lje62

20 somethings could have the highest GPA and graduated from the finest of schools , but also could be at a disadvantage if they never had real work experience to know what is expected of them
We deal with a lot of kids in our family owned business . Seeing them grow from 14 yr olds with their first job to college grads out in the real world beyond summer job , I see that the basic people skills learned helped shape them into really productive, problem solving, effective outstanding employees
Many of the " kids " who are now in some impressive jobs and industries thank us for the experiences they had that gave them an edge.

tom1944

work habits trump academics

eyemamom

My OM is 24 and she's worked for me for 6 years. She's the most mature, thoughtful young woman I've ever met and doesn't have a college degree.

The 23 yo I hired with a college degree had a mom who called his boss on several occasions. My mgr told the 23yo - never again in your life have your mommy call me unless you are in the hospital. His immaturity was ultimately his downfall, he never flew alone and nearly missed a critical flight. My favorite was that he ironed his pants on one side and assumed the heat would go through both legs of his pants - lol. He just couldn't figure out how to be an adult with a job.

My problem with hiring the 20 - 24 yo crowd is many times they just don't care about showing up every day and on time. Their leisure time is way more of a priority. I don't think that's a new phenomenon.

Hubby was so frustrated last week with the receptionist who every day needed to be told to not chat on the phone with family and friends while adding our bank deposit that he contemplated getting a cell phone jammer - lol.

The problem you run into when you own a business is that you really don't mind a few personal calls here and there throughout the day, however there is always someone who can't figure out how much is too much.

oldfort

I often have chat with D1 about proper office behavior. What's interesting is that recently I had a crisis at work, it was D1 who offered some sound advice. At some point they do become more insightful.

MADad

For those who say they depend on their phone for everything (email, messaging, internet, etc)--I make a distinction between the person who NEEDS to be texting, surfing the web, etc for work-related reasons, and the person who has an addiction to the dang phone, and cannot go 10 minutes without responding to every ridiculous text they get.

We had a little gathering for my mother's 81st birthday. Niece's new husband sat there playing with his phone surfing the net the whole time. Couldn't even be bothered to attempt any human interaction. Wanted to tell my niece to just leave him home next time. Annoying and rude. Sat there laughing at youtube videos. Idiot.

hops_scout

But how do you know the difference unless you are looking at their phone and at their computer screen?

fauxmaven

Sounds like Hillicopter Parenting to me .

soccerguy315

There are always some clueless people. Perhaps the more experienced coworkers should act as mentors, and the managers should manage. If the manager is not getting what he/she wants out of a worker, then they need to discuss and make a plan to improve. If there is no improvement, then the employee should be fired.

Perhaps some of the offices mentioned in this thread need better interviewing, and then they wouldn't hire new people that are incompetent. There are A LOT of people right now in their 20s just itching for an opportunity to show off their work ethic and become integral members of a team or office.

and fwiw, no cell phones are allowed in my office (for security reasons, not productivity).

also, let's not pretend like the people who constantly take 10 minute bathroom breaks and 15 minute smoke breaks are the model of productivity. Or the people who can't fix their computer to work when the most minor thing is gone, so they try to talk to IT for an hour instead of fixing it themselves.

sax

Somehow these kids managed to get through high school and college with numerous expectations from different groups. School, work, plays, chorus, sports commitments etc.

I think the work ethic is strong they just need to be told what is allowed and what isn't. Then it needs to be reinforced.

Now for entitlement:

The real problem occurs when companies feed into the whole entitlement issues. The companies are acting much like these kids parents acted (many of them are run by these kids parents).

Companies have seminars on how these kids need to be treated differently;how these kids need positive reinforcement and immediate raises and promotions because that is what they expect. Companies are afraid of losing them. HAH. Companies are just making it worse.

Companies lost out on loyalty as soon as they got rid of pensions. These kids have watched their parents lose jobs after 25 years because the company has no loyalty to its employees. Other than staying long enough to have your 401k vested there is no reason to stick around.

GO get another job and a 10% increase in salary(instead of staying in current job for 4%) because this generation needs to take care of THEMSELVES.

It will be interesting to watch and see how it all plays out in the next decade.

oldfort

sax - I agree with your assessment. Those kids will need to take care of themselves becasue there is no loyalty, and companies will lose big when people start to move for 10% increase.

edad

I know my 20 something daughter has a strong work ethic and desire to succeed. I do agree with sax. Most companies seem to chase short term profits. They often cut corners on the quality of products and services and they also seem to have minimal regard for their employees. When it comes to employee loyality and company loyality towards the employees, most companies talk a good story but consistently fail to deliver. It is not just the young employees who need to look out for themselves. In fact older employees seem to be treated with even less regard. I know in my case, I and other older employees saw minimal raises for many years even before the recent downturn. We could be underpaid because it was assumed that we would stay anyway and were too old and complacent to move on. That is why I moved on and in fact retired early. Working was no longer worth the hazzle without better compensation. The attitude of us older employees who got screwed will help mold the work ethic and attitude of the younger generations.

cobrat

This cannot be emphasized enough. In the personal computer world Compaq and Dell are two brands that went from being known for building high quality PCs and standing behind their product in the past to becoming known more for cutting corners/support on their products...especially the consumer end.

In the case of Compaq...it was a factor in their effective demise as they are now part of HP. In Dell's case, they changed all their consumer warranties down to 1 year as opposed to the 3 year standard they had in the '90s and had a rash of failing PCs in the '00s due to the use of defective capacitors, failure to provide adequate servicing, and even a possible attempted coverups of the real issues until a big lawsuit from institutions such as UT-Austin and coverage from the NYT revealed the gravity of the problems.

Sony had a serious issue with selling defective batteries due to abysmal QA which failed to uncover metal shavings embedded with the battery which caused notebooks/portable electronics to short-circuit, catch fire, and even explode. This affected many notebook brands and portable electronic devices.

QuantMech

Just had a chance to post a reply to the OP's original comments. I think having parents contact employers is ridiculous, except in cases of serious illness or emergency of the employee son or daughter.

On the other hand, I have to admit to some puzzlement about the "evening event in the city," which the employee's father did not want her to attend. I think this is hard to assess without more information. What kind of event? What city? What part of the city? When did the event end? What kind of transportation options were available?

On CC, I have seen many participants who think that having a college interview in the interviewer's home is totally off limits, and that people need to meet in a coffee shop or other public place, because you never know what kind of dangerous predator/alum might be interviewing for HYP. I think I'm as helicopter-ish as anyone, but I went to interviews in people's homes, and would not have given it a second thought if my daughter had been invited to a home interview.

But, for those who think it would be hazardous for a high-school senior to go to an interview for HYP in the interviewer's home, how do you assess the hazard 4 years later for a young woman--who would presumably be alone, except during the event itself--attending an evening "event"? I would view this as hazardous in some places.

QuantMech

Also, re: the young woman who cried about a 30% raise.

On the one hand, the only time in my life that I've had a 30% "raise" was in the transition from post-doc to Assistant Professor.

On the other hand, this story too begs for more information. Was the young woman in some kind of training program with very low pay? Did she anticipate moving to a more "normal" salary at the end of it? How did she get a 30% raise to begin with? Those have to be exceedingly rare in these times. How did her income post-raise compare with the salaries that her friends in her field were making? Was she really crying about the 30% raise in itself, or had she just realized that even after the raise, she couldn't afford rent+car+food+student loan payment on her own?

sewhappy

I think i was pretty clueless in my early 20s on the job. I remember being transfixed with horror when it sunk in that I would only have 2 weeks of vacation per year for what looked to be the rest of my life.

My first real job was with a big tech company and there were a lot of us who were young in my area. I remember quite a few co-workers who were just still kids at heart and having trouble taking it seriously. It was a stronger job market back then, though. I think maybe we are judging these young kids today a bit more harshly because jobs are at such a premium.

My older one is working and to be honest I sometimes wish he wasn't. I'd rather he go "cook" awhile longer in a grad program somewhere. He seems way to young to be out there in the work world yet. He'll have his whole life to spend working.

I guess it's pretty obvious I don't have the biggest work ethic myself.