My boss is an elder millennial and loves having me on his team because he can point me in a direction and I just go do the thing that needs doing while everyone else needs some level of hand holding and babysitting.

They keep trying to put me into management but I have zero desire. I'm totally cool with where I am and with what I do. The big joke is that since I'm Gen X, I'm happy working a job where I'm ignored - just as long as they don't ignore me when it comes to my pay.

I've been with my company 23 years and that longevity blows a lot of younger folks' minds. It also blows their minds that I'm NOT in management and don't want to be - because that's what they've been told they're supposed to do in order to be successful in life, otherwise they're failing. I love watching that little part of their brain light up when I tell them it's perfectly ok to be comfortable where you're at and not have to climb corporate ladder if they don't want to. No one will care what your work title was when you're dead.

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Tabitha

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They would’ve figured it out eventually, in about the same amount of time it took you, OP.

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We have a Gen Z administrative assistant for a team of Gen-X cops who work Internet Crimes Against Children (among other things). For a while she was in a near perpetual state of shock between the cases we work and just us in general.

Seeing her wander around with a VHS tape trying to figure out what it was was one of the most hilarious things that has happened at work.

She's onboard now, loves us, we got her to perfect her eye roll, say "whatever" with the proper inflection and become very liberal with the middle finger. We may have been a bit too successful with the Gen X conversion therapy.

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Tabitha

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(Late Boomer here, 1960). Remember your OWN learning curve when you were first starting out, and go easy on the newbies who actually WANT to learn the job and be good at it.

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I had a millennial look me in the eye and say, "You're not my dad!" I laughed so hard I almost vomited. The worst thing a kid said to me was, "I did the best I can!". I told him that if that's the best you can do then you have to leave.

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UncleJohn3000

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Means well is not the same as does well.

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My favorite moment is when I mentioned that I had a certain song on 45 and then had to explain about 45s, LPs, etc. A group of millies gathered around me. All we needed was a campfire.

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WindySwede

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"On a windy night you still can hear the sound of the needle scratching the LP grooves!"

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I'm a college prof, and I'm going to go past my 30 year normal retirement goal because these kids are so fricking amazing to hang out with in the classroom. I've been through the millennials and they were OK, but this younger generation is wonderful. GenX has done a fantastic job parenting them. Chef's kiss!

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Ripley

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As a child less/free Gen X with lots of friends with Zoomer kids - so many of these kids are just amazing. They have a very high EQ, they're kind, and accepting of differences, they're inquisitive, and just all around good people.

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This is not true of most of the under-30 crowd; I've worked with plenty of great kids. However, in the last eight years, I've had to train several young adults who just cannot take direction without assuming you're trying to change them on some fundamental level.

I've been in supervisory and training positions for 25 years and had never heard someone tell me, 'I don't like doing it that way,' and when I tell them they have to, they accuse me of trying to make them do things my way.

"It ain't my way, kid, it's the way it's done here, it's the way I was also taught to do it. It's as if they have no concept that work isn't free time and that they're a part of a team (or what being part of a team even means). It blows my mind, and I still haven't figured out a way to train these kids. They often end up feeling oppressed and out of place and end up leaving or just getting fired for not learning how to do work.

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Tabitha

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Come right back and ask them how they would do it. You either 1) get a good idea for updating and streamlining a process, or 2) watch their heads explode because they have no idea what to do. Now, that’s not a new thing. I got my first job in 1979, and bosses were doing that exact same thing to the young wisenheimers who thought they knew more than the boss. Some great ideas came from it, and some egos got deflated and set right. My philosophy is, if you are new, learn the way you’re taught. Then, once you know that process inside and out, give your idea a try. If it works, write it up (somewhere that will timestamp so you can prove you came up with it first) and present it to management (if they try to steal it, you can let their bosses have a look at your time stamped original).

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“25?! I have socks older than you!” This is an acceptable response to the kids.

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UncleJohn3000

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What hurts me is that it's true. Even my socks are old.

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The topic of Y2K bug came up. My team wasn’t even born. 

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UncleJohn3000

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I went to the pyramids for Y2K day. I figured they'd already survived two millennial roll overs and were probably good for another.

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I’m a 47 year old lawyer. Been practicing for 20 years. Solo attorney the entire time. I have two employees, both in their late 20’s. The difference between us is sometimes minimal and sometimes huge. My 20 years experience over them is a huge factor, but we’re ultimately into the same things, watch the same shows, and listen to the same music. The biggest difference is literally my 20 years of experience. I’ve been there and done that. They haven’t. Things I take for granted are new to them. Once I realized that it made me a better boss, teacher, and mentor.

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Tabitha

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Always remember when you were new too, and treat newbies like you were, or would’ve liked to have been, treated back in the day.

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I manage a number of teams, and my staff are literally from their late 60s to 21 years old.


I am 58, but probably most aligned with 30-40 yo in terms of taste, music, etc.


I've been at my company for 27 years.


It is.....challenging at time....how to motivate each cohort. Among them: the oldest is completely offended and passive-aggressive about any feedback. Youngest ones need constant, effusive praise including for things like showing up to work on time, not being late back from a break, working without f*****g earbuds in, even while talking to people, etc. I have two that are fairly certainly somewhere on the autism spectrum, so you have to be very careful and specific so they can process interactions effectively. I have one transgender (not disclosed, but apparent), so gender-related things require care. I have a 28 yo male hispanic that is ruled by machismo (just don't "disrespect" him!).


Again...challenging.

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Anne Nyheim

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It is great that you notice these things and pay attention to what each person needs! This is the mark of a great boss!

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I have coworkers born in 1995 - the year I bought my current 1995 Jeep.

They love riding around in it because it’s an “antique” to them - and so have to remind them that I was an adult when I bought it.

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UncleJohn3000

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Wait until you see your childhood toys at the antique store. That's a special kind of 'ouch'.

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I had a moment of sheer depression when I mentioned I used to do Flash for the internet and my millennial employees had no idea what Flash was.

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Management isn't anything like it was in the '80s, when we were young and wouldn't have dreamed of expecting the kind of fairness demanded now. I'm not ripping on gens Y and Z. Just saying it would have been nice to be able to expect respect when we were baby workers. We didn't get it.

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Tabitha

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I’m a late Boomer (1960), and even back in the eighties, I expected, and fought for, the kind of fairness employees are actually getting now. Absolutely did NOT make me very popular back then, definitely lost me some promotions too. However, I am glad to see my efforts, and the efforts of all the others just like me, are finally paying off. Even if only a bit,, and hopefully not temporarily. I certainly do not want to see them get worse.

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I'm incredibly fortunate to work with people mostly in their 30's. So they're young but experienced in life. They have kids and mortgages so they understand priorities. They're good people doing their best. Couldn't ask for a better team.

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Other comments that are disfavored are “Were you in shape when you were young?” Said to me, a 33 year old attorney, by a useless 22 year old twit.

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RagDollLali

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Well that's just rude, even kindergartners are taught that. No matter what age you are you should know better.

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Generally the millennials and Z's I've worked with have been fine.

The only thing that annoys me a bit is when they complain or poke fun at each other about being "old" or make condescending comments about anyone over 30 being "old." Anyone pushing 50 is "really old." I get it, but it's a rude thing to go on about within earshot of other older coworkers, unless you've established some kind of rapport and know that everyone can take a joke.

Generally I just roll my eyes but in 20 years they'll be screaming bloody murder when the Alphas arrive and make the same remarks.

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Tabitha

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Wow! Deja vu. Sounds exactly like what the hippies (Boomers) said about older generations back in the 1960s (when I was a kid and too young to join them). Before that (when my mother was born), just like what the Flappers (“Lost Generation”) said about the older generations back in the 1920s.

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Remember that some Millenials and Zoomers will think that you're mad at them if you use periods at the end of sentences in emails.

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Teutonic Disaster

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I'm a millennial and if someone would send me an e-mail that's an endless run on sentence without any punctuation, I'd think the author is a bit of an idiot. I don't wanna have to decipher your bad excuse for grammar and sentence structure first, just to understand whatever it is you want from me. Quite frankly, I think it's rude of you, not giving a damn about comprehensibility when communicating with others.

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I have 25 to 30 year olds on my team and I'm the HR Manager. I'm not sure how I feel about them because I honestly can't relate to much they're talking about. It is somewhat annoying when they assume anyone over a certain age can't use technology. I remember the first email and computers in offices. If you're our age and you've worked you know computers.

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I work with all Millennials and I can honestly say that they are a pleasure to work with! Kind, empathetic, and I get ~90% of their references without feeling old. I just grew up playing different video games and listening to different music. Maybe it’s just a matter of maturity - it doesn’t matter what generation you are, the ones that are 19 - 25 will never fail to mention how young they are, until they start feeling old themselves! 26 and up, they start getting much more humble and relatable.

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All I work with is kids for the most part. I'm 47 and still active duty. For the most part it's really fun. Was talking to one of them today and realized they are a yr younger than my oldest child.... At least I know how they think since I have kids of that age.

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I did before Covid, changed careers during the middle of, and it was terrible. Way too much coddling, hand holding, and walking on eggshells. I’m pretty blunt and direct, it did not sit well with them.

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Tabitha

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Sounds more like you are the issue and not them. There’s an art to knowing how to talk to people. You are not a DI and the office is not Paris Island Boot. I seriously doubt your “blunt and direct” style of talking to people goes over all that well with employees of all ages. It’s just that, while the older ones ignore it, the younger ones will definitely call you out on it.

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My favorite team I ever managed were nearly all millennials. I realized how lucky I was to have managed them when I ended up at a large company and temporarily managed a group with an average age of 50+ (this is in the mid 2000’s). I’m still friends with a couple of the millennials all these years later. We had a great team environment where we all helped each other and had a lot of fun in the process. Never felt that with the older group I managed later.

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At 50, I'm at the very top tier of old farts in my workplace. We're mostly hiring genz now. They are almost universally respectful, but my line of work strongly preselects for respect of seniority and rank. I hope to be viewed as a mentor, father figure, or at least uncle figure. It seems like I am.

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We have a few GenZs and we drop random pop culture facts like Will Smith used to be a rapper and Mark Wahlberg used to be Marky Mark. It blows their young minds.

And when one of them started she would talk about her mom a lot then one day said, "I can't believe my mom is almost 50. That's so old". ? We told her maybe next time we'll invite her mom out instead of her for beer.

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I have a mix of all ages and I am very frustrated by the younger crowd. Here are some real examples of reasons people couldn’t work

1) I saw my ex this weekend and he was cancelling me. So I needed a mental health day.
2) I have the sniffles , it’s best I don’t come in and infect anyone.
3) my moms friend has Covid and I just want to make sure I don’t have it (not been in direct contact with the friend )
4) I’m not a morning person, I try but I’m just always going to be 15-20 min late.

I found one 26 year old crying under her desk after we had sat down to talk about ways she could improve her performance.

Obviously I have had to deal with these horrible excuses and create the appropriate responses. Most of the time I try and really drill into people. It’s their PTO. I,don’t need to know why they are taking a day off. Just do it. Don’t over share.

The person who is always late is a huge issue but her work is so amazing I have to balance it all.

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Tabitha

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1, 2, and 3 seem like legitimate reasons not to come onto the office. I mean, think about how much you feel like doing work when you’re sick—-as long as you aren’t one of those outliers who would be working overtime on their deathbeds, that is. Now 4, on the other hand, sure has some balls to announce that they’re always going to be 15-20 minutes late, and you’re just going to HAVE to accept if from them.

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Constant praise. It’s exhausting.

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I am older than my husband, and he is the oldest of his siblings, so there is an age gap between me and them. Once we were in the car and I put on some music (Nightwish), and BIL was gobsmacked and said That was the kind of music they listened to when early teenagers, why do I still play this????
Well, I discovered them in my thirties, when they were brand new, and I went to their concerts several times, but stopped when they replaced Tarja….
I totally agree, though, music we listen to at fifteen is maybe not the music we keep loving. But music we listen to at thirty we keep loving.

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I am older than my husband, and he is the oldest of his siblings, so there is an age gap between me and them. Once we were in the car and I put on some music (Nightwish), and BIL was gobsmacked and said That was the kind of music they listened to when early teenagers, why do I still play this????
Well, I discovered them in my thirties, when they were brand new, and I went to their concerts several times, but stopped when they replaced Tarja….
I totally agree, though, music we listen to at fifteen is maybe not the music we keep loving. But music we listen to at thirty we keep loving.

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Devin Schmitt

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Deja vu all over again.

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I am older than my husband, and he is the oldest of his siblings, so there is an age gap between me and them. Once we were in the car and I put on some music (Nightwish), and BIL was gobsmacked and said That was the kind of music they listened to when early teenagers, why do I still play this????
Well, I discovered them in my thirties, when they were brand new, and I went to their concerts several times, but stopped when they replaced Tarja….
I totally agree, though, music we listen to at fifteen is maybe not the music we keep loving. But music we listen to at thirty we keep loving.

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Anne Nyheim

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I am older than my husband, and he is the oldest of his siblings, so there is an age gap between me and them. Once we were in the car and I put on some music (Nightwish), and BIL was gobsmacked and said That was the kind of music they listened to when early teenagers, why do I still play this????
Well, I discovered them in my thirties, when they were brand new, and I went to their concerts several times, but stopped when they replaced Tarja….
I totally agree, though, music we listen to at fifteen is maybe not the music we keep loving. But music we listen to at thirty we keep loving.

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Anne Nyheim

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I am older than my husband, and he is the oldest of his siblings, so there is an age gap between me and them. Once we were in the car and I put on some music (Nightwish), and BIL was gobsmacked and said That was the kind of music they listened to when early teenagers, why do I still play this????
Well, I discovered them in my thirties, when they were brand new, and I went to their concerts several times, but stopped when they replaced Tarja….
I totally agree, though, music we listen to at fifteen is maybe not the music we keep loving. But music we listen to at thirty we keep loving.

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Anne Nyheim

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I am older than my husband, and he is the oldest of his siblings, so there is an age gap between me and them. Once we were in the car and I put on some music (Nightwish), and BIL was gobsmacked and said That was the kind of music they listened to when early teenagers, why do I still play this????
Well, I discovered them in my thirties, when they were brand new, and I went to their concerts several times, but stopped when they replaced Tarja….
I totally agree, though, music we listen to at fifteen is maybe not the music we keep loving. But music we listen to at thirty we keep loving.

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