Generation Gap

"It's fun to be good at your job. And that will help you have a zest for your job and your life." -The Telephone Doctor

When he was here last month, G-Money told me about a seminar his boss had attended, the purpose of which was to help corporate supervisors -- who presumably belong to older generations -- better understand their workers -- who presumably belong to a younger generation. The main idea was that while previous generations see work as a lifestyle or as the most important aspect to their lives, while young whippersnappers from Gen X on down see work more as a necessary evil. It's sort of the difference between living to work and working to live. Apparently, instead of being sensitized to his workers' need for free time, relaxation, and not working, G-Money's supervisor came away believing that the younger generation of workers was just plain lazy and needed to get real.

It's not really the same, but here's a story from my own work that illustrates the point of the seminar. My boss -- who in all ways imaginable is a small, weak man -- is always telling us highly-qualified, low-paid peons at the counter that we need to do more "chores" like taking out the garbage and spritzing the glass. "You live here for eight hours a day," he always says. "It's your home. Why not keep it clean?" For him, the store probably is home, but it's not mine. I just work there. The day I think of any job I hold as more "home" than where I live is the day I will officially disappear without a trace. (But you all know that I can be found in Xijuatenejo.)

The quote at the top of the post is from one of those ludicrous corporate "training" books that you can find at Kinko's and in offices all over the country. Specifically, this one is meant to provide "training" on how to use the phone more professionally. I'm not going to get into why this book found its way into my hands -- that's a story for another time -- but the issue of a generational gap in work ethic is just as evident in my little retail store as it is in the lofty offices of Cerividimidiriurisaludian where G-Money gets his roost on.

Is there laziness in the Wandering Generation? I suppose so, but no more than there was before. Let's not forget what all the Boomers were doing with themselves when they were in their mid-twenties. I think the difference really is that we're just much more involved in leisure activities than we are with our work. If the work set aside for the week can be completed in twenty-six hours instead of forty, why should we stay in the office? The Ambitionless Entitlement Malaise referenced last spring makes us feel like work steals our free time, and when we can be more efficient and productive -- and complete the task at hand -- we want that time back.

The real question is whether this attitude toward the balance of work and play will actually cause a shift in the now-hallowed American work ethic. Only time will tell, but I choose to be more optimistic about this one. If you can telecommute from your deck, be done with work by noon, and be drunk playing PS2 with your people by three, then why can't we all be happy? Golly... that sounds pretty good to me.