We do some hiring in our department at a local university. Some of us disagreed that the world is changing because of the attitude of new applicants. I argue while it might be true it is not going to adapt itself perfectly to what the new Gen wants. Some behaviors in the workplace are simply bizarre; and they think they will revolutionize the workplace. I’m not sure how the OG feels but it’s hard to get productive employee’s nowadays master’s degree or not. Last month a young girl got fired because she was confident she understood her priorities better than her boss in our nursing school next door.
Texting is out of hand and has no place in the workplace to the extent its dominated people's lives nowadays. Half of the interns (we have some interns that are college students who work year around 6 hour days - most school switch to night classes the last two years so students can work during the day) think it's normal to work with one hand on the mouse and the other on their cell phone, chatting all day. And they think this doesn't affect their productivity (it does, BTW).
Recently, an intern, during their interview, said straight faced that she thought it would be normal if she spent 2-3 hours a day in social media. Considering the intern period is 6 hours, that`s 33-50% of her time. When my co-worker showed her some simple math, then she got embarrassed, and then asked why she didn't get the job.
Us older guys sit on the cafeteria and chitchat during lunch. The interns sit together and watch YouTube videos with no interaction. Sometimes I think if this is a changing world, I'm happy to be an GEN-EX er. Don’t get me wrong but I interact will all my nieces, by phone, by FaceTime/skype or in person, every week. Text message has its place as a quick communication, but as substitute for HUMAN communication is terrible, unhealthy, and will degrade family relations on the long run. Sorry for being blunt, but convenience cannot be prioritized over human relations.
I have an intern and she does this. She has her headphones in talking to her mom or listening to podcasts. Shes also nonstop texting and facebooking. Friday is her last day and I am glad to see her ass gone. When she got her mid year review she was shocked that she had poor marks and demanded a meeting with my vp lol.
Yeah it's pretty out of control. Now they have a policy with the residents about what they call "distracted doctoring" they developed in conjunction with John Hopkins in MD. Too many younger residents are on their phones instead of helping patients and complaints were recieved to the teaching hospital.
The world is changing fast, and it’s going to be interesting where it all leads. There is FAR less interaction among people in general now. Families, coworkers, friends etc…
I’ve brought this up here before as well. I work in a pretty formal office environment and there are young people in the hallways all the time on their phones texting and laughing as if being in the hallway all the time is better than doing this at their desk. Hint: I can still see you!
Don’t get me started on people with earphones in walking around so you can’t talk to them. Then they act irritated that you interrupted their music in order to talk to them about something job related. You know, someone is working on a project and you haven’t been able to set up something formal yet, but you see them in the hallway and you go ‘hey, about xxxx project…’ then they walk right past you.
I know I’m old school, but when I saw a senior exec in the elevator or the hallway, I would say hi and hope to engage them, now the new hires just stare ahead as if to say ‘don’t bother me’.
I think these people are in for a rude awakening someday. Times are cushy right now, but wait for a real recession or at least tough times for jobs.
I used to think they were in for a rude awakening too, but now I’m not so sure. They will be running shit and writing the rules soon. Having a smart device attached to you 24-7 is as natural as breathing to the new generation, and there’s no going back. They do not know or can imagine a world without it.
Their pretty serious here as we said. One hiring manager next door said he wants to send a message certain things won't be tolerated. Problem with HR bs makes it hard to fire people for us but at least the one policy is in place on the medical center campus.
I used to think they were in for a rude awakening too, but now I’m not so sure. They will be running shit and writing the rules soon. Having a smart device attached to you 24-7 is as natural as breathing to the new generation, and there’s no going back. They do not know or can imagine a world without it.
True, all the rules could be drastically different in a couple of decades when all of us old farts retire. I can’t imagine what productivity will look like though.
I’m the second youngest of about 30 people where I work. EVERYONE pulls out there phone during lunch. Plenty of 40 and 50+ year old people here and they’re all just as addicted to their phones as the younger generation. I’m sitting across from a 55 year old woman right now and she’s on her phone.
I used to think they were in for a rude awakening too, but now I’m not so sure. They will be running shit and writing the rules soon. Having a smart device attached to you 24-7 is as natural as breathing to the new generation, and there’s no going back. They do not know or can imagine a world without it.
Depends on the workplace.
Quite honestly, I can't see them running shit and writing the rules soon in a lot of places, because getting in to those positions typically involves high productivity and performance.
There's a difference between using your smartphone for productivity and using it for socializing. The latter is what the majority of these kids use them for.
We lucked out with the two latest hires to our team. Both are great at what they do, and have solid work ethic. In the past ten years of interviewing candidates for internships and positions the quality of people has gone down noticeably.
I didn’t think it would happen in my industry because to work on the really cool projects you need the clout and references from previous employers… but they’ve been getting through somehow. And they’re not just the younger people either.
A few years back we had to fire a couple of dudes who were 39 and 40 years old because they spent all day on their phones rather than working and didn’t care about attendance.
One of the guys we interviewed recently kept his phone on the table and kept glancing over at it every few minutes. Everybody who interviewed him marked that down in their reviews, meaning he was doing it all goddamned day.
This one bitch rescheduled her interview the last minute the day OF, a Wednesday, and since our Director was leaving for vacation at the end of the week, we let her slide but all have to come in extra early on Friday for the interview. She never shows up, sends some BS email about health problems later the following week and tries adding us on Facebook, Linkedin, and Instagram, “if we have it”.
I’m the second youngest of about 30 people where I work. EVERYONE pulls out there phone during lunch. Plenty of 40 and 50+ year old people here and they’re all just as addicted to their phones as the younger generation. I’m sitting across from a 55 year old woman right now and she’s on her phone.
I agree. It's not only the younger generation but the younger generation is the one that does it at a higher rate.
I’m the second youngest of about 30 people where I work. EVERYONE pulls out there phone during lunch. Plenty of 40 and 50+ year old people here and they’re all just as addicted to their phones as the younger generation. I’m sitting across from a 55 year old woman right now and she’s on her phone.
I agree. It's not only the younger generation but the younger generation is the one that does it at a higher rate.
When I used to work at a gym everyone talked. I was between sets yesterday and 90% of people were on their phones and not even lifting.
