A slice of millennial life

I recently saw a documentary about one of South Korea’s largest companies, which in its offices not only provides its staff with the usual perks and amenities, such as relaxation and massage rooms, a gym, fully equipped bathrooms and several different types of restaurants and canteens, but has also given them a supermarket and rooms with sleeping capsules. You have to admit that they have really made an effort. As the director of the company pointed out, his employees don’t have to leave work and are very grateful and happy to do so, because then they can avoid coming in late – in a culture where tardiness is much more frowned upon. And there are apparently many people in that country who appreciate offices like this. Job candidates are queuing up just to take advantage of these benefits – and to give these companies their lifelong gratitude and devotion in return. I read this with some disbelief. Being loyal to your company is one thing, but let’s not go over the top about it, shall we? Are they alright in the head over there?

And so, I was sitting at my desk reading the hundredth article on how to design offices for a new wave of employees – those young members of Generation Z who are now just entering the job market – when I fell into something of a reverie. Well, we apparently have to pay attention to all every fine detail that could attract these newcomers to the world or work, by helping them as much as possible to get through their daily toil. It’s also necessary to remove anything from the office that could make it unpleasant for them to work there. Ideally, the young employee should feel comfortable and completely at ease in a pleasant working environment. But are the Zs even able to appreciate these efforts to accommodate them? We are currently looking for a journalist to join our ranks and who would benefit from all the advantages of this noble profession. It is mainly young people – even those who have only just reached working age – who we are trying to attract. But I’m a bit embarrassed. Out of the three interviews we have managed to arrange, only one has actually taken place, because the other candidates didn’t turn up – and didn’t even let us know they weren’t coming. So I called the first person and am told: “I’ve been having a bad day since I got up, so I decided not to come.” “And why didn’t you let us know?” I ask. “I forgot” came the reply. The second conversation went something like this: “I’ve looked at your portal and I’m not interested in working in a sports editorial office after all. I don’t know anything about team sports.” In my dismay I dash to my computer to check if on our homepage someone in the editorial department had posted some overly prominent piece about what he thinks about Poland’s football team... But no. Just the same old real estate. And after another discouraging no-show, I then recalled that documentary about the Korean company and thought to myself: I wish some of those wonderful, ambitious young people would come over from Korea... So what’s going on? Later on I read that this younger generation of employees is a special one. Well, that’s hardly in doubt, since I’d already found that out for myself. They have very high expectations, but are impatient, superficial and not very loyal. However, you have to admit that most of them seem to speak foreign languages ​​and are flexible.

And then I remember when I went for my first job interview. How nervous I was, wondering if I was good enough, if the company would benefit from my skills, if I could be of any actual service to them. And then, finally, my dream job came along, into which poured all my efforts, always striving to improve my existing skills so that I could give even more. These are also important attributes to have and are actually necessary to survive in such a mad world. So what’s wrong with the work ethic of the latest crop of young people? But then again, hasn’t this been said about every younger generation by those older than them? And what does that make me? Some kind of old relic or dinosaur for believing in hard work and application? (That was a rhetorical question, so please don’t send in your answers.)