Work and the dress down code

[Big Man]

... you end up with lunatics running the asylum ...

There's more truth to your statement than you could know. I work at an asylum and am a 30-year employee. Believe me, our patients could at least do as good (and, in reality, probabally better) than the "new generation" of "leadership" (and I use the word "leadership" very lightly). :rage:

 

[John in Covina]

How is it that we wound up with a cast of characters that look like something out of "The Road Warrior" are considered to be customer service orientated?

I don't want to offend everyone here but there is little sense of moderation at times and a whole lot of 'this is what I want, screw you' going on.

The focus on self to the point of being shameless. As such, I predict that we will see expedient euthanasia of the elderly within 10 years, if they don't invent automated home care for the elderly first.

 

[windshe]

ooooooooooooh! there's nothing better than a man in a sweet suit!

droool!

 

[Lulu-in-Ny]

The focus on self to the point of being shameless. As such, I predict that we will see expedient euthanasia of the elderly within 10 years, if they don't invent automated home care for the elderly first.

Logan's Run??

 

[John in Covina]

Logan's Run??

**********
You bet!

BOX: "Fish, and plankton, and sea greens, and protein from the sea. It's all here. Ready! Fresh as harvest day!"

"I'm more than machine, or man. More than a fusion of the two. Don't you agree?"

 

[Diamondback]

And did you? now that belongs in the Adventurer's Gear thread...

Umm... lemme think... HECK NO! (Do you have any idea how difficult it is to maintain a decent-looking khaki uniform?) Unfortunately, when tar hits avian skin, there's no way to save the bird, it's not like crude-oil. I had already run back into Page Museum, informed the front desk and asked them to call the appropriate people in... still a mystery to me why they couldn't just run some chickenwire over the top of that front pit's fencing.

@John and Lulu: The whole idea of "convenience euthanasia" to me reeks of the same kind of "eliminate the inconvenient/undesirable" mindset that ran Nazi Germany... and strikes me as being a step down that road. Didn't we learn the lesson last time?

 

[Kodiak]

Okay, so my first impression is a burning desire to slap these kids.

... ... ...

These kids expect too much; a reward for everything... ... ...

Please forgive me for commenting on this.

I too fall in the range of people apparently known as "Millennials". I was born in early '91.

Yes, I am a baby.

I also agree mostly with what you older folks are saying.

However... please, I deplore you, remember that not all milk is spoiled. There are still some of us that do not expect everything for nothing. There are still some of us that were spanked as children, that are still expected and required to pitch in and work when the time comes (in the past eight days my father and I have built fence, repaired a tin barn, cleaned out quite a lot of dead wood from the surrounding woods, planted a garden, and several other miscellaneous things that are even more boring than the rest, all in afternoons, after school/work). There are still some of us that know what work is - not the same way our grandparents and great-grandparents knew when they survived the Depression, but we know nonetheless. We know what it's like to be rebuked, to have only yourself to rely upon, and that you can't always have mommy come bail you out.

Just the same way not all Baby Boomers had huge hair and smoked pot, not all the members of my generation are deadbeat bums that consider themselves all-knowing professionals at age 22. Why do I say this?

Because I kindly urge you to refrain from making blanket judgements. Generalizations serve to do nothing but harm, and are unfair to those who do not fit the stereotype.

Regards,
Kodiak

 

[Lulu-in-Ny]

Please forgive me for commenting on this.

I too fall in the range of people apparently known as "Millennials". I was born in early '91.

Yes, I am a baby.

I also agree mostly with what you older folks are saying.

However... please, I deplore you, remember that not all milk is spoiled. There are still some of us that do not expect everything for nothing. There are still some of us that were spanked as children, that are still expected and required to pitch in and work when the time comes (in the past eight days my father and I have built fence, repaired a tin barn, cleaned out quite a lot of dead wood from the surrounding woods, planted a garden, and several other miscellaneous things that are even more boring than the rest, all in afternoons, after school/work). There are still some of us that know what work is - not the same way our grandparents and great-grandparents knew when they survived the Depression, but we know nonetheless. We know what it's like to be rebuked, to have only yourself to rely upon, and that you can't always have mommy come bail you out.

Just the same way not all Baby Boomers had huge hair and smoked pot, not all the members of my generation are deadbeat bums that consider themselves all-knowing professionals at age 22. Why do I say this?

Because I kindly urge you to refrain from making blanket judgements. Generalizations serve to do nothing but harm, and are unfair to those who do not fit the stereotype.

Regards,
Kodiak

By all means, my dear. I never meant to imply that all people of this age are like this. Just as I am nowhere near to being a typical "Gen-X'er". It's like customers- 99% of them are perfectly pleasant and fine, but you focus on and remember the awful 1%.
My son was born in 1992, and I've worked very hard to ensure that he doesn't turn out like this. I'm sure many, many parents of the age have done the same.
My apologies if I sounded extreme in my judgment. No hard feelings, I hope...

 

[KY Gentleman]

"60 Minutes" ran a story along these lines last Sunday.
As a retail store manager (for a long time now) I can attest to the constant need for recognition or incentives by associates to maintain morale.
I think that this situation is a product of management training seminars that hold the MicroSoft model up to be emulated. Everyone wears jeans, rides skateboards down the hall, etc. Nobody teaches kids how to behave "at work" anymore. I have heard a lot of young people tell me they can't seem to get a job.When you coach them on how to interview they aren't aware of dress standards, eye contact during conversation or simply saying, "I'm available whenever you need me".

 

[John in Covina]

John and Lulu: The whole idea of "convenience euthanasia" to me reeks of the same kind of "eliminate the inconvenient/undesirable" mindset that ran Nazi Germany... and strikes me as being a step down that road. Didn't we learn the lesson last time?

**************
Most people under 30 have not been taught history to any extent and therefore are ripe to repeat it. Just as bad doxology is continually being renamed and brought back, bad history will forever be repeated if it is not recognized as such. Much is being repackaged and renamed. Much is a deliberate dumbing down that makes a people ready for a new Leader to solve all of our problems and point out who the new scapegoat should be.

People think that times are different and that man has changed. Little has changed for the ambitous and power hungry since before the time of the Pharoahs.

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

Originally posted by Maguire:
Naturally i think clothing should be comfortable and I'm not expecting ladies to come to work in ball gowns

Oh, can we???? :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

If we can have Casual Fridays, why not Formal Tuesdays? (I think that was the basis of a comic I saw once.)

 

[Diamondback]

Guess that means it falls to us to "line it up and draw the parallels" to educate them, then... assuming anybody's even willing to listen.

Especially since I, for one, am not about to even consider learning how to goose-step. I'll go down fighting first... remember that oath about "...against all enemies, foreign and domestic"?

@Ms. SRL: lol Depends on your position--I wouldn't recommend it in a machine-shop or anywhere else that it'd be a safety or mobility-hazard, but otherwise...
And as for your comment, worthlesswithoutpics

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds. And if you persist in the belief you can, take your job and shove it.


Full (appalling) transcript & video here: The "Millennials" Are Coming

In the interest of full disclosure: I'm one of those "Millennials" your mother warned you about. This is an interesting topic for me because I've recently graduated and am looking for a job. (Not my first, mind.)

*Some* of my generation's opinions on the workplace aren't bad. I for one don't mind the prospect of a little more flexibility, or a nicer & more ergonomic workplace. I don't see myself clawing my way to the top of the heap by working crazy hours and putting my family on the back burner, like so many women of the previous generation did. And cubicles aren't an environment for anyone to work in.

But I also see the value in being loyal to the company you're with (even if you don't stay there 30 years), and having a good work ethic. Some of my fellow Millennials are lackadaisical about their work and have a definite focus on "ME!". I was always annoyed by those "contests" as a kid where everyone got blue ribbons. I'm still that way. Tell me honestly how I'm doing. I don't expect praise for doing little tiny things - that's patronizing, like they didn't expect much out of me in the first place. A little extra praise might be warranted at the beginning of a job (just to make me feel like I'm not totally blowing it!), and feedback is good, but please don't flatter me.

Originally posted by John in Covina:
The focus on self to the point of being shameless. As such, I predict that we will see expedient euthanasia of the elderly within 10 years, if they don't invent automated home care for the elderly first.

It's a bit frightening, how little respect is given to the elderly by my generation. And even, frankly, by the baby boomers. They're the aging ones now, but they played a huge part in this "youth is king" business. It's not just 20 year olds at fault here.

And not to turn this into a political discussion, but euthanasia, and just plain killing of people deemed unfit to live, is indeed growing more acceptable. For instance, the Netherlands permits euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

 

[Diamondback]

It's a bit frightening, how little respect is given to the elderly by my generation. And even, frankly, by the baby boomers. They're the aging ones now, but they played a huge part in this "youth is king" business. It's not just 20 year olds at fault here.

And not to turn this into a political discussion, but euthanasia, and just plain killing of people deemed unfit to live, is indeed growing more acceptable. For instance, the Netherlands permits euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

I'm with you here--perhaps it's because I was raised by Greatest Generation-ers, but I've always gotten along far better with them than Boomers.

On ergonomics, you're dead-on--although you'd think employers would see the dollars-and-cents value of a little investment in ergo rather than a big lost-productivity and healthcare-cost from carpal-tunnel...

As a matter of fact, a similar debate about euthanasia has been going around the neurobiology field of late... I know a number of folks with autism-spectrum conditions who're worried that if this particular Pandora's Box gets opened that they'll be next on the "hit list".

 

[miss_elise]

as a millennial cubical dweller, who always dresses appropriately for work...even on casual days...i feel that asking for a bit of natural light is really not too much to ask for...

 

[Diamondback]

One of the perks of being freelance, ladies: the "job site"'s anywhere I can get power and an Internet connection... Pay and bennies suck, but being able to push right back when clients try to push me around's kinda nice too. lol

 

[KeyGrip]

If we can have Casual Fridays, why not Formal Tuesdays?

I know a guy who celebrated Tuxedo Friday.

 

[Fridaynight]

Please forgive me for commenting on this.

I too fall in the range of people apparently known as "Millennials". I was born in early '91.

Yes, I am a baby.

I also agree mostly with what you older folks are saying.

However... please, I deplore you, remember that not all milk is spoiled. There are still some of us that do not expect everything for nothing. There are still some of us that were spanked as children, that are still expected and required to pitch in and work when the time comes (in the past eight days my father and I have built fence, repaired a tin barn, cleaned out quite a lot of dead wood from the surrounding woods, planted a garden, and several other miscellaneous things that are even more boring than the rest, all in afternoons, after school/work). There are still some of us that know what work is - not the same way our grandparents and great-grandparents knew when they survived the Depression, but we know nonetheless. We know what it's like to be rebuked, to have only yourself to rely upon, and that you can't always have mommy come bail you out.

Just the same way not all Baby Boomers had huge hair and smoked pot, not all the members of my generation are deadbeat bums that consider themselves all-knowing professionals at age 22. Why do I say this?

Because I kindly urge you to refrain from making blanket judgements. Generalizations serve to do nothing but harm, and are unfair to those who do not fit the stereotype.

Regards,
Kodiak

This is almost exactly what I wanted to say, though I wouldn't have relayed it nearly as well as you did.
I was born in '85, was never spanked (though was disciplined in other ways, which is the key, getting discipline), and am doing just fine holding down a full time job and have no attitude problems.
I don't share the pessimism about the youth that I see running rampant in the world. The kids are alright, sometimes you just have to remind yourself that we are young, and we will make mistakes. Mistakes and hardships are what shape us, and those that got pampered too much just have more to learn, which takes some time.

 

[KY Gentleman]

The Kids Are Alright

The kids are alright.
Thats an old song by "The Who" and your post is correct.
The kids ARE alright. There have always been great and also not so great associates/employees wherever I worked. Age and experience not withstanding.
Good job.

 

[Maguire]

How is it that we wound up with a cast of characters that look like something out of "The Road Warrior" are considered to be customer service orientated?

I don't want to offend everyone here but there is little sense of moderation at times and a whole lot of 'this is what I want, screw you' going on.

The focus on self to the point of being shameless. As such, I predict that we will see expedient euthanasia of the elderly within 10 years, if they don't invent automated home care for the elderly first.

I'm unfortunately part of that generation and i agree 100%. What we have are 30 year old infants. they dress like they did when they were 10 but they also act like they did when they were 10. and this is the new generation of voters, leaders, etc. frankly, the future is in the short term looking quite grim.
And sure there are a few here and there, i know quite a few hard working, decent people my age but overall when i see my classmates in college, most of my age group is a really lost cause. It's probably why i'm rather withdrawn on the whole.
Exceptions don't disprove anything. Every rule has exceptions, as far as i'm concerned. And let's keep in mind that its not just about "success" which in today's world has been boiled down to getting a cushy job and making lots of money, but about becoming "whole' people. Today's average person is ignorant of the world around him spiritually and intellectually, while ironically is more self assured about his society than anytime previously. And it isn't necessarily about religion, but rather an understanding and grasp of the importance of tradition in general.