"This is where we have ended up when the world is presented to a child as a supermarket from which you can choose nice experiences and adventures"
Liisa Keltikangas-Järvinen (Professor of Psychology)
This was part of an interview set of psychologists, consultants and employers talking about young people in the workforce. Where the general consensus is that young people have unrealistic expectations of working environments, often refuse to do important tasks because they don't want to, and are unable to follow basic rules and norms - yet also constantly expect special privileges at work.
Better work life balance?
That is often the argument, but the very interesting thing is that apparently, young people are shit at managing their life. A few hours after reading about their poor work ethic, I read another article about how the loneliest people in Finland are those between 16–24 and 25–34 Yep. That is all of Gen-Z and the youngest of the Millennials. All that work-life balance seems to be failing them, as they are unable to build a healthy and rewarding social life.
And this is part of the problem with their work approach, because rather than going into the workplace to do the work, they go there expecting it to provide a social life. But, they aren't good workers, nor are they good friends, because they can't commit to doing the tasks they are meant to do, which lets down the people around them, who have to do their work for them. And then, they will move job for a couple percent more salary, into a position where they will again expect to have a rich social circle, but still not doing the job they have signed a contract to do.
Check your expectations.
And this is the problem as stated in the opening quote and I have been harping on about for decades already. We have created an environment where people can get what they want, when they want it, and haven't had enough real-life disappointment, real-life work, or real-life relationships to learn about how the world works, how people work, and how they should behave in a society. We have created a bunch of tyrant toddlers with low emotional management skill, but very, very high emotional responsiveness. Whenever they feel bad or don't want to do something, they throw a tantrum, but still expect to be provided for by the people who they aren't willing to help.
Grow the fuck up.
And of course this is amplified because again as I keep mentioning, life is getting shittier. And it is getting shittier for many reasons that are beyond direct individual control, but the shittiness is being amplified by the volume of people who just can't handle themselves well. They are constantly entitled and volatile when they don't get their way, which is regularly. Every little negative is dramatized and turned into a major event that consumes all of their attention and focus, leaving them unable to perform even the simplest tasks, let alone anything specialised in the workplace. And when there are many like this, it obviously creates kindling in social situations, which means that there are a lot of people who need help, no one able or willing to help, and more and more people pulling away from others, because the "others" are so fucked up in the head.
No wonder people are lonely, right?
And it isn't just young people. Everyone needs to sort their shit out and improve the way they self-manage, rather than avoiding the need to manage themselves. Avoidance of self-management is where people create their environment so they are unchallenged, and getting more of what they want. This is the person sitting on a screen streaming some form of entertainment, or tapping away at a keyboard talking to an AI as if it is their friend, therapist, parent, life coach and lover.
Pathetic.
These approaches aren't mechanisms to deal with loneliness, they are creators of it. People need to realise that wellbeing isn't going to be given to them by a corporation or a government. And no one in this fucked up world is going to reach out to them to ensure that they are okay and have everything they need in life, without expecting anything in return. No one gets what they want for free, no matter what it is. If you want a great job, you have to work for it. If you want a good friend, you have to work for it. If you want a loving partner, you have to work for it. If you want a good life, you have to work for it.
Do the fucking work.
Taraz
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