I frequently comment about my sympathy for Gen Z. Obama said he would “fundamentally transform” the country, and he did. I’m glad I’m not growing up in what Obama created. And I’m glad I wasn’t young during COVID. I think Gen Z has been handed a very bad deal on multiple levels.
Now, having said that, I will also say that I am not surprised that Gen Z is not performing well in the workplace. And I’m not surprised that managers are firing young people. They are damaged and they don’t fit in, and managers of workplaces don’t want to deal with the constant headaches.
But I will point out a further piece of the puzzle. If I were 22-30, or whatever — and it could be you instead of me — if I were different from the others, if I worked hard, if I showed up on time (or early!), if I were diligent, and prepared, pleasant and enthusiastic — in short, if I were starting out, and if I were an absolute Super Star ... I bet my boss would give me a 4% raise when everyone got a 3% raise. After I busted my ass and was 10x better than the Gen Z losers who got fired after 2 months. 1% more for me. Oh boy!
Because the working world has largely changed these days, and it’s a terrible place to be. Workers are not valued, and they know it.
Working hard these days gets you nothing, the management just sees you as a sucker they can suck more work out of before they drop you and hire a new sucker so they don’t have to pay benefits
Well said. Both things can be true.