Gen Z and millennial productivity is being crushed by bosses who don’t understand them, top university research says

Millennials finally realized that working for soulless corporations is a necessary evil for many of them and shouldn't rule their lives. Then they passed that news on to Gen Z. The Boomers who thought they had to put their entire lives into working 40 hours a week for shit wages in order to increase shareholder profits don't get it, especially when they were able to do things like buy houses on their salaries.

right of passage

...

“They’re like, ‘Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m gonna come in at 10:30 a.m,’” Foster said of her younger colleagues in an interview with The Guardian.

Every single generation has thought this about the younger generation. Every single one.

In this case, I think the whole issue is exacerbated by the fact that giving sincere effort at work is so clearly a mug's game. It used to be that being disciplined about showing up and doing your job was difficult, but at least there was a reason to do it and develop the skill over time. Now? Unless you have some sort of unusual job where the management gives a shit about you, why would you?

I'm easily fooled into productivity with a median wage that adjusts with inflation and quantified growth goals.

It's this actually something that can meaningfully be said of Gen Z / millennials, or it's just "young people".

I ask because millennials are not just starting their careers, millennials are in their 30s and 40s. I've been in my career more than a decade and I'm a millennial.

I'm also less productive now than before because I have too much to meaningfully accomplish it all, so I say no to a bunch of work but still end up working on random things an executive asks for instead of deep focused work that could really push the company forward. But if you don't do what an exec wants you get fucked.

The survey of nearly 1,500 U.K. and U.S. office workers found that a quarter of employees self-reported low productivity in the workplace. More than a third of Gen Z employees reported low productivity, while 30% of millennials described themselves as unproductive.

"In a given week I maybe do fifteen minutes of real, actual work" - Peter Gibbons, 1999

All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.

All I need them to understand is to pay me a fair wage and don't fucking talk to me on my days off and just let me do my job.

Starting a career has increasingly felt like a right of passage for Gen Z and Millennial workers struggling to adapt to the working week and stand out to their new bosses.

What the hell does this even mean. How is starting a career considered a "rite of passage" when the average American works 50-60 hours a week between 2 or more jobs? A career in a single field is straight up considered as unattainable as buying a house is by Millennials (46% of whom own a house, compared to the average of 65% for other generations). Plus Millennials have been in the workforce for multiple decades now. We're in our 30s and 40s. And nobody has "struggled" to adapt to the work week since the 40 hour week was created after unions fought for the right to 2 days off a week. Children are indoctrinated to this cycle in kindergarten! And it's a lie anyways with the modern culture of bosses demanding people be available to call during nights and weekends. The average corporate work week was closer to 47 hours even 10 years ago. Do they mean working at a single company for more than 3 years? Because that's often a loss in pay compared to changing companies.

We're off to a bad start before even hitting the paywall...

Most of my career is showing how we could solve problems, being told not to because the morons above me don't comprehend abstract, being thrown under the bus, finding ways to do what is needed anyways, and only after the fact, after proof is shown that it was the correct thing to do, getting some meager acknowledgement that perhaps I was right amd know what I'm doing.

But it still never causes these idiots to actually trust me the next time. It doesn't seem to matter who is above me. If they are even slightly older than me, they don't ever trust people like me.

I see this same thing happen to a lot of my peers my age and younger as well. The high quality individuals suffer because the world is full of idiotic managers.

I think these last few years of geriatric rule is just going to be a lesson of what not to do for when we take control.

My pay is barely enough to get by on, so I’m only going to do the bare minimum to get by at work.

To summarize a long story, I (a millennial) put in a task request to a Gen Xer, including step by step instructions. I knew what to do, I just don't have access to do it.

Xer told me that was the wrong service, it's this other one, he can't find the settings in the Other Service. We went back and forth a few times, he repeated I was wrong, until finally he showed me a screen capture from Other Service that showed "managed by service 1" that proved I was right in the first place.

If he were willingly to accept I might know what I'm talking about and looked at the instructions, it would have been done in minutes instead of dragging it out over 11 days.

Obviously this is a hand picked anecdote, but yeah, bosses and non- boss elders definitely get in the way of productivity.

Research by economists should not be trusted in matters of employee well-being.

Call me crazy but the fact that no matter how hard a millennial or gen z person works: they still lack job security, most of their wages go in bills/rent, they often act as a carer in some capacity, and are generally not doing work related to their studies might also have something to do with it...

I've been laid off 5 times since I started what was my career over a decade ago. After the second time I learned to always keep a second or third source of income, which meant I never had a day off or a vacation for years. After the 4th time I gave up on corporate jobs but still took a position when a friend offered it to me. This time I will not go back, thankfully my side work of being a handy person landed me a job in the solar industry somehow and the pay is even better than my senior position at the last "career" job.

bosses aren’t doing much in return to help their young staffers adjust to corporate life

I can't recall when this was ever a thing. It has always been do or fail.

The survey of nearly 1,500 U.K. and U.S. office workers found that a quarter of employees self-reported low productivity in the workplace. More than a third of Gen Z employees reported low productivity, while 30% of Millennials described themselves as unproductive.

Couldn't this just mean gen x/boomers feel more productive? Doesn't sound like it really speaks to the output of the employees

It's almost like nobody is able to give 100% at all times.

I've seen that when I first started decades ago. The department I was working on was filled with more senior staff and I was the only one in the department under 30.

There was very little in intentional teaching during that time. I'm not talking about training classes, but even basic things. It was just try your hardest and get comments back on your work. There were also cases where it was easier and faster for me to do certain tasks on the computer, but they weren't used to that idea.

And so you've got a lot of bad teachers in the workforce that have been doing their job forever. And because there aren't that many Gen X, there weren't that many in the middle ground to teach new staff.

And I feel like some elder millennials are taking the generational trauma of shitty mentoring and carrying it forward like a rite of passage.

*rite of passage

OMG. A headline that doesn't lay the blame on millennials and Gen Z?!

I guess it was only a matter time. Millennials are hitting their 40s now. Now we can start blaming whatever-comes-after-Z for everything!

Exactly as every previous person experienced for at least fifty Years.

Ha yeah I'm old now how do I get a job? A career I mean.

ITT:

1. "I'm smarter than my boss that's why I don't care" "no you're not, and yes you do." "Yeah, actually, I am, and no, actually I don't." "'Actually' they don't care, which is why you're complaining about it. The only people that don't care in this scenario are your boss and me." "Nuh uh." "Ya huh."

2. "This has happened before, it is always like this." "No it's not, we're uniquely smart and capable and they're particularly not and not." "Ok, you're brilliant but no one cares. That must be what's happening." "It is!" "It isn't."

3. "The olds are so old and work culture is bad, we need better work culture." "What does that look like?" "Doing things I care about when I want to and being paid a lucrative salary for it." "That won't work." "Yes it will." "Ok, but it won't. Good luck."

Sanded it down for you all. These threads were getting a little knotty and overgrown.

So far most of what I've seen is "want to stare at phone a day", "can't I work from home?", "stopped working at the first excuse or (god forbid) difficulty".

Isn't it the employee's job to adapt and fit into the employer, not vice versa?

It is often said that the younger generation of workers, namely Gen Z and Millennials, are not as productive as their predecessors. However, the blame for this is often misplaced. It is not the fault of technology or lack of motivation that is crushing the productivity of these workers. Instead, it is their sense of self-entitlement that is causing the problem.

The rise of the internet and social media has led to a culture of instant gratification, where everyone wants everything now. This mindset has spilled over into the workplace, where younger workers feel entitled to promotions and recognition without putting in the necessary effort. They expect to be rewarded simply for showing up, rather than for producing quality work.

This sense of entitlement is not limited to promotions and recognition but extends to the work itself. Younger workers often feel that they are entitled to interesting and meaningful work, without having to do the grunt work that is necessary to get there. They are not willing to put in the time and effort required to develop the skills and experience necessary to take on more challenging work.

Furthermore, this sense of entitlement often leads to a lack of accountability. Instead of taking responsibility for their mistakes or shortcomings, younger workers are quick to blame others or make excuses. They do not see the value in learning from their failures and instead expect to be coddled and protected from any negative consequences.

To address this issue, younger workers need to understand that success is not handed to them on a silver platter. They must be willing to put in the necessary effort and take responsibility for their own success. Employers can also play a role by setting clear expectations and holding younger workers accountable for their actions. By doing so, we can help the younger generation of workers become more productive and successful.