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? 🙄

See if i get to work and see im working with all far more senior people i know that my day will go as well as it could. In the main They treat everyone respectfully, they have a good work ethic and aren’t rude.

Ho did you jump to that conclusion? I asked a question… if i wanted everyone to agree i would have stated it as a fact. Im just stating how i perceive things.

Nah that very much depends on the person. I've met so many lazy older men who think women should do their jobs in the workplace and guarantee about one if four older women is a total narcissist who thinks you should kiss her ass just because shes been kissing the bosses for 20 years. Boomers as a generation are very risky to work with. You never know what you're going to get.

Op I do think people just like to be contrary on here. I definitely agree with you, esp on the issue of “knowing all their rights but none of their responsibilities” this is bang on accurate

You always get a couple of posters on any thread that like to be “ different” or difficult and try to start an argument with the OP.

I do agree that there are a lot of young people around 25 who do feel like they are owed something and have very little work ethics.

Thankfully the world I work in, there que very few this young because of how long it takes to qualify and gain enough experience. My husband often comments with slight bafflement about some of his younger colleagues and how entitled they can be. They do the absolute minimum but expect endless praise and run off to HR if anyone tries to give them constructive feedback, with several having made unfounded accusations to HR about their supervisors. This has included using the company's anonymous complaints line to report sexual harassment at dates/times that the accused was out of office.
They are now at the point where every time someone has to be told anything less than perfect praise, they ensure the meeting is recorded and/or attended by HR. I find it utterly mind boggling.

OP I noticed similar in the school I taught at about 10 years ago. Because I’d been there ages I always got asked to mentor trainees or newly qualifieds. It got so bad I refused to take any more. I do wonder what happened to the last entitled little prick I had to work with - I really hope he’s not still teaching!!!

If true then it sounds like your senior colleagues are doing a crappy job of managing these people, so maybe direct your disdain that way, too.

The young people I work with are very pleasant, hard working, and driven.

I wonder how long my thread would last if I posted one saying that all older people are rude, ignorant, and short tempered? It seems ageism is fine if it's one way.

So only threads you approve of personally should be allowed a read? Doesn't that make you a little... entitled?

While im not disputing your opinion i find the opposite at my workplace. Obviously there are one or two that are like this ( as there is anywhere) but the vast majority are great to work with. However when im working with the younger ones id say that there is a far higher likelihood that the day is going to be hard going.

OP could you give some examples please.
I tend to agree with you.
I was recently sitting in a lounge area of a college where people gather and eat. There are various food outlets.
Seated near the doors in cold winter I was struck by the fact and by cold blasts that the vast majority came in and out leaving the doors wide open.
Seating was at a premium being early afternoon.
Many people sitting working on laptops were also inconvenienced by this. I was up and down like a yo yo trying to keep the doors closed.
This place boasts about how it is promoting green issues and saving the planet etc ??
All fur coat and no drawers

The disrespect for seniority gets noted by them as well.

but never actually managed or at least addressed?

People will argue but it’s been my observation that work ethic is not how it was 23 years ago when I got my first job. Customer service for example in most companies is dire these days.

Sounds like a passive and / or inept management

OP it should be possible to set better boundaries so you dont have to pick up after them. They need to be accountable for what they do. It means things will fall through the cracks etc. Any fuck ups I'd direct back to them, e.g. an annoyed customer. Don't be a martyr.

When the more senior team members try and “ manage” them they will go straight to senior management ( who don’t work in the environment with us) and complain that they are being “ picked on” or “ bullied”. Ive seen it happen so many times and the senior managers are so afraid of any bad publicity ( internationally famous company) they will just smooth it over and take no action. This will continue until the younger person behaves so badly that it cannot be ignored ( big safety concern etc) and they will be shocked when they lose their job.

Sounds like a piss poor company

Its simply not possible in the environment we work in.

Then step back and accelerate this process.

Point proven

Give examples? It takes practice and courage. Im not buying that it isn't possible. Its probably a cop out because it's uncomfortable for you.

I don't think younger people are entitled from my experience. They just won't put up with the same shit older generations did just because its "expected" or "how things are supposed to be". And rightly so imo.

And indeed senior management according to the op

all sounds quite inept

I do think if you work somewhere with strict hierarchy and poor management, younger people are better at recognising it as a bad employer, and as there’s no such thing as “job for life” or the fear of bad references, most will be doing the minimum to get a few years on their cv to move on to another company. Gen Z seem to have figured out that loyalty to a company is pointless. There’s lots of prioritising what’s worth it for them career wise, so pushing yourself forward to get more experience/better assignments that will give you more to talk about at job interviews would fit into that.

What I would say OP is are you sure they are wrong?! A very hierarchical company isn’t one I’d like to work at long term, so I wouldn’t bother trying to impress senior management if I didn’t want promotion in this company, or only want promotion so I could use that to apply for a better employer.