I am not guilty!!. My doubt of “I am facing trouble managing younger generation in my team. I am probably not that good a leader anymore!” was washed out after having read this article. This seems like a worldwide phenomenon instead of my personal problem. No, I am not a bad teacher, some of them have proven to be bad students but is it so?
The New article in Fortune Magazine - Bosses are firing Gen Z grads just months after hiring them—here’s what they say needs to change – made me wonder – Something is odd, either in my generation (most of the bosses being in my age) or some is definitely wrong with the current Generation at least with most of them, leaving just a few better ones outside this scenario.
They simply can’t handle stress or extra amount of work but they definitely need paid holidays. They need frequent breaks during the day. Leaves are not a facility but a freedom and a birth right. Dress that they wear is an expression and should not be an office decorum etc. Salary must come in time but it is okay for them to come late to office. They will do whatever they can within whatever they feel is right but results or targets must not be part of life. Hacks are more important to learn compared to processes. The bosses have the duty to teach them, help them and make up to them and still it is alright to portray them as demons.
Least they wish to understand that the success of the work place depends upon each of them meeting productivity targets, revenue targets and compliance to processes. Least they wish to understand that the salary hikes at the end of the years will depend upon growth and profitability of the company which in turns depends upon how much they perform.
In absence of discipline, performance and the desired results, the bosses would have no other choice but to fire them and prove this generation right – Yes, the bosses are demonic. By the way, what other choices do they have? Carry on with such tantrum employees or try a new one?
Now, if this is a worldwide problem, then it is important for me to understand – where did this originate? Will my children who are growing up fast and will join the work force in next few years, give their managers same problems? If they do, then I end up being a bad father. I did not teach them what I am learning now. There is a deep seated “Attitude Issue” here. The attitude which is forming in early years and is in play when they join jobs. The new joiners have misplaced attitudes in life. There could be few reasons –
1. The increasing influence of Social Media which, probably today a bigger teacher then the teachers themselves. Instagram / Facebooks posts presenting losers and low achievers heroically makes everyone else complacent in life. For those watching such posts, the fake lifestyles become the real aspirations. The real achievers are mostly not found putting posts on social media. Each such influencers stories shows good clothes, fancy cars etc. without working really hard in life. No one influencers will tell, if such clothes are borrowed to make such reels. No such influencers will put forward their sad side on the screen. Even if they are getting thrown out of relationships, jobs etc., they will show it heroically telling others that it is okay to be fired from jobs. It is okay to cheat on partners and break up with their loved ones out of materialistic needs. For them it is just a content to be consumed and it does not matter to them, if that is making a whole generation of people learn wrong things.
2. The Decreasing influence of Parenting – We as parents have worked hard now and when we growing up. Somehow, we never wanted our children to face these hardships and unknowingly, we started working even more harder on behalf of our children. We provided to them, whatever we could not get in our lives. Material things mostly. Good accommodation, Good phones, Gadgets, branded Clothes etc. They got whatever materialistic needs any person can have without working hard for the same. Attitudinally, for them, now, the very base from where their needs start is the highest point where our needs would end. Not only this, each one of us, have worked hard to ensure their basic future is safe. They have a house, some extra money etc. We gave them the best of schooling which provided them comfortable AC environment to study But we forgot to make them learned. As we were working hard and we were trying to spend the left-over quality time with them, we chose not to scold them when they did not perform in studies. We chose not to waste time in giving them worldly exposure, we did not have time to teach them respect the hierarchy. We never taught them to work hard! We never told them there is competition and you are replaceable! That there will be stress at the work place and no one prepared them for that stress!!! Our over love and over protection have brought this immune compromised generation here.
A news of a young person working at a consulting company died. The mother of the employee tagged the death to the stressful work culture of the company. But when I keep myself as a reporting manager of that employee and asked myself, is it wrong for me to set deadlines? And if I don’t, will it be good for business? The same business that pays the employee’ salary and my salary. No business means no job and no salaries to any of us! In this world full of competition, we all need to work hard and perform to make the business survive to get that salary and work even more harder for the company to grow to ensure good appraisals at the end of the year for us.
Do these people aspire to live a good life? Of course, yes. Does good life need good money? Of course, yes. Do you get good money by doing a mediocre work-NO! As simple as that.
Do we have a solution to this situation? – Probably yes, if it is not too late. We gave them the luxuries, now, we need to take away the liberty of choice from them. There is no other way but to work very hard. That this tough situation that they face is actually called life. You cannot escape it. You need to face it. There is a cost that you pay to good life and that is called hard work. Make them physically and more importantly mentally tough. Their brain, Heart and stomach, need to know that there is no free lunch. Stop providing for what they don’t deserve.
But yes, we can give them one choice – to live a mediocre life. Take assignments which pays you less and demands less of them. Dear that mother who complaint above; you had a choice to tell your daughter, leave that job, be a teacher, house wife, a clerk or whatever allows her to leave her office desks at 6 pm and makes her insignificant, so that no one feels her absence.
As bosses, we don’t have much choice but to go through the filtration process. Keep hiring people. 1 out of every 6 will be a good team mate. 2 out of the remaining 5 will scope of improvement. Take care of these 3 and let the remaining 3 find out their place out there. Hire the next 6. Keep doing till your band of superlative bandits is ready!
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