I have to admit that I have struggled with the new generation coming into the work place; they have such a cavalier attitude towards life and work ethics. It is so demonstrate as to the “kids” crowding beaches in south Florida on spring break during a pandemic. They are carefree as they live for today and drag home a virus for tomorrow.
In the work place we are faced with a new group of employees that have no concept of dressing for work; it is as if they grew up without a mother to direct their “street appearance.” The adorn themselves with excessive tattoos (and piercings) and wear tight clothing that would embarrass a normal person. It seems it is a generation trying to shock the generations that came before them.
The most obvious show of their lack of work ethics is the use of sick leave. Instead of saving sick leave for what it is intended, employees today use the sick leave to extend their days off; commonly calling in sick on their last day of work or they first day back from being off (or both) in an attempt to work shorter work weeks. It is not uncommon that employees use their sick leave and vacation leave as soon as they accumulate it and cannot understand why they have no leave when they want to take off during the summer. Oddly, they think it is the employer’s fault that they are denied leave when their leave has been exhausted.
In my generation, it was not uncommon that we might accumulate thousands of hours of leave for an emergency. With the current generation, it is not uncommon to see people little or no leave. No one saw the pandemic coming, but the new generation attempted no preparation for it. They only live for today. And worst yet, they will never see the role that they played staying home from work without a paycheck.