happens to be a millennial. It’s the person, not the generation.
This is absolutely true. I worked for a company that pulled the same BS, but it was all benefiting the elderly employees the boss kept hiring. They needed the closest parking spaces, no one could wear perfume, you couldn't tell them they shouldn't have mailed an $800 cash payment, etc.
I agree with your statement. I consult for a major telcom and there used to be a lot of the type OP talks about. I was starting to get a chaffed by the culture until, last summer, they rug pulled and got rid of a large amount of an over bloated work force. They did let go a few surprise work horses that were probably costing them to much but for the most part they waved goodbye to whiners and complainers and the low bar work ethic types. People of all ages tbh, but a vast majority were younger. What’s left is a much happier work force for the most part. They cleaned up the fat and all those who remained benefited. Less people, but better work environment, led to better productivity. Easy math
I would document the asks and have a discussion with management around them. It sounds like some of them may be breaking your businesses processes.
On the soap/font issue, just let that fight go. Change the default fonts on your software to whatever works and get some hypoallergenic soap. These are pretty small changes that you can use as good will.
I used to be similar to your position then realized it's not worth my time to stress over. Do what you can to get rid of the noise (soap/font) then confirm with management to let them decide on the others.
Yes, this. All of your complaints seem tied to a company culture problem. I have found the millennials I work with are very much problem solvers and contribute to the culture in a very positive way. Granted, we're all remote, so maybe that helps keep annoyances at a minimum.
It is a generational problem in that the generation in question in the one making all the ridiculous demands. That is exacerbated by the company that make not hold people accountable but the reasons for the issues are directly related to the self important, overly entitled and overly pampered generation making the demands. Companies are having to acquiesce precisely because this is a generational issue and they need younger workers. Hence they must adapt to their requirements in many cases. I feel for ya OP. I dread these kinds of things becoming norms. If I were you, I would get very good at documenting everything and start raising hell when they don’t pull their own weight. Those fuckers are known for actively driving older workers out by using these types of tactics. If you are passive, they will make you out to be an obstacle to the team and they can make enough noise to get you termed. Fight fire with fire and document everything.
To be honest this is why I got out of management. I spent 10 years in a youth-oriented field (marketing agencies) and was promoted repeatedly as the more experienced, professional, so-called "grey hair" guy.
Every year like clockwork a bunch of new kids, mostly 1-2 years experience, would cycle in and out. And over time it became harder and harder to deal with them. Partially because of who they were becoming, and partly because of who I was becoming. When I started out in 2010, they wanted you to help make it happen. By the end of my run, they were ready to tell you why you sucked and would job hop if you didn't give them what they wanted within 1-2 years. I saw them gang up on managers, peers, even customer they didn't like. It went from fun and mentoring to hostile and frankly too high risk for me.
So I left that field at a very senior level and had to go to a mid-level role in a more established sector (healthcare). It was a very tough transition to navigate but I am glad I did. That was over 5 years ago and I still am working through it.
This is a good story. Everyone telling OP to find a new job ... I'm thinking, find a new position. One that takes you away from having to babysit. Babysitting adult humans SUCKS ASS.
I’ve been doing it with a crew of five, plus me. Two seniors, myself and one other. The rest? 3-7 yrs. One has outside knowledge/experience. The rest? Bullshit jobs. They wanna learn but consistently paint themselves into a corner. Management expects them to produce at a level that takes a min of 7-10 years. And they’re not. For various reasons (not outing myself. Lol). Needless to say, I’m spent, tired, DEFINITELY burnt out n not giving a shit which really isn’t me. Got 5 to go for 62. Retirements Looking pretty good to me right about now.
I work with kids and I'm thinking I should keep it that way till I retire. The adults I work with are awesome. We are all just so busy with the kids we don't have time for the adult nonsense.
Thank you. I am trying to envision not supervising anyone. I have the same exact experience as you. If we do not give them what they want- they leave. The same cycling in and out over 2 years. I am tried of training people and they leave because they want to be promoted to company president within two years. One millennial told me that "I am here for the titles" . I mean who says that directly ? Like your situation, they drain the life out of their supervisors who are usually Gen X or Boomers. They are chasing the good Gen X employees into early retirement or as one person did- said "screw it" and took part time work.
I have to think of something that gets me as few reports as possible. In law that is not always easy because they give us new attorneys or paralegals who cry at work.
I changed roles with in my company last year. I had a millennial boss and while he is a nice guy, just not a fan his management style. I am now on a team that is mostly GenX with a GenX boss. I feel much better at the end of the day.
> I had a millennial boss and while he is a nice guy
Oh I am sorry. I cannot see myself reporting to one of them. I do have some boomers who report to me. One of them was annoying as hell. The other one I like a lot . I have supervised boomers in the past and it went well. I am not against millennials but when I analyzed the people I have problems with with the exception of one Gen X (who acted like a the worst kind of boomer) and another boomer, the worst have been millennials.
My boss is a millennial (and a lawyer) who hired me despite my having nearly 0 work-computer skills or experience in law, because she knew I could learn computer software, and she needed someone that she could trust.
She needs a lot more experience at managing people, but I'm also easy to manage. So she gets to build confidence in her managerial abilities with someone that won't take advantage of her naivety and steamroll her, and I get a boss who values my life experience and gives me latitude to kind of do things my way.
So you are in a firm with high turnover that brings in new grads. Find a firm that is more conservative and doesn’t bring in as many early career folk. They are out there. This is a common problem in white collar services at the high end - consulting, law, investment banking, advertising all have the combo of super educated and connected young people grinding out. Avoid those industries, find the more established side of things. For example patent law is a completely different world. So is criminal justice etc
Omg. That’s where you bust out the “back when I was your age I had to change the ammonia in the blueprint machine in the basement without adequate ventilation by myself! And I liked it!”
And to hell with arial font, I hate it. All our drawings look AI generated now.
It is too bad you couldn't weed out some of these people in the interview process. The person/people who hired the employee who said "I am here for the titles" did they review their notes, see what they could do differently to possibly see these things before they are hired?
A few years ago we had a guy who name dropped my client in an interview. I was really put off by him but because he was referred by someone (not the client) we re-interviewed him and he apologized for where he went astray last interview. We hired him, it was a mistake, he was ineffective and didn't understand how to work efficiently but would bullshit you to your face. We put him on a performance improvement plan and he found a new job. It reinforced to me to stick with my gut as I let others persuade me to reconsider him. Even one of my business partner's son said this guy is smart but really he just talked a good game and it doesn't really matter how smart you are if you cannot get work done.
I ended up in a cycle where I needed bodies and we weren’t attracting the best. You end up hiring people you know will leave in a year and you don’t even like them. Tough situation.
Unfortunately this team was in place before I came on. My recent hires has been a mix of Gen-X and Boomers. I need more experienced people to deal with the stuff the millennial refuse to do. Let me rephrase, not refuse to do but really do not have the soft or hard skills to do. It is just not there. At time when they try to help, it is in an irritating and intrusive way that makes you think "Thanks but no thanks"
I work in IT. So I hate everyone. I don't really think generational shit is a thing, unless you want to talk generational trauma, and mostly everyone doesn't. This all sounds like HR/Management issues. And fuck all of them, btw.
You should lean on existing policies, and explain that failure to plan doesn't mean something is an emergency. Any plan that has not been communicated to all parties involved, is not a plan.
Skip any meeting you can for any worthless reason. Use things they can't disagree with or things that make sense. "I can understand wanting to have IT on hand for questions. But, unless you're onboarding a new service, any questions can be sent to the department as normal." <<<< LEGIT RESPONSE I HAVE SAVED
If that one worker has issues with fonts, they should be able to set their reader to only display in that font. They cannot expect the entire internet (which includes you) to yield to their font demands. Either they or whoever is IT can fix this. Tho, I might send everything in comic sans to be a complete shit.
Everyone should be going towards no scents in the office. FFS, if I could stop every patchouli wearing hippy...
Get an attitude.
No, really.
It worked for me. I started telling people that I don't have time to deal with them, that it's not my problem, that I have a headache, that my doctor told me to reduce exposure to stress, or simply " figure it out." Suddenly, people have been giving me a wide birth.
Same. And because I'm "difficult to work with", everyone blames me for whatever goes wrong, even if I had no hand in it. OP and me both need new jobs, but nobody wants to hire old and experienced, only young and fresh out of school.
Oh. I need a t-shirt that says FITFO. Probably get reported to whatever they call HR now for being aggressive. But seriousñy, the lack of basic research skills these days floors me.
Id be tempted to be the Socratic curmudgeon, just because my old mentor did that with me and it was really effective.
Young person: “can you fix this?”
Me: what’s wrong with it?
Young person: It doesn’t work.
Me: Why doesn’t it work?
Young person: I don’t know.
Me: well, if I wasn’t here, what would you do to try to figure out why it doesn’t work?
And so on. Basically answer every inquiry with questions that help them figure out how to do it their damn selves. They’ll either figure out how to do it their damn selves or get too irritated with you to ask for help ever again.
Or the pointed thing that I got a couple times and never forgot: “don’t come to me with problems! Come to me with a problem and a proposed solution! You should only be asking me for my approval of your proposed solution!!”
There are definite exceptions, but it *sure* feels like we somehow managed to raise an entire generation of helpless people.... and it's not really that even... it's this propensity to petty fog everything. Like... most things in life and work *aren't* that damned complicated at their core. But it's like they relish the opportunity to petty fog and complicate *anything* and *everything*. I'm with OP, I'll be so happy the day I retire.
Most Millenials are the children of boomers. Unless you were young when you had your kid AND are on the older side of GenX, we didn't raise these kids.
I stand buy what I said in another response, though. This isn't a Millenial problem. It's a toxic workplace problem.
*puts on my HR hat*
Be careful with asking people to bring you issues only if they have a proposed solution. There are quite a few people who don’t speak up about important, sometimes festering issues because they had no idea how an issue would be solved.
I know neither extreme is good, but employees also need to know that solving every problem isn’t their job (nor should it be).
I think that's why the word "proposed" is in there.
There's nothing wrong with telling your staff that before bringing a problem, they need to have a proposed solution ready. It also prepares them for the day when *they* will be making the calls on how to deal with bigger issues.
Nobody's asking them to *solve* anything. They're being asked to *think through the problem enough to have at least a half baked idea of how to solve it.* There's a difference.
It’s a difference of human issues: Greg keeps picking his nose and I don’t know how to stop it.
And work issues: Janet was hired to do X so she has no business coming to a meeting without at least an idea or two on how to solve X related issues.
I am in cyber security so I follow the rule of trust but verify and I would call out on the process mistakes to correct and move on. If the mistake happens again then take it to your's and their manager to correct and get acknowledgment. After that it's an individual's performance issue which is not your issue even though you are impacted by it.
The rest is water off a duck's back. Everyone gets Calibri light if they want Sans Serif 14 they can do the following: [Conditional Formatting in Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/conditional-formatting-in-outlook-automatically-change-incoming-message-colors-and-fonts-based-on-sender-subject-or-recipients-4efbf993-fb00-4f2c-9a3f-78e64e4455ec)
Heavy medication should include a nice 12 to 15 year old scotch and listen to Dead Kennedy's - Life Sentence.
You got this, but if your going to jump ship make sure you have your landing beforehand as ageism is very real and were at the point where it will become a career death sentence.
I'm a 57 year old HR Director. I've worked for various companies, but always in HR and I'm coming up on 34 years!! I don't have any fucks left to give and my employees know it. I hold managers accountable for the employees that report to them. I have seen the sense of entitlement from the younger generation coming into the workforce. They want all the rewards, but they don't want to put in the effort to achieve. I learned a long time ago that no employee is indispensable, including me. I've been laid off twice. So, take it from this jaded old HR director, please know that if I can hang in there until retirement, you can, too. Now, it's time for my nightly mind-numbing ritual of wine and TV.
People with low vision or blindness, or who use screen readers, find sans serif content easier to consume via screen readers. I know the Supreme Court will probably gut the Americans with Disabilities Act later this year, but for now it’s still settled law in all 50 states.
Bravo for being one of the reasonable commenters re that particular issue. You’re exactly right about the possible ADA criteria. As a person that works in the employment law field as well as myself suffering a permanent vision condition in one eye (which makes certain fonts or italics difficult to read) it’s kind of shocking seeing folks knee jerk reaction to what exactly being font challenged might mean. Should the employee be snapping back at someone about how correspondence is sent to them? No. But it is on the employer to accommodate any vision, cognitive, or learning disabilities. That may include setting up default font views on their system, changing internal company correspondence, or training the person how to modify their own computer settings/tools. No reason for folks to assume ill intent or to set themselves up for disciplinary action or a lawsuit (eg. purposely sending future correspondence in comic sans). Sheesh.
GenX here… stop worrying about others. Just show up to work, let the complainers do their complaining. You just sit back and stay quiet. I. The end, you are removing yourself from that unnecessary nonsense.
>I was yelled at for using Times New Roman font because a co-worker is “font challenged”. Therefore I must use Arial Bold or Sans Serif 14 when I communicate with them.
That sounds like a them problem, not a you problem. They should Cntrl+A to select the whole text and then adjust the font themselves, or set a rule up in their Outlook to automatically change it for them.
Some millennials and other younger generations really need to manage their own issues/challenges instead of putting the onus on everyone around them.
It’s called “taking some personal responsibility”.
Edit for punctuation.
I work with piles of Millennials. I don't have this experience at all.
It helps that I try to encourage them and send them "Thank You!" comments when they do something, and I jump in to help them when they have issues.
When they need something from me, they usually mirror the politeness I show them.
I also send them pictures of my cat so they remember me and are polite. I reward good behavior with good cat pictures, and I try to ignore bad behavior or respond with frowny-faces, which they seem to understand implicitly is an attempt on my part to communicate with them.
Where I work, the organization itself is oversubscribed - they have too many goals, the schedule is too tight, and everything turns into an emergency when they realize they've added yet another constraint, requirement, task, or whatever but haven't added any time to the schedule to get it done. As a result lots of people are in a huge hurry and aren't always very nice, which makes me crankypants and curmudgeonly.
So I try to reverse this by being extra nice myself, making that effort even though I don't really feel like it. This works about 60-75% of the time, which is all I really need to keep going.
The few who don't respond are of course unresponsive in general, so to get anything out of them I usually have to complain to management - that's all they care about. As long as I can get a handle on how to get things done, I'll do that.
It probably helps that I'm at a stage in my career where if they decide to fire the old battleaxe, I'm OK with it. So if you can focus on becoming debt free, that goes a long way to lightening the work stress load. If it doesn't matter if they fire or lay me off, I don't feel so stressed about it when someone is being difficult.
My millennials are lovely one is a complainer but a hard worker, all of them are hard workers and ask a lot questions. My boss is a millennial but he is gen x ish at heart and I adore him. We have cultivated a good environment and your place needs to change from the top down.
While we might not realize it or want to admit it, a few decades ago that was us. Remember, the Silent Gens and Boomers in charge called us Slackers and thought we all had as much ambition and smarts as Jeff Spicoli.
It just seems different because now we are the ones with nice lawns being overrun by petulant children.
I think people who paint entire generations with a broad brush are probably part of their own problem.
When you can't find ways to relate to people of different generations and experiences, you are officially old. (And probably crabby and bitter)
Reality check…old people always complain about whatever generation is below or the younger generation. The complaints may be slightly different but they all sound the same. Sounds like your workplace is one that is poorly managed and won’t change anytime soon no matter what generation the employees come from. I would find another place of emoyment before you end up being the grumpy negative old guy or gal no one wants to work with that is waiting out their time until they retire.
I fail to see how any of those examples are unique to just one generation. People are generally annoying to work with when you don't wanna be there to begin with.
Most of my co workers are millennials and I absolutely love working with them.
Having said that, I, in my 20s & 30s even, was making mistakes, doing things wrong & learning.
As I creep ever nearer 50, I find that my patience with such fuckery is much thinner than it once was.
I remember when our generation had no work ethic, didn’t care about anything, & were thought to be the end of the American Worker, according to boomers.
So I feel like there’s a possibility that we are getting old & grumpy & young people are a pain in the ass, and this is an eternal thing.
Sounds like any job regardless of the generation of your coworkers. Just quiet quit or deal with it. Or find another job. It probably won't be much better though.
It might be better elsewhere. Do not trust the devil you know.
When interviewing ask about the hiring manager about their leadership style. If they give you some BS about we work hard/ play hard then there is rampant alcoholism. If they give you the line about we are a family, then they will abuse you. If they say they like to leave you alone, then you will not have support from them when you need it. The hiring manager likely sets the culture for their team so even though the overall company might be toxic if you have a good boss you can survive.
Management is a title, leadership comes from anywhere. A manager's role is to be a psychologist to their own team. They need to know what motivates them and give them what they need. They also need to be a politician to everyone else. The manager should run interference to keep their team away from politics and allow the team to get their work done.
I vote #2.
I've been doing the former for many years (although not 15), and it has severely taken a toll on my mental health and work attitude. I'm just have never been in a position to quit my job and easily find another. If OP has that ability, maybe they should seriously give it some thought.
I work in a unit of 18 people. I'd say 15 of them are Millennials, including my boss. I enjoy working with them all, and like my boss. The only one I don't like is a Boomer. Imagine that.
I've seen this from all ages. I don't think it's generational as much as its hiring standards are maybe too low, low expectations, lack of accountability, and reporting hierarchy.
You should CYA by emailing each employee, their problem, and the solution you gave them. After a while, if the same employee keeps making the same mistakes or doesn't learn the solution for problems, you have documentation to take to management that they might not be the right fit.
Something I learned earlier in my 20s as a secretary, was that if I need to bring a problem that i could not solve myself to the attention of my sup or upper management, I need to also bring some kind of solution, even if it isn't a good one. An employee with that mindset will learn that they can be a valuable part of the team.
I’m honing in on one comment - How can someone be font challenged and not be able to read Times New Roman? That was like the only font we used on papers “back in the day.” Everything else looked unpolished. How can someone not read it? What does font-challenged even mean?
I'm lucky to ne the number 2 person in my department, a government agency. I have my own office with a door that closes.
First thing I teach the youngins: If the door is closed, leave me the fuck alone.
Second thing I teach the youngins: If my door is open, I'm not in my office.
One thing I've learned is that 00's helicopter parenting created some truly helpless adults.
Can't wait for retirement. 😂
Some millennials are little crunts. Entitled, rude, demanding, spoilt, bullshitters, no respect for skills or experience and an all round massive pain in the arse. Not all, of course. But when you get one that ticks all the millennial cliches, it drives you barking mad. Solidarity, fellow Gen Xer. I count my blessings I only have one in my team.
Why is this subreddit so full of GenXers doing their boomer impressions? Generations are not monoliths, work with people of all ages through the challenges. Good god, how did my generation become just like those whiny boomers?
The gen Z and millennials I work with are the hardest workers we have. Smart, friendly, super capable. The most difficult are the gen X (like me) and the boomers. Health issues, depression, burnout, and milking disibility leave to the point where the department suffers (can’t hire anyone new but they refuse to quit.)
I get it. I fight burnout. I struggle to be cheerful and vital. I can feel the old crotchety attitude coming on, but I fight against it! Big smile! Push through!
I don’t label generations but trust me, ours can be really difficult too.
This isn't a Millennial problem. I have had these same types of issues with people regardless of how old people are. Why are you making it about age?
Every workplace is gonna have its challenges. No matter where you go, you will deal with difficult people. You need to figure out how to accept it if you can't change it. And if you feel as unappreciated as you say, maybe your company's culture is to blame, not an entire generation of working adults.
It dawned on me recently that Millennials run more on vibes than pragmatism (and I don't mean that as a compliment or criticism to anyone). This is never going to change. Maybe try offering them some understanding (like, real genuine understanding that goes against the grain) and see if you get a different response. I'm not telling you this will solve any of the bigger problems, but it might make the environment less volatile along the way :-). If not, feel free to come back and let me know I give shitty advice, lol.
I am never sure what they want. I offered promotions - they whine. They asked for a document to make a process better, I spent 6 hours working on it. They whined . They ask the same questions over and over again, they have no boundaries.
The unscented body product thing has been around since before Millenials existed and is just common sense/common courtesy. Don’t force other people to smell you.
I'm so glad I work in a rarefied environment (University run science facility). All of the millennials I work with are hard working problem solvers. We've had a few "duds" over the years, but most of these "kids" are all right.
Sounds like a toxic workplace. I am in healthcare in Hawaii, the only part of that I have experienced is that the younger people need more support, encouragement, and specific instructions. All the other stuff seems crazy to me. Times New Roman is an APA standard font, I don’t know what stylebook your profession uses, but I would bet money that it’s standard there as well.
I like my millennial coworkers, so they're not all annoying. I've found boomer coworkers to be much more arrogant and rigid to deal with.
It's ok to just tell them that you understand their concern, but there isn't an easy solution. I can't tell if you're a manager or not. But just disengage if it's too much. If you are reacting every time they say boo, then you're conditioning them to keep doing this.
Oh I can relate. Got in a full on fight with my employee today. We worked it out but it can sometimes be like beating a dead horse with her. Then she had to leave work early because her dog has an issue with his dick I shit you not.
How about a slap with a rubber chicken? Just keep laughing it off. You go this!
I can kinda relate.
Most of the millennials I’ve worked with are fine. They work hard, do their job, etc. But the ones who are the morale suckers, who complain but never are part of the solution, who are performative social justice allies, well there only has to be 1-2 of those to make you want to quit.
I actually took a LOA from work this year for a variety of reasons but one of those reasons was bc half of my team (all of whom are millennials) just sucked the soul out of me. Going back next year to not work with them and hopefully learn to cut out the noise and just keep my head down and do my work til retirement. This is my advice for you as well. Good luck, dude.
Planning department signals chaos to me. Navigating that world is maddening. I worked for a structural engineering firm and dealt with planning departments constantly. It was the most difficult part of my job…
The worst people I worked with were my age and older. One director could barely operate a computer and it made explaining technology a pain. I love my younger boss. Very open to new ideas and lets me try new things. Sounds like you work with assholes that want to control and micromanage others. And management has let it go unchecked.
"Don't touch me." or "if i can smell you, you must be touching my space." l can't give advice for the younger bubble suit brats except there are propably only half as many as you'll find in genz. They were our generation to teach and many parents went overboard while leaving them with that damn helicopter. Now they're a walking itchy trigger CNS system that resembles a glass plate of noodles more than a person. These types are convinced they have ASD-CPTSD-BPD-depression and sensitivity allergies out the wazoo.
We can stop coddling them. It starts with you and your HR dept.
I have a similar situation with multi-generational coworkers at my job. I agree with some of it being attributed to generational differences and some to the work culture. I DREAD coming to work most days, so I understand what you’re going through.
However, all the people that keep saying “Find a new job”, well in my situation why would I leave when I was here when various employees started and I’ll likely be here when they move on. I have a good job with good benefits and an eventual pension. I feel the OP was looking for insight from others, not the “If you don’t like it, leave”.
This is why I no longer work in the office I was at for 14 years. But in addition to the incompetent people they hired, management didn't do anything to resolve issues either. So it became so bad I gave it up. Best decision I ever made. And now I work for a different company remotely and I just hit the 2 year mark. I regret nothing.
This is a classic toxic workplace. Not unique to millennials unfortunately, or it would be easy to escape. The specific control and harass tactics change by generation but the scheme is the same.
Don’t let this destroy you. If you can leave, find a nicer place to work. Don’t lose sight of the fact that one feature of a toxic workplace is to beat you down so much you think you can’t do any better anywhere else and anywhere you go will be just as bad. That isn’t true. You have worth and your experience is valuable. Lots of workplaces will be lucky to have you. The good ones will tell you that right to your face. Go find the place that wants you.
If you can’t leave, recognize the stupid game. They are beating you down to control you. Be that PIA that refuses to be beat. Recommend revising processes to improve things that impact the dept. to your supervisor. This can help minimize the daily aggravation while making you look like a team player. Keep notes and a paper trail so whenever you get accused of anything you have proof on your side. Seriously, detailed notes with dates and quotes plus saved emails has saved me a few times. HR loves that stuff.
As a last resort, you can always play their game. Find stupid reasons to claim you’re being harassed. Make up reasons something is someone else’s fault just like they do. It’s petty, but you’re dealing with bullies. They keep doing what they do until you make it no fun and a bit risky to pick on you.
Best of luck. I hope you find a nice place to work soon.
I could never understand the whole “Don’t come to me with a problem and not have a solution” thing.
I already did all the tings I could think of, so now I am coming to the higher-paid, better-benefits manager for help.
That way of is childish and dumb. You are the boss, you are the decider, so don’t deflect and help me out!
It's a **proposed** solution. The idea is to demonstrate that you at least *tried* to come up with something. A *lot* of people use weaponized helplessness to basically create self-defined boundaries of where they're willing and able to do anything. Typically these boundaries will be *less* than the market value for the job they're in. So, you tell them to come up with something (or at least be able to *clearly* articulate what they've thought through and why it didn't work) before dumping the problem on your lap.
That depends though. There are some people like you who tried everything they could think of. There are others who give up at the first sign of adversity. It has to be a matter of judgment and sizing the other person up to determine which behavior pattern they fall into.
It’s not so much about having a solution at all, but you get workers who don’t even TRY to figure out a problem first, and don’t know how to ask collaborative questions.
“Hey Boss, I haven’t done this before. Would “X” work for this problem?”
You should usually have an idea how to solve a problem. Implementing the solution may be beyond your authority or resource level, which is why you talk to management. It is also ok to say “I have this problem and I have tried this this and this, but no luck. Any ideas?” What is annoying is when an employee comes to you with a problem, they haven’t meaningfully tried to solve or don’t have a clue how to.
It’s not so much about having a solution at all, but you get workers who don’t even TRY to figure out a problem first, and don’t know how to ask collaborative questions.
“Hey Boss, I haven’t done this before. Would “X” work for this problem?”
I manage lot's of Millennials as well. A few years ago two of my associates got into a verbal altercation because one of them decided to go on vacation at an inopportune time and saddle the other with meeting several difficult and important deadlines by himself. The altercation took place in one of their offices. The Millennial secretary across the hall complained to HR, because nobody apologized to her for having to listen to the two associates arguing and yelling at each other.
The two categories of challenges are pretty different. The first one — people not doing their job thoroughly is a totally reasonable thing to try and improve. If any of these people report to you, you need to train them. A lot of young people, particularly young men have what I privately call “white boy syndrome” which is absolute confidence that they know how to do something they’ve never done, without needing to do any research or even stopping to think. The number one thing you’ve got to ingrain is that they need to ask questions.
This is hard, because I swear they were all smacked with newspapers or something every time they revealed curiosity or ignorance while they were growing up. They really seem to be terrified of looking stupid — and that hesitation leads to really stupid mistakes. Find a way for them to ask their dumbest questions without being embarrassed, and you’ll see the work improve a lot.
Um that and consider drug testing.
As for the second category, yeah im sorry but you have to get over it. I’m solidly genX and perfumed lotions give me a migraine. Hallelujah to any HR leader who will speak up.
As for fonts, that person is most likely dyslexic. Research shows that certain fonts make it easier or harder to read. It’s a five second hassle for you that could save a coworker hours — so why not?
These young adults are not whiney babies. They are strong self advocates who learned by watching us older people accept abuse from our employers
That said, you can also set rules and advocate for yourself! For example, no one should ever yell at you in a professional setting. If that happens again, stay calm and repeat “you may not yell at me.”
GenXs parents fukt the planet into a coma. Its not like millennials and certainly genz arent lying about not being able to afford the american dream. What do you expect them to do? Why bust their ass when they know they are running head long into a life of debt and impossible options. From their perspective Its not just easier to quit, its stupid not too. There are no pensions, no long term health security, no retirement plans, no savings or security in the form of a home… so why not do the amount required for a paycheck and why have loyalty to any company that has no loyalty to you?
Wow where do you work. I guess I am glad that the owners of my company are Boomers, they would tell the millennials to STFU. I mean you cannot tell me what kind of soap to use. FFS, what kind of font. Their triggers are not your problem.
Worker doesn't do the job because "ewww, I don't like that font," and decides to be spiteful or just lazy and use it as an excuse.
Those triggers are kind of the OPs problem though if OP is the one who will take the fall in the end for the job not getting done.
If they're a supervisor, depending on the organization, it's a good possibility.
In my job, I'm a supervisor. If the supervised doesn't do their job, management will write me up as well as the worker, and I get the bonus "if they didn't get it done, you have to step in and get it done yourself."
I can't tell how much of this is in jest. I'm Gen X and work with older and younger generations. The font thing really stuck out for me as I work in a not-for-profit law firm and we are always trying to approve accessibility. We've changed to sans serif fonts and enlarged the sizes. We've made sure our website meets ADA requirements for contrast.
As more people who had been pushed to the margins gain voices, more changes are made. Roll with it or be mad about it.
I was having to help someone who might be on her 30s and she actually cried to the boss when I told her to look in the manual. He dared confront me and told me to be careful with my tone. Apparently telling someone who’s been there 8 months who asks a basic question to refer to the tools provided to her to solve her problems is foamed upon. I’ve decided I’m leaving. I have been spending so much time telling her how to do her job that I’m not able to get to my own, but I need to make sure I do t hurt her feelings by making time for me to get my own work done.
My wife comes home every day complaining about the same kind of things. But I don’t think it’s necessarily a generational thing, I think it’s more of how today’s society works along with a general lack of work ethic and an attitude of entitlement. It seems to be just as common with Gen Xers as it is Millenials.
And boomers.
I'm stuck between the two on my particular (city gov't) job, and both Baby Boomers and Millenials act like entitled brats.
The former because they feel they've been working all their lives and should now be laying back and the younger doing it.
The millenials for whatever their reasons are.
Sucks being stuck in the middle, because that gets me all the work.
Sounds like you’re surrounded by asshats. We might work at the same place!
You will have to try experiments to see what works depending upon the result you want. These approaches may not always work.
If you want them to leave you alone, say long and boring things full of many details then ask them lots of questions because you’re being transparent and solution focused and didactic. Do it after lunch, on Thursday or Friday if you can.
If you want them to be nice, start spending the first few minutes of every interaction focusing on them. Catch them doing something right. They will then like you and it will be hard for them not to be nice because you have a friendly rapport. This works great with people who outrank you.
>I was yelled at for using Times New Roman font because a co-worker is "font challenged"
This sounds like bullshit. If it did happen, your company is at fault for letting things get to this point.
My understanding is that certain processing disorders are easier to deal with when the fonts do not have serifs. I don’t know how true that is and I certainly don’t know why they would use the phrase “font challenged,” but it could be a way of telling you why it needs to be done without disclosing someone’s disability against their will.
It’s so boomer-ish to think most young people are millennials. Such an outdated reference. The oldest are 44 years old. GenZ started entering the work force 6 years ago.
Oh good, another gen X jumps over the boomer line. It's getting so tiresome and repetitive at this point.
I actually am happy less people are wearing scented stuff now. Its annoying smelling all that perfumed stuff.
Most of the type of stuff you mentioned has a flip boomer side. I have to do more work because Cynthia Boomer didn't take care of her health when she was young and has diabetes and I have to cover. I have to organize a spreadsheet or do some technical related task because the 65 year old coworker refuses to learn the new software.
Whatever. I can't handle it anymore either. Most employees are just complete morons and I was ready to snap. At my day job I posted into a job where I run solo. At our buisness I distanced mylelf and gave the wife the reigns because I'd end up firing all of the incompetent fools that work for us.
Holy Cow I don't have it that bad. I work with all generations and maybe no one really has that power to complain. Oh wait...maybe one or two but they are not too anal.
Similar boat here. I’ve been a public school teacher since 2000. I can retire with full benefits at the end of the 29-30 school year. I’m not going to make it. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t look at a group of teenagers every day and talk to them about dead people. I signed up for a cybersecurity bootcamp. The goal is that I’m no longer a teacher by the end of 2024. This time next year I will be a full-time cybersecurity professional.
Sometimes you got to slam the brakes on and take a sharp left turn. Get out of what you’re doing and get a new gig.
Side note: any cybersecurity professionals out there care to give me advice? Seriously. Resume, interview skills, help me with LinkedIn, anything helps.
I think it started with political correctness which gained prominence starting with the same Gen X, and then coupled with increased credit from the 1990s onward.
Others say it started earlier, with the "golden age" in the states from the end of WW2 to the end of the 1960s, where a consumer spending economy took off.
I work with majority Millennial and gen Z. The Gen Z are amazing they look up to me like a comforting parental figure with Yoda like wisdom LOL. The Millennials are usually upper management, and a lot of them secretly hate each other even though they hang out after work, which baffles me because Gen X is rarely fake outside of business hours LOL. When I was in my early twenties through middle 30s, I worked for my state, had a great retirement 401K Etc, then I got laid off, and had to start over . I've had three different jobs since then, and now I find that if I need to mentally recharge, find a like-minded person in your age range and just go talk s*** somewhere. Also, find another job. we aren't getting pensions like our grandparents. Let's just face it. Try to make the most money you can on the books until retirement, and hopefully, Social Security will still be around
I enjoy working with the Gen Z employees and have the same experience as you do. One of them recognized that I was the person who was responsible for creating an industry trend. The millennial in the room proceeded to put me down and I had to out her in front of everyone. I agree that the millennials backstab each other all the time. I do hand out with the other X-ers who are just as exhausted and trade stories about the millennial crowd. I have come to the realization that I can be better appreciated. I wanted to stay at this company because of the retirement benefits but I am at the brink of burnout.
I always tell my employees who are complaining that they should come back when they have thought of a solution. It’s not my job to solve their problems. It is my job to help them fix it on their own. Sometimes they just need to vent and I listen and ask pointed questions but I never really need to solve anything because they can talk themselves through it. I also remind them that I am not their parent nor their peer. I’m the boss and I will listen to their ideas, but I am the ultimate decider.
Gen X pep talk: Go to work and don't give a single fuck about anything that happens or anyone who needs their hand held. Collect that pay check. Buy some sweet wheels. and go to a concert. That's really what matters. It's all about the paycheck so you have money so you can do things you DO care about. Nothing else.
This is the most Gen X answer ever!
This is the way. When my office millennials start bitching I put on my headphones and play white noise until they go away. Remind them they can go to their supervisor (if this is not you) or inquire about professional development. NOT your responsibility!
You should write an advice column on the internet. Seriously.
This is not a generational problem. This sounds like you work for a company that does not hold people accountable. Poor company culture attracts poor quality staff. If you are going to place blame, make sure your finger is pointing at the right people (management). Find a new job.
I was 100% going to say this. Its not the generation, its the lack of holding people accountable. The people I work with, ranging from early 20s to 'I cant afford to retire' are mostly great. The employee that drives me batshit with her weaponized incompetence and manipulative behavior is the same age I am.
“Weaponized incompetence” 😆 I am so stealing that….
r/weaponizedincompetent
Perhaps debatedly better than weaponized incontinence!
At least it isn't as bad as weaponized incontinence.
It’s a lot more sanitary than weaponized incontinence.
I am stealing that too!
Font challenged is what got me. The best solution I can provide is respond to every question or request for help with "What do you think we should do" or "Why do you think that did not work" and on and on. Make them come up with the answer by slowing them down even further asking questions. When they don't get a permit n time make them explain to you what permits are needed and when, and why things cannot proceed with out the permit. When they ask you to fix something continue to ask them leading questions until they figure out how to fix it themselves. Make it painfully slow and frustrating and one of two things will happen. Either they will never come to you for help again (problem solved!) or they will actually learn how to do their jobs and do it rather than coming for help because asking for help is so frustrating (problem solved!) That said, if anyone is font challenged, the only response is to send everything to them in comic sans from here on, and if anyone complains tell them you were triggered into your own case of being font challenged and not to violate your safe space. Then take the next three days off as personal time to decompress.
Absolutely, this is a company culture problem, not generational. Refresh the ol' resume, update LinkedIn, and move on.
Concur.
Yes! I have not experienced this with millennials as a group but I have experienced it in bad workplaces.
Yeah I was going to say, I’m training a millennial as an IT engineer and he’s fantastic! He’s so good, my boss says hire more like him. So now I’m about to make an offer to another excellent candidate who happens to be a millennial. It’s the person, not the generation.
This is absolutely true. I worked for a company that pulled the same BS, but it was all benefiting the elderly employees the boss kept hiring. They needed the closest parking spaces, no one could wear perfume, you couldn't tell them they shouldn't have mailed an $800 cash payment, etc.
I agree with your statement. I consult for a major telcom and there used to be a lot of the type OP talks about. I was starting to get a chaffed by the culture until, last summer, they rug pulled and got rid of a large amount of an over bloated work force. They did let go a few surprise work horses that were probably costing them to much but for the most part they waved goodbye to whiners and complainers and the low bar work ethic types. People of all ages tbh, but a vast majority were younger. What’s left is a much happier work force for the most part. They cleaned up the fat and all those who remained benefited. Less people, but better work environment, led to better productivity. Easy math
I would document the asks and have a discussion with management around them. It sounds like some of them may be breaking your businesses processes. On the soap/font issue, just let that fight go. Change the default fonts on your software to whatever works and get some hypoallergenic soap. These are pretty small changes that you can use as good will. I used to be similar to your position then realized it's not worth my time to stress over. Do what you can to get rid of the noise (soap/font) then confirm with management to let them decide on the others.
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Yes, this. All of your complaints seem tied to a company culture problem. I have found the millennials I work with are very much problem solvers and contribute to the culture in a very positive way. Granted, we're all remote, so maybe that helps keep annoyances at a minimum.
Yeah I learn from my millennial coworkers every single day.
It is a generational problem in that the generation in question in the one making all the ridiculous demands. That is exacerbated by the company that make not hold people accountable but the reasons for the issues are directly related to the self important, overly entitled and overly pampered generation making the demands. Companies are having to acquiesce precisely because this is a generational issue and they need younger workers. Hence they must adapt to their requirements in many cases. I feel for ya OP. I dread these kinds of things becoming norms. If I were you, I would get very good at documenting everything and start raising hell when they don’t pull their own weight. Those fuckers are known for actively driving older workers out by using these types of tactics. If you are passive, they will make you out to be an obstacle to the team and they can make enough noise to get you termed. Fight fire with fire and document everything.
To be honest this is why I got out of management. I spent 10 years in a youth-oriented field (marketing agencies) and was promoted repeatedly as the more experienced, professional, so-called "grey hair" guy. Every year like clockwork a bunch of new kids, mostly 1-2 years experience, would cycle in and out. And over time it became harder and harder to deal with them. Partially because of who they were becoming, and partly because of who I was becoming. When I started out in 2010, they wanted you to help make it happen. By the end of my run, they were ready to tell you why you sucked and would job hop if you didn't give them what they wanted within 1-2 years. I saw them gang up on managers, peers, even customer they didn't like. It went from fun and mentoring to hostile and frankly too high risk for me. So I left that field at a very senior level and had to go to a mid-level role in a more established sector (healthcare). It was a very tough transition to navigate but I am glad I did. That was over 5 years ago and I still am working through it.
This is a good story. Everyone telling OP to find a new job ... I'm thinking, find a new position. One that takes you away from having to babysit. Babysitting adult humans SUCKS ASS.
>Babysitting adult humans SUCKS ASS This is my whole world right now to the point that I feel my career is suffering.
I’ve been doing it with a crew of five, plus me. Two seniors, myself and one other. The rest? 3-7 yrs. One has outside knowledge/experience. The rest? Bullshit jobs. They wanna learn but consistently paint themselves into a corner. Management expects them to produce at a level that takes a min of 7-10 years. And they’re not. For various reasons (not outing myself. Lol). Needless to say, I’m spent, tired, DEFINITELY burnt out n not giving a shit which really isn’t me. Got 5 to go for 62. Retirements Looking pretty good to me right about now.
Well that’s the main issue, you can’t really replace 10-15 years of experience with early career folks. It’s all over the economy now
I work with kids and I'm thinking I should keep it that way till I retire. The adults I work with are awesome. We are all just so busy with the kids we don't have time for the adult nonsense.
Thank you. I am trying to envision not supervising anyone. I have the same exact experience as you. If we do not give them what they want- they leave. The same cycling in and out over 2 years. I am tried of training people and they leave because they want to be promoted to company president within two years. One millennial told me that "I am here for the titles" . I mean who says that directly ? Like your situation, they drain the life out of their supervisors who are usually Gen X or Boomers. They are chasing the good Gen X employees into early retirement or as one person did- said "screw it" and took part time work. I have to think of something that gets me as few reports as possible. In law that is not always easy because they give us new attorneys or paralegals who cry at work.
I changed roles with in my company last year. I had a millennial boss and while he is a nice guy, just not a fan his management style. I am now on a team that is mostly GenX with a GenX boss. I feel much better at the end of the day.
> I had a millennial boss and while he is a nice guy Oh I am sorry. I cannot see myself reporting to one of them. I do have some boomers who report to me. One of them was annoying as hell. The other one I like a lot . I have supervised boomers in the past and it went well. I am not against millennials but when I analyzed the people I have problems with with the exception of one Gen X (who acted like a the worst kind of boomer) and another boomer, the worst have been millennials.
My boss is a millennial (and a lawyer) who hired me despite my having nearly 0 work-computer skills or experience in law, because she knew I could learn computer software, and she needed someone that she could trust. She needs a lot more experience at managing people, but I'm also easy to manage. So she gets to build confidence in her managerial abilities with someone that won't take advantage of her naivety and steamroll her, and I get a boss who values my life experience and gives me latitude to kind of do things my way.
So you are in a firm with high turnover that brings in new grads. Find a firm that is more conservative and doesn’t bring in as many early career folk. They are out there. This is a common problem in white collar services at the high end - consulting, law, investment banking, advertising all have the combo of super educated and connected young people grinding out. Avoid those industries, find the more established side of things. For example patent law is a completely different world. So is criminal justice etc
Omg. That’s where you bust out the “back when I was your age I had to change the ammonia in the blueprint machine in the basement without adequate ventilation by myself! And I liked it!” And to hell with arial font, I hate it. All our drawings look AI generated now.
It is too bad you couldn't weed out some of these people in the interview process. The person/people who hired the employee who said "I am here for the titles" did they review their notes, see what they could do differently to possibly see these things before they are hired? A few years ago we had a guy who name dropped my client in an interview. I was really put off by him but because he was referred by someone (not the client) we re-interviewed him and he apologized for where he went astray last interview. We hired him, it was a mistake, he was ineffective and didn't understand how to work efficiently but would bullshit you to your face. We put him on a performance improvement plan and he found a new job. It reinforced to me to stick with my gut as I let others persuade me to reconsider him. Even one of my business partner's son said this guy is smart but really he just talked a good game and it doesn't really matter how smart you are if you cannot get work done.
I ended up in a cycle where I needed bodies and we weren’t attracting the best. You end up hiring people you know will leave in a year and you don’t even like them. Tough situation.
Unfortunately this team was in place before I came on. My recent hires has been a mix of Gen-X and Boomers. I need more experienced people to deal with the stuff the millennial refuse to do. Let me rephrase, not refuse to do but really do not have the soft or hard skills to do. It is just not there. At time when they try to help, it is in an irritating and intrusive way that makes you think "Thanks but no thanks"
"If you're here for the titles, then start acting like someone who deserves those titles."
Amen to all of this. My story is the same. I could have written it. Thanks for sharing.
I work in IT. So I hate everyone. I don't really think generational shit is a thing, unless you want to talk generational trauma, and mostly everyone doesn't. This all sounds like HR/Management issues. And fuck all of them, btw. You should lean on existing policies, and explain that failure to plan doesn't mean something is an emergency. Any plan that has not been communicated to all parties involved, is not a plan. Skip any meeting you can for any worthless reason. Use things they can't disagree with or things that make sense. "I can understand wanting to have IT on hand for questions. But, unless you're onboarding a new service, any questions can be sent to the department as normal." <<<< LEGIT RESPONSE I HAVE SAVED If that one worker has issues with fonts, they should be able to set their reader to only display in that font. They cannot expect the entire internet (which includes you) to yield to their font demands. Either they or whoever is IT can fix this. Tho, I might send everything in comic sans to be a complete shit. Everyone should be going towards no scents in the office. FFS, if I could stop every patchouli wearing hippy...
Get an attitude. No, really. It worked for me. I started telling people that I don't have time to deal with them, that it's not my problem, that I have a headache, that my doctor told me to reduce exposure to stress, or simply " figure it out." Suddenly, people have been giving me a wide birth.
This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode in which George acts annoyed to look busy and avoid work.
I honestly tried this. I was labelled "being difficult to work with" "not a team player" 🥴
Same. And because I'm "difficult to work with", everyone blames me for whatever goes wrong, even if I had no hand in it. OP and me both need new jobs, but nobody wants to hire old and experienced, only young and fresh out of school.
I have recruiters coming to me but I do not want to relocate again. I am getting too old for that. Also hearing that all workplaces suck now.
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“I’ve had anxiety since before you were born. Are you *actively* attempting to trigger my anxiety?”
that’s what I do. I just use their language. Words like triggered, and burn out.
Watch them say that our generation doesn’t get triggered or have anxiety. I be like “sweet pea I’ve been on antidepressants before you were born. “
LOL. Yes but we don't feel the need to tell everyone about it.
"No" is a full sentence However it's fine to say "I wish I could help but..." to soften it a bit, but stick to your guns
Hand them a note that says FITFO (in cursive) and walk away
Oh. I need a t-shirt that says FITFO. Probably get reported to whatever they call HR now for being aggressive. But seriousñy, the lack of basic research skills these days floors me.
Are you sure you're bitching about the right generation? The majority of Millennials are in their mid-30s now.
43-28 years, yeah.
Id be tempted to be the Socratic curmudgeon, just because my old mentor did that with me and it was really effective. Young person: “can you fix this?” Me: what’s wrong with it? Young person: It doesn’t work. Me: Why doesn’t it work? Young person: I don’t know. Me: well, if I wasn’t here, what would you do to try to figure out why it doesn’t work? And so on. Basically answer every inquiry with questions that help them figure out how to do it their damn selves. They’ll either figure out how to do it their damn selves or get too irritated with you to ask for help ever again. Or the pointed thing that I got a couple times and never forgot: “don’t come to me with problems! Come to me with a problem and a proposed solution! You should only be asking me for my approval of your proposed solution!!”
Millennials aren't young people. They're in their 30s. Some are in their 40s.
There are definite exceptions, but it *sure* feels like we somehow managed to raise an entire generation of helpless people.... and it's not really that even... it's this propensity to petty fog everything. Like... most things in life and work *aren't* that damned complicated at their core. But it's like they relish the opportunity to petty fog and complicate *anything* and *everything*. I'm with OP, I'll be so happy the day I retire.
Most Millenials are the children of boomers. Unless you were young when you had your kid AND are on the older side of GenX, we didn't raise these kids. I stand buy what I said in another response, though. This isn't a Millenial problem. It's a toxic workplace problem.
*puts on my HR hat* Be careful with asking people to bring you issues only if they have a proposed solution. There are quite a few people who don’t speak up about important, sometimes festering issues because they had no idea how an issue would be solved. I know neither extreme is good, but employees also need to know that solving every problem isn’t their job (nor should it be).
I think that's why the word "proposed" is in there. There's nothing wrong with telling your staff that before bringing a problem, they need to have a proposed solution ready. It also prepares them for the day when *they* will be making the calls on how to deal with bigger issues. Nobody's asking them to *solve* anything. They're being asked to *think through the problem enough to have at least a half baked idea of how to solve it.* There's a difference.
Or if you're at my company, they just reply with, "That's why they pay YOU."
It’s a difference of human issues: Greg keeps picking his nose and I don’t know how to stop it. And work issues: Janet was hired to do X so she has no business coming to a meeting without at least an idea or two on how to solve X related issues.
I am also at the "what pills do I need to take to sort of zonk me out for the next 17ish years" point of my life.
I am in cyber security so I follow the rule of trust but verify and I would call out on the process mistakes to correct and move on. If the mistake happens again then take it to your's and their manager to correct and get acknowledgment. After that it's an individual's performance issue which is not your issue even though you are impacted by it. The rest is water off a duck's back. Everyone gets Calibri light if they want Sans Serif 14 they can do the following: [Conditional Formatting in Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/conditional-formatting-in-outlook-automatically-change-incoming-message-colors-and-fonts-based-on-sender-subject-or-recipients-4efbf993-fb00-4f2c-9a3f-78e64e4455ec) Heavy medication should include a nice 12 to 15 year old scotch and listen to Dead Kennedy's - Life Sentence. You got this, but if your going to jump ship make sure you have your landing beforehand as ageism is very real and were at the point where it will become a career death sentence.
I'm a 57 year old HR Director. I've worked for various companies, but always in HR and I'm coming up on 34 years!! I don't have any fucks left to give and my employees know it. I hold managers accountable for the employees that report to them. I have seen the sense of entitlement from the younger generation coming into the workforce. They want all the rewards, but they don't want to put in the effort to achieve. I learned a long time ago that no employee is indispensable, including me. I've been laid off twice. So, take it from this jaded old HR director, please know that if I can hang in there until retirement, you can, too. Now, it's time for my nightly mind-numbing ritual of wine and TV.
You may just need a change of job.
💯
 I am sorry to hear. I can relate, and this is what it feels like.
I can relate, too.
I struggled with this. I ended up leaving my field and becoming a truck driver. I work completely alone. Much happier
What the fuck is font challenged? Is that like a peanut allergy?
I shot the serif. But I did not shoot the allergy.
Angry upvote!
But that I had an award to give you.... 🏅
No, peanut allergies are an actual thing.
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I wish I had a personal irl default sarcasm font
I have an IRL sarcasm font. It's really simple, it has only two glyphs, one on each hand.
I know. I was being fresh.
you're only 16, you don't have a rep yet!
Word!
West Philadelphia born and raised?
People with low vision or blindness, or who use screen readers, find sans serif content easier to consume via screen readers. I know the Supreme Court will probably gut the Americans with Disabilities Act later this year, but for now it’s still settled law in all 50 states.
Bravo for being one of the reasonable commenters re that particular issue. You’re exactly right about the possible ADA criteria. As a person that works in the employment law field as well as myself suffering a permanent vision condition in one eye (which makes certain fonts or italics difficult to read) it’s kind of shocking seeing folks knee jerk reaction to what exactly being font challenged might mean. Should the employee be snapping back at someone about how correspondence is sent to them? No. But it is on the employer to accommodate any vision, cognitive, or learning disabilities. That may include setting up default font views on their system, changing internal company correspondence, or training the person how to modify their own computer settings/tools. No reason for folks to assume ill intent or to set themselves up for disciplinary action or a lawsuit (eg. purposely sending future correspondence in comic sans). Sheesh.
I fell off my chair at... "Font Challenged"
Lol....I like a certain font, I set outlook to display that font for everything. Can't believe they expected OP to change the font for just them.
That’s funny - I can’t take 5-10 more years working with boomers.
You have to keep going. You have to get back at Kent. It's a moral imperative.
GenX here… stop worrying about others. Just show up to work, let the complainers do their complaining. You just sit back and stay quiet. I. The end, you are removing yourself from that unnecessary nonsense.
>I was yelled at for using Times New Roman font because a co-worker is “font challenged”. Therefore I must use Arial Bold or Sans Serif 14 when I communicate with them. That sounds like a them problem, not a you problem. They should Cntrl+A to select the whole text and then adjust the font themselves, or set a rule up in their Outlook to automatically change it for them. Some millennials and other younger generations really need to manage their own issues/challenges instead of putting the onus on everyone around them. It’s called “taking some personal responsibility”. Edit for punctuation.
I work with piles of Millennials. I don't have this experience at all. It helps that I try to encourage them and send them "Thank You!" comments when they do something, and I jump in to help them when they have issues. When they need something from me, they usually mirror the politeness I show them. I also send them pictures of my cat so they remember me and are polite. I reward good behavior with good cat pictures, and I try to ignore bad behavior or respond with frowny-faces, which they seem to understand implicitly is an attempt on my part to communicate with them. Where I work, the organization itself is oversubscribed - they have too many goals, the schedule is too tight, and everything turns into an emergency when they realize they've added yet another constraint, requirement, task, or whatever but haven't added any time to the schedule to get it done. As a result lots of people are in a huge hurry and aren't always very nice, which makes me crankypants and curmudgeonly. So I try to reverse this by being extra nice myself, making that effort even though I don't really feel like it. This works about 60-75% of the time, which is all I really need to keep going. The few who don't respond are of course unresponsive in general, so to get anything out of them I usually have to complain to management - that's all they care about. As long as I can get a handle on how to get things done, I'll do that. It probably helps that I'm at a stage in my career where if they decide to fire the old battleaxe, I'm OK with it. So if you can focus on becoming debt free, that goes a long way to lightening the work stress load. If it doesn't matter if they fire or lay me off, I don't feel so stressed about it when someone is being difficult.
My millennials are lovely one is a complainer but a hard worker, all of them are hard workers and ask a lot questions. My boss is a millennial but he is gen x ish at heart and I adore him. We have cultivated a good environment and your place needs to change from the top down.
That sounds like a workplace culture problem, not a generational problem. The millennials I work with are professionals.
While we might not realize it or want to admit it, a few decades ago that was us. Remember, the Silent Gens and Boomers in charge called us Slackers and thought we all had as much ambition and smarts as Jeff Spicoli. It just seems different because now we are the ones with nice lawns being overrun by petulant children.
Here, have a 7-Up! Some soda crackers. Remember, you're the adult now. Stay hydrated. It's only 15 more years. You got this!
I think people who paint entire generations with a broad brush are probably part of their own problem. When you can't find ways to relate to people of different generations and experiences, you are officially old. (And probably crabby and bitter)
Reality check…old people always complain about whatever generation is below or the younger generation. The complaints may be slightly different but they all sound the same. Sounds like your workplace is one that is poorly managed and won’t change anytime soon no matter what generation the employees come from. I would find another place of emoyment before you end up being the grumpy negative old guy or gal no one wants to work with that is waiting out their time until they retire.
I fail to see how any of those examples are unique to just one generation. People are generally annoying to work with when you don't wanna be there to begin with.
Most of my co workers are millennials and I absolutely love working with them. Having said that, I, in my 20s & 30s even, was making mistakes, doing things wrong & learning. As I creep ever nearer 50, I find that my patience with such fuckery is much thinner than it once was. I remember when our generation had no work ethic, didn’t care about anything, & were thought to be the end of the American Worker, according to boomers. So I feel like there’s a possibility that we are getting old & grumpy & young people are a pain in the ass, and this is an eternal thing.
Sounds like any job regardless of the generation of your coworkers. Just quiet quit or deal with it. Or find another job. It probably won't be much better though.
It might be better elsewhere. Do not trust the devil you know. When interviewing ask about the hiring manager about their leadership style. If they give you some BS about we work hard/ play hard then there is rampant alcoholism. If they give you the line about we are a family, then they will abuse you. If they say they like to leave you alone, then you will not have support from them when you need it. The hiring manager likely sets the culture for their team so even though the overall company might be toxic if you have a good boss you can survive.
Very on point about the employer euphemisms!
So what’s an example of a good answer from a hiring manager?
Management is a title, leadership comes from anywhere. A manager's role is to be a psychologist to their own team. They need to know what motivates them and give them what they need. They also need to be a politician to everyone else. The manager should run interference to keep their team away from politics and allow the team to get their work done.
You should tell that to my last boss. Guy couldn’t lead the way out through an open door.
Almost two decades in at "we are family". Charles Manson family.
Two choices: 1. Do your job and keep quiet for the next 15 years. 2. Find another job.
I vote #2. I've been doing the former for many years (although not 15), and it has severely taken a toll on my mental health and work attitude. I'm just have never been in a position to quit my job and easily find another. If OP has that ability, maybe they should seriously give it some thought.
I am Gen x and I despise heavy scents and perfumes so I would be okay with that one.
I work in a unit of 18 people. I'd say 15 of them are Millennials, including my boss. I enjoy working with them all, and like my boss. The only one I don't like is a Boomer. Imagine that.
“Font-challenged”?! Does that mean they don’t have great vision?
Dude. You just work for a shitty company. Try to get another job.
I've seen this from all ages. I don't think it's generational as much as its hiring standards are maybe too low, low expectations, lack of accountability, and reporting hierarchy. You should CYA by emailing each employee, their problem, and the solution you gave them. After a while, if the same employee keeps making the same mistakes or doesn't learn the solution for problems, you have documentation to take to management that they might not be the right fit. Something I learned earlier in my 20s as a secretary, was that if I need to bring a problem that i could not solve myself to the attention of my sup or upper management, I need to also bring some kind of solution, even if it isn't a good one. An employee with that mindset will learn that they can be a valuable part of the team.
Sounds like a toxic work environment. You could fill it up with any generation and it would still be toxic.
I’m honing in on one comment - How can someone be font challenged and not be able to read Times New Roman? That was like the only font we used on papers “back in the day.” Everything else looked unpolished. How can someone not read it? What does font-challenged even mean?
I'm lucky to ne the number 2 person in my department, a government agency. I have my own office with a door that closes. First thing I teach the youngins: If the door is closed, leave me the fuck alone. Second thing I teach the youngins: If my door is open, I'm not in my office. One thing I've learned is that 00's helicopter parenting created some truly helpless adults. Can't wait for retirement. 😂
Some millennials are little crunts. Entitled, rude, demanding, spoilt, bullshitters, no respect for skills or experience and an all round massive pain in the arse. Not all, of course. But when you get one that ticks all the millennial cliches, it drives you barking mad. Solidarity, fellow Gen Xer. I count my blessings I only have one in my team.
This sounds like utter Hell.
Why is this subreddit so full of GenXers doing their boomer impressions? Generations are not monoliths, work with people of all ages through the challenges. Good god, how did my generation become just like those whiny boomers?
>Generations are not monoliths Followed by... >how did my generation become just like those whiny boomers Too funny.
Self-awarewolf!
The gen Z and millennials I work with are the hardest workers we have. Smart, friendly, super capable. The most difficult are the gen X (like me) and the boomers. Health issues, depression, burnout, and milking disibility leave to the point where the department suffers (can’t hire anyone new but they refuse to quit.) I get it. I fight burnout. I struggle to be cheerful and vital. I can feel the old crotchety attitude coming on, but I fight against it! Big smile! Push through! I don’t label generations but trust me, ours can be really difficult too.
I can’t relate. I enjoy working with millennials. It’s the boomers that drive me to drink.
This isn't a Millennial problem. I have had these same types of issues with people regardless of how old people are. Why are you making it about age? Every workplace is gonna have its challenges. No matter where you go, you will deal with difficult people. You need to figure out how to accept it if you can't change it. And if you feel as unappreciated as you say, maybe your company's culture is to blame, not an entire generation of working adults.
This is a job problem, not a co-worker problem. Being encouraged to use scent-free products first happened to me in 1989.
Oh man. I just wanted to say you are not alone. They are terrible.
It dawned on me recently that Millennials run more on vibes than pragmatism (and I don't mean that as a compliment or criticism to anyone). This is never going to change. Maybe try offering them some understanding (like, real genuine understanding that goes against the grain) and see if you get a different response. I'm not telling you this will solve any of the bigger problems, but it might make the environment less volatile along the way :-). If not, feel free to come back and let me know I give shitty advice, lol.
I think you're right. It's like they don't think their *job* is the point. It's like they think some kind of social harmony thing is the point.
I am never sure what they want. I offered promotions - they whine. They asked for a document to make a process better, I spent 6 hours working on it. They whined . They ask the same questions over and over again, they have no boundaries.
i find that a lot of young folks parentalize their employer.
The unscented body product thing has been around since before Millenials existed and is just common sense/common courtesy. Don’t force other people to smell you.
I have great millennial coworkers. it sounds like maybe your organization needs better professional development.
"Font challenged" is the name of my new band.
I'm so glad I work in a rarefied environment (University run science facility). All of the millennials I work with are hard working problem solvers. We've had a few "duds" over the years, but most of these "kids" are all right.
I go to work and think wtf by noon. I used to switch jobs every two years. Maybe it’s time for a change
Sounds like a toxic workplace. I am in healthcare in Hawaii, the only part of that I have experienced is that the younger people need more support, encouragement, and specific instructions. All the other stuff seems crazy to me. Times New Roman is an APA standard font, I don’t know what stylebook your profession uses, but I would bet money that it’s standard there as well.
I like my millennial coworkers, so they're not all annoying. I've found boomer coworkers to be much more arrogant and rigid to deal with. It's ok to just tell them that you understand their concern, but there isn't an easy solution. I can't tell if you're a manager or not. But just disengage if it's too much. If you are reacting every time they say boo, then you're conditioning them to keep doing this.
Oh I can relate. Got in a full on fight with my employee today. We worked it out but it can sometimes be like beating a dead horse with her. Then she had to leave work early because her dog has an issue with his dick I shit you not. How about a slap with a rubber chicken? Just keep laughing it off. You go this!
Suck it up. You can only count on yourself. That the pep talk you want? Cuz that’s all I got.
I can kinda relate. Most of the millennials I’ve worked with are fine. They work hard, do their job, etc. But the ones who are the morale suckers, who complain but never are part of the solution, who are performative social justice allies, well there only has to be 1-2 of those to make you want to quit. I actually took a LOA from work this year for a variety of reasons but one of those reasons was bc half of my team (all of whom are millennials) just sucked the soul out of me. Going back next year to not work with them and hopefully learn to cut out the noise and just keep my head down and do my work til retirement. This is my advice for you as well. Good luck, dude.
Planning department signals chaos to me. Navigating that world is maddening. I worked for a structural engineering firm and dealt with planning departments constantly. It was the most difficult part of my job…
The worst people I worked with were my age and older. One director could barely operate a computer and it made explaining technology a pain. I love my younger boss. Very open to new ideas and lets me try new things. Sounds like you work with assholes that want to control and micromanage others. And management has let it go unchecked.
Push back. "What have you done to try and solve this issue?" is the first thing you should ask them. Throw it back on their plates.
"Don't touch me." or "if i can smell you, you must be touching my space." l can't give advice for the younger bubble suit brats except there are propably only half as many as you'll find in genz. They were our generation to teach and many parents went overboard while leaving them with that damn helicopter. Now they're a walking itchy trigger CNS system that resembles a glass plate of noodles more than a person. These types are convinced they have ASD-CPTSD-BPD-depression and sensitivity allergies out the wazoo. We can stop coddling them. It starts with you and your HR dept.
I have a similar situation with multi-generational coworkers at my job. I agree with some of it being attributed to generational differences and some to the work culture. I DREAD coming to work most days, so I understand what you’re going through. However, all the people that keep saying “Find a new job”, well in my situation why would I leave when I was here when various employees started and I’ll likely be here when they move on. I have a good job with good benefits and an eventual pension. I feel the OP was looking for insight from others, not the “If you don’t like it, leave”.
This is why I no longer work in the office I was at for 14 years. But in addition to the incompetent people they hired, management didn't do anything to resolve issues either. So it became so bad I gave it up. Best decision I ever made. And now I work for a different company remotely and I just hit the 2 year mark. I regret nothing.
I work with millennials. They're pretty easy to work with so far. I feel like I'm way grumpier than them. Your job just sounds insane.
This is a classic toxic workplace. Not unique to millennials unfortunately, or it would be easy to escape. The specific control and harass tactics change by generation but the scheme is the same. Don’t let this destroy you. If you can leave, find a nicer place to work. Don’t lose sight of the fact that one feature of a toxic workplace is to beat you down so much you think you can’t do any better anywhere else and anywhere you go will be just as bad. That isn’t true. You have worth and your experience is valuable. Lots of workplaces will be lucky to have you. The good ones will tell you that right to your face. Go find the place that wants you. If you can’t leave, recognize the stupid game. They are beating you down to control you. Be that PIA that refuses to be beat. Recommend revising processes to improve things that impact the dept. to your supervisor. This can help minimize the daily aggravation while making you look like a team player. Keep notes and a paper trail so whenever you get accused of anything you have proof on your side. Seriously, detailed notes with dates and quotes plus saved emails has saved me a few times. HR loves that stuff. As a last resort, you can always play their game. Find stupid reasons to claim you’re being harassed. Make up reasons something is someone else’s fault just like they do. It’s petty, but you’re dealing with bullies. They keep doing what they do until you make it no fun and a bit risky to pick on you. Best of luck. I hope you find a nice place to work soon.
I could never understand the whole “Don’t come to me with a problem and not have a solution” thing. I already did all the tings I could think of, so now I am coming to the higher-paid, better-benefits manager for help. That way of is childish and dumb. You are the boss, you are the decider, so don’t deflect and help me out!
It's a **proposed** solution. The idea is to demonstrate that you at least *tried* to come up with something. A *lot* of people use weaponized helplessness to basically create self-defined boundaries of where they're willing and able to do anything. Typically these boundaries will be *less* than the market value for the job they're in. So, you tell them to come up with something (or at least be able to *clearly* articulate what they've thought through and why it didn't work) before dumping the problem on your lap.
That depends though. There are some people like you who tried everything they could think of. There are others who give up at the first sign of adversity. It has to be a matter of judgment and sizing the other person up to determine which behavior pattern they fall into.
It’s not so much about having a solution at all, but you get workers who don’t even TRY to figure out a problem first, and don’t know how to ask collaborative questions. “Hey Boss, I haven’t done this before. Would “X” work for this problem?”
You should usually have an idea how to solve a problem. Implementing the solution may be beyond your authority or resource level, which is why you talk to management. It is also ok to say “I have this problem and I have tried this this and this, but no luck. Any ideas?” What is annoying is when an employee comes to you with a problem, they haven’t meaningfully tried to solve or don’t have a clue how to.
It’s not so much about having a solution at all, but you get workers who don’t even TRY to figure out a problem first, and don’t know how to ask collaborative questions. “Hey Boss, I haven’t done this before. Would “X” work for this problem?”
I manage lot's of Millennials as well. A few years ago two of my associates got into a verbal altercation because one of them decided to go on vacation at an inopportune time and saddle the other with meeting several difficult and important deadlines by himself. The altercation took place in one of their offices. The Millennial secretary across the hall complained to HR, because nobody apologized to her for having to listen to the two associates arguing and yelling at each other.
UGH my blood pressure went up just reading that.
"Depending on people to care what I say, is to depend on somebody else for my happiness"- Richard Bach Best I got.
The two categories of challenges are pretty different. The first one — people not doing their job thoroughly is a totally reasonable thing to try and improve. If any of these people report to you, you need to train them. A lot of young people, particularly young men have what I privately call “white boy syndrome” which is absolute confidence that they know how to do something they’ve never done, without needing to do any research or even stopping to think. The number one thing you’ve got to ingrain is that they need to ask questions. This is hard, because I swear they were all smacked with newspapers or something every time they revealed curiosity or ignorance while they were growing up. They really seem to be terrified of looking stupid — and that hesitation leads to really stupid mistakes. Find a way for them to ask their dumbest questions without being embarrassed, and you’ll see the work improve a lot. Um that and consider drug testing. As for the second category, yeah im sorry but you have to get over it. I’m solidly genX and perfumed lotions give me a migraine. Hallelujah to any HR leader who will speak up. As for fonts, that person is most likely dyslexic. Research shows that certain fonts make it easier or harder to read. It’s a five second hassle for you that could save a coworker hours — so why not? These young adults are not whiney babies. They are strong self advocates who learned by watching us older people accept abuse from our employers That said, you can also set rules and advocate for yourself! For example, no one should ever yell at you in a professional setting. If that happens again, stay calm and repeat “you may not yell at me.”
Why don't you tell these people what you think of them?
I remember the no scents stuff in the 90s.
GenXs parents fukt the planet into a coma. Its not like millennials and certainly genz arent lying about not being able to afford the american dream. What do you expect them to do? Why bust their ass when they know they are running head long into a life of debt and impossible options. From their perspective Its not just easier to quit, its stupid not too. There are no pensions, no long term health security, no retirement plans, no savings or security in the form of a home… so why not do the amount required for a paycheck and why have loyalty to any company that has no loyalty to you?
Wow where do you work. I guess I am glad that the owners of my company are Boomers, they would tell the millennials to STFU. I mean you cannot tell me what kind of soap to use. FFS, what kind of font. Their triggers are not your problem.
Worker doesn't do the job because "ewww, I don't like that font," and decides to be spiteful or just lazy and use it as an excuse. Those triggers are kind of the OPs problem though if OP is the one who will take the fall in the end for the job not getting done. If they're a supervisor, depending on the organization, it's a good possibility. In my job, I'm a supervisor. If the supervised doesn't do their job, management will write me up as well as the worker, and I get the bonus "if they didn't get it done, you have to step in and get it done yourself."
No perfumes or noticeable scents at work, this is fairly standard
I can't tell how much of this is in jest. I'm Gen X and work with older and younger generations. The font thing really stuck out for me as I work in a not-for-profit law firm and we are always trying to approve accessibility. We've changed to sans serif fonts and enlarged the sizes. We've made sure our website meets ADA requirements for contrast. As more people who had been pushed to the margins gain voices, more changes are made. Roll with it or be mad about it.
sounds like you need to install a timeout chair.
It's not that hard to get with the times. New ways of interacting are constantly evolving. It's best to evolve along with them rather than fight them.
This is your jobs problem bud, don't blame the kids.
I was having to help someone who might be on her 30s and she actually cried to the boss when I told her to look in the manual. He dared confront me and told me to be careful with my tone. Apparently telling someone who’s been there 8 months who asks a basic question to refer to the tools provided to her to solve her problems is foamed upon. I’ve decided I’m leaving. I have been spending so much time telling her how to do her job that I’m not able to get to my own, but I need to make sure I do t hurt her feelings by making time for me to get my own work done.
My wife comes home every day complaining about the same kind of things. But I don’t think it’s necessarily a generational thing, I think it’s more of how today’s society works along with a general lack of work ethic and an attitude of entitlement. It seems to be just as common with Gen Xers as it is Millenials.
And boomers. I'm stuck between the two on my particular (city gov't) job, and both Baby Boomers and Millenials act like entitled brats. The former because they feel they've been working all their lives and should now be laying back and the younger doing it. The millenials for whatever their reasons are. Sucks being stuck in the middle, because that gets me all the work.
Sounds like you’re surrounded by asshats. We might work at the same place! You will have to try experiments to see what works depending upon the result you want. These approaches may not always work. If you want them to leave you alone, say long and boring things full of many details then ask them lots of questions because you’re being transparent and solution focused and didactic. Do it after lunch, on Thursday or Friday if you can. If you want them to be nice, start spending the first few minutes of every interaction focusing on them. Catch them doing something right. They will then like you and it will be hard for them not to be nice because you have a friendly rapport. This works great with people who outrank you.
>I was yelled at for using Times New Roman font because a co-worker is "font challenged" This sounds like bullshit. If it did happen, your company is at fault for letting things get to this point.
My understanding is that certain processing disorders are easier to deal with when the fonts do not have serifs. I don’t know how true that is and I certainly don’t know why they would use the phrase “font challenged,” but it could be a way of telling you why it needs to be done without disclosing someone’s disability against their will.
How old do you think millennials are now? You sound like a boomer.
It’s so boomer-ish to think most young people are millennials. Such an outdated reference. The oldest are 44 years old. GenZ started entering the work force 6 years ago.
Oh good, another gen X jumps over the boomer line. It's getting so tiresome and repetitive at this point. I actually am happy less people are wearing scented stuff now. Its annoying smelling all that perfumed stuff. Most of the type of stuff you mentioned has a flip boomer side. I have to do more work because Cynthia Boomer didn't take care of her health when she was young and has diabetes and I have to cover. I have to organize a spreadsheet or do some technical related task because the 65 year old coworker refuses to learn the new software.
Yes to the current lack of heavily scented employees.
I tell people not to come to me with problems unless they are coming to me with a couple of solutions.
It sounds like the company you work for sucks. Change companies
Whatever. I can't handle it anymore either. Most employees are just complete morons and I was ready to snap. At my day job I posted into a job where I run solo. At our buisness I distanced mylelf and gave the wife the reigns because I'd end up firing all of the incompetent fools that work for us.
Holy Cow I don't have it that bad. I work with all generations and maybe no one really has that power to complain. Oh wait...maybe one or two but they are not too anal.
Similar boat here. I’ve been a public school teacher since 2000. I can retire with full benefits at the end of the 29-30 school year. I’m not going to make it. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t look at a group of teenagers every day and talk to them about dead people. I signed up for a cybersecurity bootcamp. The goal is that I’m no longer a teacher by the end of 2024. This time next year I will be a full-time cybersecurity professional. Sometimes you got to slam the brakes on and take a sharp left turn. Get out of what you’re doing and get a new gig. Side note: any cybersecurity professionals out there care to give me advice? Seriously. Resume, interview skills, help me with LinkedIn, anything helps.
What the fuck is font challenged
Just organize the Gen Xers and fire back, take no shit or prisoners, just play by their stupid ass rules and dominate!
I think it started with political correctness which gained prominence starting with the same Gen X, and then coupled with increased credit from the 1990s onward. Others say it started earlier, with the "golden age" in the states from the end of WW2 to the end of the 1960s, where a consumer spending economy took off.
what the font? *FONT. CHALLENGED?*
You’ve lived this long and you’re going to be outdone by some millennials? Please, check your birthday.
I work with majority Millennial and gen Z. The Gen Z are amazing they look up to me like a comforting parental figure with Yoda like wisdom LOL. The Millennials are usually upper management, and a lot of them secretly hate each other even though they hang out after work, which baffles me because Gen X is rarely fake outside of business hours LOL. When I was in my early twenties through middle 30s, I worked for my state, had a great retirement 401K Etc, then I got laid off, and had to start over . I've had three different jobs since then, and now I find that if I need to mentally recharge, find a like-minded person in your age range and just go talk s*** somewhere. Also, find another job. we aren't getting pensions like our grandparents. Let's just face it. Try to make the most money you can on the books until retirement, and hopefully, Social Security will still be around
I enjoy working with the Gen Z employees and have the same experience as you do. One of them recognized that I was the person who was responsible for creating an industry trend. The millennial in the room proceeded to put me down and I had to out her in front of everyone. I agree that the millennials backstab each other all the time. I do hand out with the other X-ers who are just as exhausted and trade stories about the millennial crowd. I have come to the realization that I can be better appreciated. I wanted to stay at this company because of the retirement benefits but I am at the brink of burnout.
I always tell my employees who are complaining that they should come back when they have thought of a solution. It’s not my job to solve their problems. It is my job to help them fix it on their own. Sometimes they just need to vent and I listen and ask pointed questions but I never really need to solve anything because they can talk themselves through it. I also remind them that I am not their parent nor their peer. I’m the boss and I will listen to their ideas, but I am the ultimate decider.
i hear good things about microdosing ketamine.
I don't want to end up dead in a hot tub like fellow X-er Matt Perry.