Youngsters now days are very entitled

[Themagicfarawaytreeismyfav]

Is it just me or are younger people now days very entitled? I work in an industry that often attracts lots of younger people mainly early 20’s ( im in my 50’s btw). Im noticing more and more that they have lots of entitlement and some bad manners/lack of social skills as well as a terrible work ethic. For balance i have 4 dc ranging from 20-30 years old and while all 4 have excellent manners the younger had a really bad attitude towards work for a year or two but is now a very hard worker and the elder 3 always have been. Anyway back to my fellow employees. They seem to know every single one of their rights but not so much about their responsibilities, they lack social skills and manners as well. Will happily talk over people during conversations, pick and choose what work they want to do, have appalling customer service skills and will never agree that something is their fault or they have done something wrong. My work is based heavily on seniority and usually the more senior a member of staff they get first choice in certain aspects of it. However the younger staff seem to completely disregard this and often push themselves to the front for these things and show absolutely no respect to those who have worked there for years ( fwiw im also very junior). Im finding it harder and harder to tolerate and beginning to detest having to work with them, but im wondering if its actually a “ thing” that others have noticed or its me and my perimenopause? 🙄

Imagine thinking like this!

Tbf Comments like that do show that perhaps you re the one with the attitude problem at your workplace.

No surprise younger workers show you & your colleagues a lack of respect.

A teacher of with 35years experience, should be a shown at least a little respect.

I think people entering professions now are naturally less deferential and more confident. Which is great. There are very senior people in my profession who struggle with junior staff members rocking the status quo by having new ideas and vocalising them even though they make great points.

But the poster you are saying i should show respect for has herself stated that being in your job for years and earning seniority does not mean you automatically should be treated respectfully by newer/junior staff? So which is it? Either seniority and time served earns you respect or it doesn’t?

I also think that younger people have some great ideas but its the way its put across that counts. Also being lazy and disrespectful isn’t being less deferential.

i remember sandy on below deck saying something that rings very true & is right.You don’t have to respect me as a person but you have to respect my job title & she’s right.

If a senior member isn’t nice or even good at their job it’s irrelevant, you don’t have to be polite before clocking on or after but between the hours you work you should be. If you don’t think they’re making the right decisions you can respectfully put your point forward but you may still have to go with what they want to do. If they feel strongly enough about the senior persons capabilities they can escalate it further or find a new job. But I don’t think you’re on about this, you’re talking about youngsters refusing to do their job properly, be that refusing to do aspects of it or just being rude to customers and other staff members. Entitled behaviour where their own work standards are below par to begin with, I get that. I worked at a supermarket when I was 16, it was clear that eye contact, a smile & offer to help pack their shopping was a requirement of the job not a choice. I used to like being a runner, yet I could ask if I could get a go I couldn’t demand it & bitch about being put on a till. It would rightly pointed out that other people work here to & they can’t adhere to all out wants

I completely agree

I’m so fed up of the young people bashing. You cannot generalise about a whole group of people. Imagine someone saying, ‘Middle aged menopausal women are stroppy and difficult to work with’ there would be uproar.

In my experience young people can be treated like crap in the workplace. Work is a professional setting and I think some people, perhaps like yourself OP, forget that. Those younger colleagues of yours are equal to you, it’s not like you are at home ordering your own kids about. You are conflating a bit as you mention your own kids, which makes me think you are getting confused; this is work and not your domestic environment. I wonder if you are throwing your weight around a bit, and they are pushing back and you don’t like it. Perhaps consider your own professional boundaries. You are at work and not in your living room. I also wonder if you have issues with your age? You mention it’s a young industry and you are in your 50’s and in a junior position like they are? If so, this is your problem, not theirs.

I am also getting fed up generally, with the whole, ‘is it because I’m peri?’ It’s pathetic. Just own your behaviour. You sound ageist.

Where exactly did i say i was ordering anyone around? I expect them to do the job that we are all paid to do instead of being lazy, hiding in the loo or picking and choosing which parts of the job they deem worthy of doing. I expect them to not cause their fellow colleagues extra workload by being lazy and entitled. I mentioned a certain age group because of a pattern recognition in that age group! Of course there are people of all ages who can be all of the above things however i have noticed it seems far more commonplace in the age group i stated!

@Themagicfarawaytreeismyfav I wonder how your colleagues perceive you? You may not be ordering them around, but I wonder if you in engage in passive aggressive behaviour such as eye rolling and being dismissive of them? Your attitude will come across to them. I think you posted on here to get validation for your personal ( ageist) views and I wonder if this is translating into actual workplace bullying? I hope they report you if this is the case.

You sound dissatisfied with your own life and your lack of career progression. This is not the fault of your younger colleagues. Stop projecting.

Wow talk about projection! I am far from passive aggressive and if anything can be too direct. However I don’t say anything about their actions because it is neither my place nor my job to do so! As i have previously stated i simply resent having to pick up the slack from lazy people and being unable to have a conversation that isn’t all about them. It is also very much noticed by other staff members as well as me. I would never bully anyone….i wonder if you can say the same thing considering your completely unwarranted remarks to me? Im judging peoples behaviour based on what i see daily while you are busy writing acidic, spiteful remarks online to a stranger!

also if i posted on here for validation ( which i didn’t btw) it looks like i got it when you consider that the results of the poll very much agree with me!

Whilst you are on here making huge generalisations about young people! Do you make sweeping assumptions about other groups of people? I’m not a bully, but I do call out injustice.

If there are performance issues then it is up to management to deal with it, not you. As you say, you are junior level.

You should go and share the results of your poll with your colleagues…….and managers

Absolutely correct it is for management to deal with, however that doesn’t mean i should be happy about having to put up with th results until management do deal with it!

I have shown this thread to a few of my colleagues today….they found some of the responses hyperbolic and vindictive.

I’m in my late 50s and totally disagree.

Young people today seem far more polite, considerate and hard working than my generation were at that age. I don’t have kids but I’m always noticing young workers and staff in shops, cafes, offices, medical settings - how obliging they are and willing to help you. And if they are aware of their rights, good. They’re going to need that in these difficult times.

In the old days you’d get blanked in shops and staff were often either condescending or downright rude. Now it’s always “no worries!” (I love that).

Teenagers are also way more polite now, moving out of the way on pavements, waving you on to the bus first, and apologising to me - when they’ve nothing to apologise for!

YABU.

Why are you not more peeved with the appallingly ineffective management that you think is allowing these young people to be so “entitled”?

You have shown a thread to colleagues where you comprehensively tear apart other colleagues?

Because i understand to a degree the position they are in. It costs a huge amount of money to train and security vet them and the disciplinary process has to be followed to the letter to ensure no court claims and bad publicity. It takes a certain amount of awful behaviour, laziness etc before they can begin the disciplinary process and then performance plans etc. so it all takes a while, many of the managers see it as more trouble than its worth to go through this process and try to ignore much of the behaviour. Its only ever dealt with swiftly and properly when its a security or safety issue. While its not right in any way i can understand why some managers think like this.

Comprehensively tear apart other colleagues? Thats a very dramatic take on it! I have stated facts that frequently happen and that the majority of us know happen so im not really shocking anyone!

It’s sad that today you and your colleagues have poured over this thread where you rip apart younger colleagues

show absolutely not respect
rude and arrogant
but its the lack of work ethic ( which means i have to work twice as hard) and the inability to have a conversation without constantly talking about themselves or interrupting/ talking over me that annoys me the most.
selfish
lazy
sheer lack of social awareness

I could go on. 93 posts!

if you don’t think that’s ripping your colleagues apart, then… well that’s a little concerning in itself

You may see it as ripping them apart i see it as stating facts that happen frequently 🤷‍♀️

Oh I had no doubt that you don’t see it as ripping someone apart.

Which is a little disturbing truth be told