Gen Z worker fired after less than 3 days on the job

I didn't know anything about specific products in the medical spa industry. I didn't even know what she wanted me to research. She never brought up my level of product knowledge in our initial interview, nor did anyone ask me to find out about the competitors' products when explaining the project to me.

She said I should've known to research the different products used by our competitors. Then, she launched into a list of other deliverables that I should've done. After a few minutes of her feedback, I felt overwhelmed.

Mental health and respect at work are mandatory

I stood up and told her I needed to take a break. So, I walked toward the front door.

She tried stopping me. I didn't give in. I already vowed to never let anyone disrespect me at work. I said, "Ma'am, respectfully, I need to step outside and take a breather. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She fired me, saying that I wasn't going to work out for her. I thought to myself, "Oh, awesome," as I tried to keep my demeanor professional. I was so pissed off.

To be fair, I wanted to quit, so she got me before I got her. As I approached the front desk, I looked at the general manager and trainer and told them that I was fired. The general manager offered me a recommendation letter despite all the drama.

I said goodbye to my coworkers after 2.5 days I felt like a failure after two days and about six hours of work on day three. I said goodbye to my coworkers and told them that I was fired as I walked out the door for the last time. But I really felt depressed too.

I texted "9-1-1" to my mom while she was at work and started sobbing on the phone with her in the parking lot. I kept apologizing to her for being a failure, even though I knew I worked in a toxic environment.

Advertisement Afterward, I spent a month in bed while working remotely for another company.

I've been in the workforce since I was about 16 or 17 years old and have worked with various age groups. That said, some Gen Z workers are lazy and unreliable, and I've seen the TikToks that say that Gen Z is rude, too. At the same time, we want what everyone else wants: for our employers to value us, to enjoy our jobs and work environment, and to receive proper training so that we'll thrive.

Gen Z knows that there's somewhere better for us

While the older generations might have put up with toxic work environments, we're speaking up for ourselves and not settling.

I'm more than happy to receive constructive criticism, as long as the feedback does not cross the line into degradation and disrespect. The workforce continuously changes, and employers must be open to flexibility, growth, and change.

Toxic work environment. LOL E V E R Y workplace is fucking toxic. That's why it's called work and not picnic. Last hiring I did, about 8 months ago, one of them was in their upper fifties. The other about 50. Younger workers wondered why until they started work. One of them is worth about 10 workers under 25.

Good for her. Standing up to power hungry bullies in the workplace. Shame on the bootlickers ^^^

Gen Z is an entire generation who will literally own the world, because that's what every generation does. Anecdotal articles might drive older people's outrage, but it's pretty meaningless in the end. This shitbox of a world is gonna keep turning for a long time.

They don’t just fire you for nothing in a week. They spend money to hire new people. They don’t want to be a revolving door.

I'd love to get a response from the boss.

[quote]While I've worked many jobs

A 24-year-old who's worked "many jobs"? Red flag right there.

In the time it took her to whine about her awful experience, she could have looked up products and practices at other medical spas.

Hon, you didn't fit in. You're not a trailblazer for workplace dignity and respect. You obviously didn't need the job or else you would have busted your butt.

I love it when DL spotlights people with no clue about what assholes they are.

#2, how are they on the drive-up window?

My own prejudice lined me up against this Gen Z’er. After reading though, I considered… she was probably working for some unyielding, untalented, Frau who thought she was the Queen of Baton Rouge’s small business community.

R2 is why wages haven’t been raised in decades and why unions are all but gone.

You want a medal for that?

This article HAS to be a joke, right?

She says the company had loads of bad reviews on GlassDoor. There's a clue.

This boss sounds like a raging cunt, and the girl is better off without her.

[quote]In the time it took her to whine about her awful experience, she could have looked up products and practices at other medical spas.

This is a flawed take.

You cannot ask a 24 year old with very limited experience to know how to handle somewhat ambiguous tasks without any guidance.

I dealt with a lot of kids fresh out of undergrad. Even the most talented and hardest working require some training and guidance.

Here's a tip. Don't take a job just for the title. Take the job because it's something you can do and offers you growth.

P.S. What kind of job offers the title of 'Director' but pays$16/hr? Red flag? I think so!

The boss seems like an ass who has no idea how to communicate, much less train - but our heroine is way too much of a fragile flower.

They both suck.

[quote]protecting my mental health and having employers see the value in me is more important than earning money

[quote]I texted "9-1-1" to my mom while she was at work and started sobbing on the phone with her in the parking lot.

[quote]Afterward, I spent a month in bed

No wonder she didn't want to work! When you live at home with Mommy and Daddy, who needs to work?

$16 an hour as a Director of Digital Marketing?

Honey, that should've been a bigger red flag than any of the negative Glassdoor reviews.

You know it's bad when even the Asian Gen Zs are lazy fucks.

Couple of things stand out -- $16/hour? Fancy title that I doubt anyone can explain meaningfully? Indeed is the source of your employment? Mental health break after three days? I'm a boomer who doesn't want to hate on people but I hear younger people go on and on about work/life balance when really it's a way to say that work will never take precedence which -- it sucks, but sometimes it has to. There is a general disrespect about boomers (me) out there because our attitude was taught that you had to pay your dues. OK, that's outdated and we need to evolve but needing a "mental health break" is the thing that sticks out for me.

We’re sorry you had to take a horse and carriage everyday to work R17

I can just imagine the sort of jumped up, over-the-hill makeup artist who managed to pry herself away from cheap Chardonnay and her no-neck monster children for a couple of weekends to get certified in giving face needles, got her disinterested tractor salesman husband to agree to a second mortgage so that she could get a business loan and is trying to squeeze $70,000 worth of strategic marketing out the girl she hired to answer the phones. Fucking trash.

TL;DR

What a stupid cunt.

What

the

fuck

Sorry to the Gen Z defenders, but this girl is a whiny bitch. A month to recover? Gag.

Her first mistake was suggesting major changes in her first two days. That's LOL worthy, no matter how poorly the company was doing. Your first days you're learning what the job is. You're learning the culture. YOU are adapting to the position. If the cunty boss wants "stock photos of attractive people with outdated fonts", that's what you do. You do not suggest changing the strategy. Not then.

The boss was rightfully annoyed by Miss Three Days on the job trying to shake things up without understanding anything about what was actually expected of her. This is exactly why the boss went into all detail on the third day. The message was bitch, learn and understand what you need to do. And the girl's response to that was not to see that as a challenge to do better, but to crumble and demand on a mental health break. At that point, the boss realized this was an unfixable situation.

I blame Gen X for these little monsters.

WTF is a “mental health break”?

This is not a serious person.

I hope her mental health break pays her rent.

Fuck your mental health.

She text her mother '911.' Good grief, Charlie Brown. My mother would tell me to figure it out on my own but it sounds like she doesn't have those skills.

[quote]I'd love to get a response from the boss.

She's best suited for either a dry cleaner or restaurant.

You infantilized cunts are so tiresome, at some point the boomers and Xers will be dead or retired and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.

I’m early Gen X, was on a job with a slightly younger boss - our assistant was 24 and frankly had a pretty easy job. She was, unfortunately, a cliche of her generation, always sighing and saying she was “having a day,” often screwing up simple tasks that we did explain at length before hand, and was both terrible at figuring things out, but very reluctant to ask for guidance, and could never do so in a clear direct manner when she did

To top it off, she was always fishing for approval and compliments. She was driving my boss crazy but it wasn’t practical to fire her because the job only had a few months to go and at least she did do some very low level busywork passibly well

Boss was away for a week so I was directly supervising the assistant. She came to me late one afternoon (a long while after lunch) and said she was having a “rough day” (again) and wanted to “take a long walk for half an hour.”

I honestly couldn’t believe it, and told her “Frankly I don’t know what to say, because that is something I world never have even thought to ask a supervisor while at work.” I also told her that on one occasion when I was around her age I got a call at work informing me a good friend had suddenly died. I did indeed go for a long walk that day, but I didn’t tell anyone about it - I just went. Her constant need for permission / approval / validation was just insane.

First, the interview was a bait-and-switch. Zen applied to be an Office Coordinator, and was offered this job instead. "Without a raise in pay" (?) The place likely has ten or twelve employees, most of them young, pretty, nitwit "clinicians." The owner likely does 80% of the back office work, needs a receptionist/coordinator, and someone to do digital marketing to get people in the door. The owner might be fine, or maybe she's a cunt. Maybe she's hoping to only have to come in twice a week within a few months. The article is a big win for the author. She's getting a lot of PR for a crappy little job she had for less than three days.

too many people on here laughing at her for being aware of how she's feeling. i suggest some of you stop punishing yourselves, you sound NUMB.

[quote] at some point the boomers and Xers will be dead or retired a

Good. You cunts are tiresome in your own right.

Why is Gen Z so mentally unhealthy? I thought their parents promoted better mental health?

Eventually, GenZ will be dead too. So?

"Without warning, the server asked me whether I wanted french fries or coleslaw. I spiraled into a tailspin."

[quote]"Without warning, the server asked me whether I wanted french fries or coleslaw. I spiraled into a tailspin."

LOL!!

Why is a 24-year-old “director” of anything?

She is well on her way to the career she really wanted - social media influencer.

Boss, how dare you ask more than I am willing to give and how dare you refuse to take my advice.

I can't remember -- were these kids trending this way or is it because of the covid break?

I feel like everyone who comments on these threads are exurban car dealers.

They’re not so much mentally unhealthy as they are coddled. Taught that their feelings should always be expressed in any situation rather than simply experienced internally, and that their feelings must taken into consideration by all.

While it's true that the little dummy is too fragile for adult work, the boss also sounds like a lunatic and a cheap whore to boot!

i am actually with Gen Z'ers on most of this shit (I am 44) The corporate world is a patriarchal, political, sociopathic toxic nightmare.

I was with her until this:

"Without warning, she asked which products the other medical spas used. I spiraled into a tailspin."

Shit, girl- Just tell the bitch- I DONT KNOW WHAT THE FUCK MEDICAL SPAS USE- BUT IF YOU GIVE SOME TIME, CUNT- I will find out!!!

A tailspin? That is where age helps. Just chill and say you don't fucking know.

Anyway, I hate corporate America and I have been BURNED hard- but you have to go with the flow to some degree.

Well of course there are incompetent and/or toxic bosses. You try to figure out how to work with them, and if you can’t after a while, you quit. The idea that work is never going to be a pain in the ass is childish nothing to admire, IMO.

[quote]Her first mistake was suggesting major changes in her first two days. That's LOL worthy, no matter how poorly the company was doing. Your first days you're learning what the job is. You're learning the culture. YOU are adapting to the position. If the cunty boss wants "stock photos of attractive people with outdated fonts", that's what you do. You do not suggest changing the strategy. Not then.

One of Gen Z's major problems is wanting/needing INSTANT change/gratification or else.

R50- I do agree with that.

That's where some maturity helps.

An I just saw R51's response- which nails it as well.

I basically WW'ed every single response in this thread- I agree with every side, but truly feel that Gen Z could change the world if they get out of their own way. I find them incredibly entertaining and fun as hell to talk with. Its like they have ingrained "Magical Thinking".

My friend's 23 year old son (this kid rules) He wants to make sure that he is "RELEVANT". That is his thing.

These kids kill me.

Relevant? What does that mean? Famous? Admired? Fulfilled? Happy?

Gen Z are a special bunch. I work with quite a few them. Four months in and their first question is "How do I get promoted to Sr. X position." How about mastering the job YOU WERE HIRED TO DO and worry about the next step later???!!! At the rate you're going, you may not have to worry about the next step. We may fire your ass for incompetence.

What about the days of being surprised when your boss called you into the office, gave you praise, and announced your promotion? They may never know what that's like when they job hop like fleas to the next job that offers them more money and a title they feel befits them.

R53- That is why its so funny- Its ridiculous.

He wants to be IMPORTANT- but truly has no drive at all..

Its like they think that the world is make believe- I can't explain it

But I don't hate them for it,

They know that this world is BULLSHIT.

I believe this Delores Cannon shit and really do believe that this "3rd Wave" and Indigo Children shit-

They are done with this bullshit before they ever arrive.

I’m working with a Gen Z on a six-week project. She has missed work 1/3 of the days—claiming family emergency, illness, vacation and mental health days.

I'd love to hear the boss' side of the story.

I hired a Gen Z who knew nothing about social media or skincare products, I think she must have been homeschooled without the internet or something. It was like meeting a time traveler! Of course I had to fire her, going to the trouble of hiring a junior person in a stretch role didn’t give me any obligation to invest in her development by giving her clear direction and support so she could correctly reflect my brand on social media. Here at Luxe-Posh Pampering Salon, we catering to a mug-cradling crowd. Not while paying her a queen’s ransom of $16 an hour! God, these young people are so entitled.

I love how this girl writes about "saying goodbye" to her co-workers.

After just 2 1/2 days on the job, they were probably like, "And you are...?"

So this sounds like the perfect trainwreck of a dipshit business owner and a whiny, lazy 20-something.

They both seem entitled and insufferable.

This story reminds me of something that happened when I was at work last week.

I'm retired from my corporate job, and for fun and a little extra spending money, I work part time at a sports arena's private VIP clubs. This season, they hired a new supervisor for one of the clubs, a 22-year-old bubbleheaded blonde who just graduated from college with her "sports management" degree.

So we're working together one night, and at one point, I ask her a question, but she's just starting off into space, like she was in a trance. Then after a few seconds, she abruptly says, "I need to go my desk," and takes off. I was thinking, "Whatever. I don't really need you here, anyway."

About a half hour later, she comes back and says, "I'm sorry I took off like that. My boyfriend and I are having problems and it's really been on my mind lately, so I had to to just leave and have a good cry."

Jesus Fucking Christ. Okay, so you have boyfriend problems and don't seem to be emotionally stable. But did you really need to tell me that's why you took off? For fuck's sake, you're a supervisor! Couldn't you just have lied and said you had to take care of an emergency? Or better yet, not said anything at all? It's not like I give a shit where you go or what you do.

So from now on, I'll always look at this young woman as some fragile little daisy who cries at the drop off a hat, not someone who should be in charge of anything.

So much oversharing among the younger generation.

r61 Totally agree about the oversharing. This is the generation that has to document everything they do, say, or eat on social media.

How many mental health breaks does this ding dong need in a day?

Does Louisiana have a " 90-day Probationary period" for full-time workers?

If they do, the girl is fucked& she knew it. I did check and it's between 3 and 6 months for probationary period at work for full-timers. She wanted to be a " social media influencer", and she found her job.

The place does seem toxic. $16 an hour for the title Director? In a semi scammy industry like medical spas? Run as far & fast as your broadband connection will take you.

You sure can tell who the "special snowflakes" are on this thread.

FFS, your job's not supposed to be all fun and games. That's why they're [italic]paying[/italic] you!!

You can go home to Mommy and Daddy and do what you please any time you want, but nobody's going to pay you for it.

When I started work on the NYSE in 1985, if I needed a " mental Health break", I would go to the Executive washroom and take a shit. A big one, I would feel so much better. In another men room, I would suck cock in my favorite gloryhole, it took them almost 3 years to find out it was me.

You've gotta do it til you're through it so you better get to it.

Many Boomers are having a very difficult time accepting that their reign is coming to an end. You’re seeing it play out in the government as we speak.

Mental health is becoming implemented in school curriculums and more jobs are stressing the need for it and incorporating it into their work culture/environments. COVID and remote work/ working from home have altered many workplaces..

The “Get off my lawn” crowd than than embrace and accept it will do their usual “ I walked both ways to school routine.

I love the younger generations.

Ending the simply work in a cubicle bullshit.

Eroding the forty hour five day a week work week.

Putting personal life ahead of work. Bravo

Demanding a livable wage.

Boomers could have achieved this. You know since they’re so special!! But they failed.

R58. Meh, you tried.

Boomers didn’t want to “achieve” that, r70. They wanted to be productive and hard-working.

If you want to always put personal life ahead of work, you are not likely to succeed at work. Success has a cost in terms of your free time.

Balance is good. But any career worth doing is going to be demanding.

It'll be fun for her trying to get a job when every place she applies at Googles her.

The younger generation hasn't killed that yet. In fact they feed it. A lot.

R72 Productive and Hard working while destroying unions, outsourcing jobs to other countries and refusing to sustain a liveable wage.

Putting themselves first ahead of everyone else in the end.

What makes you think the entire generation is responsible for the behaviors you list? Did union leadership or political progressives skip a generation? And I wouldn’t be so confident that those in power in younger generations will be more to your liking. In particular, AI is going to kick workers in the butt.

The spa industry is a mess so I’m not surprised by any of this. Sounds like the boss hired someone who wasn’t qualified and then got angry when they couldn’t do the job the way they wanted.

When you’re only paying $16/hr, what do you expect? You’re not exactly going to get someone from Harvard with an MBA.

Sounds like the employee was set up for failure from the get-go. She’s a bit whiny but I get where she’s coming from.

[quote] In particular, AI is going to kick workers in the butt.

I agree, and one of the stupidest responses to that would be to say, let's all cling desperately to every other aspect of the workplace and just sort of wring our hands while half the country loses its income and EVERY benefit of AI in the workplace goes to the ownership class. And no, sermonizing about the alleged work ethic that every Boomer supposedly had (horseshit!) isn't going to help either.

Sans fard she's just an attractive person. Not some drop dead beauty.

Welcome to female human beings, r78

She may be right but let’s not forget there are two sides to every story. We are only hearing her side and it may be completely distorted. Who knows, she might even be the one at fault completely.

R72 Workers are more productive than ever

R78 that post was meant for Zendaya thread, obviously.

[quote] And no, sermonizing about the alleged work ethic that every Boomer supposedly had (horseshit!) isn't going to help

Good luck with “putting your personal life first” as a response to the effects of AI on the workforce. I’m sure that will work out very well for you in your new egalitarian paradise brought for by your enlightened generation.

^forth, dammit

She has my sympathies. (I have worked for bosses like this. I should have taken the hole in the drywall in our office wall as a sign. It was there since a person before me (or one before, or before that) smashed a chair into the wall and poked a hole in it. No one ever made it as long as I did there, but it's nothing to be proud of. ) Kudos to her; to me, it sounds like she dodged a bullet.

$16 an hour?

She could make more waitressing or in fast food and learn actual work skills.

It seems like they pulled a bait and switch on her. The one thing I respect about this generation is that they will only put up with bullshit in the workplace for so long.

R87 Yes, she really put her nose to the grindstone and did her best to make it work...for 20 hours.

The boss may well have been a bitch and the workplace toxic, but no one can know that, or complain about it, in THREE FUCKING DAYS. Most workplaces take a minimum of 30 days to properly assess and understand.

The Gen Z'er was a narcissistic mess.

They were- like- screaming at me!

A friend of the family was born in 1921. His personal ‘philosophy’ was to make sure his career never took up more than one or two days a week, although twiddling on his computer an hour or two was permissible. He died a multimillionaire in 1999. No, he didn’t inherit anything.

How much do you want to bet that the boss wasn't a Boomer? They're far likelier to be Gen X or older millennial.

If you flame out after three days on the job, you don't write about in a bid for sympathy or try to make yourself into a crusader for mental health. Not if you stay in bed for an entire month. Perfectly willing to believe it was a shit job for a shit boss but she was a shit employee.

I'm not inclined to make this a generational battle. As a boomer, there were shitty jobs I stayed with and shitty jobs I walked out of, Glad I'm retired now.

Hmm. If people were unwilling to work in a toxic environment nobody ever would’ve worked in the history of the world.

$16 per hour.

They pay more at Home Depot. No thinking required.

What was the last gen z who went viral with her job complaints. The NY one who lived in the suburbs and complained about her awful commute and how dreary her routine was.

Maybe she should just give up on this work thing and find a man to live off of.

A gay-adjacent nerd who wants an asian american wife?

Wait is she asian heritage? Or african?

"we want what everyone else wants: for our employers to value us, to enjoy our jobs and work environment, and to receive proper training so that we'll thrive."

This shit is hilarious. Most work isn't enjoyable and most employers see us as $$$ only. You aren't performing up to par? You'll be gone sooner than you can take a "mental health break." In fact, most places give you two 10 min breaks on the clock as that is what the law allows and mandates. Some people don't even take those. Legally, that's all you get if you're working a 8 hour shift. If you're lucky, you might get an hour for lunch but some places only allow 1/2 hour. Better plan your mental health breakdowns accordingly.

In all my working 40 + years, I've had ONE employer that I could say "valued me." But even then, I knew that at any moment I could be let go without cause. At my age, it would likely happen because I'm one of the higher paid employees. When cutting costs, employers don't take into consideration how much someone is liked. They simply see money. I truly do hope Gen Z changes some things, but you have to be in a position of power to implement changes and until that happens, you will simply be replaced by someone else willing to do the work.

[quote]They pay more at Home Depot. No thinking required.

Home Depot wouldn't put up with her shit.

I was a team leader and had a dumb, narcissist bitch like this working on my team.

Once she was hired she was a nightmare from day one. There were 8 people on the team, everyone had to do things to prepare us for our day, and as a beginner we gave her the simplest tasks to do - putting paper into a printer, etc. She sent an email out saying I AM NOT YOUR SLAVE! (She was black, which added layers to that statement, of course.)

Our calls were recorded, and we reviewed them with team members to improve on performance. We told her she'd read a number back incorrectly and she immediately stood up and pointed at us. "You changed the recording! You're trying to get me fired!" Then she ran to the phone to call her "Mommy," who she called at least 5-6x a day. Mommy came to get her - much like the 911 of Gen Z girl - and she didn't come back for a week.

I can't imagine how terrible it is nowadays for trainers to deal with people who crumble if they are given even a tiny bit of constructive criticism. Thank gawd I no longer work in the corporate world....

Gen Z has never been told NO before. Not by parents or teachers and so they expect bosses to be the same.

R40, I want to have your baby.

R21 I truly do not understand how that specific sentiment applies to this specific case but lmao

[Quote] if I needed a " mental Health break", I would go to the Executive washroom and take a shit. A big one, I would feel so much better

R67 what are you on about? Lmao

R56 that sounds like me. One of my co workers was unsure I was still employed by the same company since I call in sick, take time off, go on vacation, take FLMA time, forget to come in to work, etc. and I’m gen x not gen z.

They're in the "I'm young and just wanna have fun" phase, which rarely translates to a particularly strong work ethic. Once they get knocked around a little bit by life, probably after 30, they'll turn a corner.

So, my fellow Xers and some of you Boomers -- you really think you'll be able to retire with this nonsense coming onto the scene?

Reading some of these posts (and I get it), it shows how older generations will just allow themselves to be treated like shit on the job. It's insane some of the behavior people put it with, but they stay and are miserable because sometimes it's just easier. That's no way to live either and it's horrible for your mental health to walk into an insane asylum every day. You may not like it and she may annoy you, but this girl is not wrong and not the problem. They may have been coddled and helicoptered their entire lives, but they're going to bring needed change to the workplace. It's happening already.

As someone up thread suggested, working directly with the public, especially as a server, teaches you everything if you stick to it. Twenty four is a late start. I'd like to see more of her employment background.

Go sister go

I did retail for several years in college and it taught me absolutely nothing except I didn’t want a career in it. Low pay, no set schedule (as if selling shirts is surgery where u have to be on call.) and most of all horrible, selfish coworkers and customers. Adults with children who were switching prices on clothes to try and pay less. A grown man screaming to call the general office because they didn’t have what he wanted. And fucking pigs to boot. Bloody tampons on the floor of the women’s restroom. Pussy stains on bathing suits.

I work with one who was clueless when hired. I had to coach him through everything and he was just not getting it. Then he switched. He started chiming in on my meetings, just repeating what I say but going "that's right." I started transitioning accounts to him with my boss because I was overloaded but he saw it as he was taking my accounts away from me. I would send him my notes and he would reply "thanks sorry to take another one from you." He is so bad I keep getting dragged into his calls to "support" him.

My thoughts and prayers go out to her. She did give 'adulting' a try, so kudos to her.

R109: Very perceptive comment and you are right. But the Boomer generation was raised by the generation that grew up poor during the Depression where you took any job going and were grateful for it. The office zeitgeist in the ‘70s into the ‘80s was run and set by those middle aged people who had those attitudes and we youngsters coming in assimilated their expectations, we had no choice and our parents expected us to stick to those jobs and suck it up. So we did..

You were expected to be on time, keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut (except to answer phones). But you observed and you learned. And yes, there were screamers and nightmare bosses that you had little recourse against. Yet looking back, I’m not sorry I had to learn how to cope with people like that and work around them. And I managed to have some great mentors who trained me well and I had a great career.

I don’t think young people should put up with abusive behavior, but this young woman lacked resourcefulness, imagination and emotional intelligence as far as I’m concerned. She was so focused on her own feelings she couldn’t learn to read a room or read her boss. She couldn’t think on her feet or roll with the punches. And those things are crucial for success in any field. And for life as an adult, for that matter.

A lot of Stockholm syndrome in this thread. Nothing to lose but your chains.

"not every opportunity is a good opportunity".

Typical Gen Z response- someone else is to blame.

If she was Black, she would't have been fired.

She'd have been indulged, coddled and her co-workers in fear of accusations.

[quote] Gen Z is an entire generation who will literally own the world

lol, Sure, Jan. They can’t even wipe their own ass and they’re too busy ripping their tits off and taking hormones. Millennials are the biggest generation. Gen Z is not. Gen Alpha has already started.

R109, its life. It’s always been this and always will be. There no changing it. It’s due to human nature. This will always be the result. Business doesn’t run on feelings. Either produce or get out.

R115 is right on the money

R109 is Extremely Tender to the Touch.

R115 has a more reasoned take.

No one should put up with abuse. But again, this bitch was on the job for THREE. FUCKING. DAYS. Asking an employee to work, giving them constructive criticism, challenging them to do better.....NONE of that is abuse.

[quote][R109] is Extremely Tender to the Touch.

Oh fuck off. What a bullshit statement. The old ways are not productive nor healthy for anyone. And just because we all survived the hazing doesn't mean that future generations need to or should tolerate it. Being treated horribly and then groveling for a few crumbs is no way to live. Some of you have turned this into yet another generational beef with Gen Zers, when they are not wrong. Some of you have internalized the dysfunction and are mad that some people are fighting back against it.

R123 is the Nelliest Prisspot that Ever Lived.

This woman wasn't treated horribly. You want procedures and protection--don't work for a small business. When technology made it possible, lots of boomers quit their jobs to become consultants and freelancers. Some had no choice when it made everyone uncomfortable to have an older person around. Working solo is the hardest gig going. You do everything yourself and you're always looking for work.

This woman is a horse's ass. I was just hospitalized and was cared for by wonderful nurses and technicians who are not much older than her. Not ready to write off her generation nor am I ready to be stereotyped as a boomer.

This response is so typical of entitled cluelessness. Not every effort will be met with affirmation, sometimes it is better to accept that you did not perform well enough to maintain a new position. A little humility amid a reality check would benefit her greatly. Side note, must every experience immediately translate into a social media post in order to avoid internalizing one's own part in it.

Yeah, R123, I'm going to have to agree with R125. Nothing about this girl's story (even exclusively told from her own perspective) sounds like she was treated horribly. Her boss wasn't down with the idea of her completely changing up their entire social media brand on her 3rd day of work so she had a meltdown. She wasn't hired as a social media consultant. No one hired for her "vision". She was basically a glorified intern hired to do the social media grunt work that no actual adults want to do but know has to be done. They gave her a template and a cubicle and told her to what to post and when to post it and she decided that her "ideas" weren't being valued enough.

Honey—no one is hiring a 24-year old at $16 an hour for your ideas. Especially when you clearly don't actually have any idea of what the industry you're working in is actually doing.

How is this particular story an example of someone fighting back against a corrupt system? You have a new hire who was asked to research competitors' offers and report back on them, which she did but only superficially if she couldn't answer follow-up questions about the products involved.

There were many ways she could've responded after realizing she'd only completed half of the assignment, none of which would've been too injurious to a reasonable adult's pride. Some of those options would've even impressed her boss. (The Reddit reply to that would be "Fuck impressing your boss," but upvotes don't pay the bills and not everyone has the luxury of cosplaying political righteousness on their parents' dime.)

Instead she had a childish meltdown that only reinforced her unsuitability to the job. The rest of the office probably breathed a sigh of relief as her mom ferried her away.

How does one spend a month in bed?

I guess scrolling and texting her friends?

And since this is “as told to,” she didn’t even write her own whining.

I’m Gen X and very much a type B personality who despises the corporate world.

I think Gen Z is going to change a lot of things for the better.

Thank you R127 and R128 for reasoned responses.

The people who are complaining about the corporate culture are the same one who will become irate if the output they expect (packages, checks, processing of returns, etc.) are not handled right away.

Like it or not, a lot of what goes on behind the scene is needed to satisfy the customer.

In addition, the idea that a brand new low level hire (and she is low level) thought that her first days (1-3?) was the time to expect the existing corporate structure would be interested in dropping everything to implement her suggestions when she hadn't even completed the assignment she was given.

I'm not saying that new hires can't provide new insights, but timing is everything.

Especially if you have only partially your own work.

[quote]They may have been coddled and helicoptered their entire lives, but they're going to bring needed change to the workplace. It's happening already.

They're going to have to last a hell of a lot longer than three days on a job to bring 'much needed change to the workplace'.

Didn’t see see Laura Dern do this bit on “Enlightened”?

^^

Should be ...Especially if you have only partially completed your own work.

I sympathize. I am Gen X and years ago I worked for someone with Borderline Personality Disorder who was fucking her boss. There should be no place for mentally ill, malevolent people to manage others in a workplace. It did not help me thrive professionally to have once worked for a lunatic.

I am glad that Gen Z-ers are ready to walk out and not endure toxicity in the workplace.

[quote] Fuck your mental health.

You can't be serious?! 97.8% of Dataloungers have daily suicidal ideations. This forum is a testament to our global mental health crisis.

[quote] Why is a 24-year-old “director” of anything?

It's a tactic. Gen Z-ers love titles that make them feel singular and important. Like calling the office receptionist/assistant "Director of Administrative Support"

Boomers have defined benefit pensions. Gen X and later were thrown to the wolves. We have to work longer and you can't work longer in a toxic or hostile work environment.

The vast majority of 'Peak Boomers' in the US will retire without a traditional pension, a benefit that was mostly replaced by inferior 401(k) options early in their careers. We can expect them to remain in the workforce longer as a result. Economically, their realities more closely match that of Gen X.

I'm sick to death of hearing about "mental health breaks." Half my team has to take a mental health break several times a day due to the pressures of having to complete work, or run an errand, or make lunch, or any other little thing that's a part of everyday life.

A mental health break? Can’t she go for a walk around the block or go to the toilet or something to have a few minutes to herself to clear her head without making a big production of it? Like everyone else does.

I think a lot of posters on here have Stockholm Syndrome. It would explain a lot of these replies attacking the woman.

[quote] I spiraled into a tailspin.

And that's where I stopped reading.

Ching ching chow chow fermented vegan fish sauce boo hoo hoo.

She thinks Gen Z is smarter than the older generations for not tolerating a "toxic" work environment.

Smart people of any time and generation wouldn't have accepted such a low paying job no matter the title.

Haven't we all taken shitty jobs or jobs that we find out later just aren't for us? This belongs in a job horror story reddit.

[quote] I think a lot of posters on here have Stockholm Syndrome. It would explain a lot of these replies attacking the woman.

She worked there for three days.

Three days.

Three days.

Three fucking days.

No one is suggesting any worker should eat shit and be thankful for abuse. But 3 days is barely enough time to meet everyone in the office, get your badge and learn where your desk is located. A boss asking an employee to do something on day two or three isn't in any way, shape or form, at any time, some kind of abuse.

A lot of us support challenging abuse and trying to change toxic workplaces, but this particular example was not and is not any of those things.

[quote]She worked there for three days.

And in that time, her supervisor asked her for information that she couldn't have possibly known in 3 days, nor was discussed in the interview and then got mad because she didn't know it.

I was molested.

She took the job FOR the title. Gen Z thinks they are the shiningest, most brilliant stars in the sky, with a vast wealth of knowledge that older generations could only dream of and therefore just be handed promotions immediately due to how very very special they are.

R137 Exactly what reason do you have to believe that the boss in this story is a "borderline/mentally ill, malevolent" person? Because exactly nothing written about her actions (even from the employee's obviously biased perspective) is evidence of that apart from the fact that said employee took it upon herself to designate each one as "toxic". If you just look at the timeline of events actually laid out in this story it essentially amounts to the following:

* Boss, according to new employee, has deeply uncool social media branding tastes. Employee decides this simply must be remedied like, yesterday.

* Boss does not agree with new employee's (who has zero professional experience) opinion that re-branding should be her utmost priority and instead would prefer she stick to what has already been working in that arena and focus her attention on simply keeping up with product/service marketing offers from competitive med spas.

*Employee fails to do even the most basic research on the actual content of what competitors are marketing, convinced that the real meat of her job ought to be in finding hip new graphics and kicky new fonts for posts instead.

*Employee is irate that boss fails to appreciate the work she's put into this self-set agenda but instead keeps harping on about boring bullshit like product research that has absolutely nothing to do with fonts.

*Employee decides that not only is boss both hopelessly uncool and lacking the vision of our young maverick, but that she's also been intentionally DECEIVED by HR, who never explicitly explained to her upfront that her job would NOT consist of a creative re-design of the company's social media branding. Certainly no one explicitly told her that her boss might expect her to familiarize herself at some point with the actual products and services offered in the industry in which she is now working. She was led to believe (by herself) that this job would be mostly fucking around with Canva.

*When it hits employee like a TON OF BRICKS TO THE CUNTBONE that her expectations might not actually be met and she is obviously devastated (DEVASTATED!) that gears might require shifting, she, assuming that the voices of doom and destruction inside her head must also be audible to her boss, randomly stands up in the middle of a meeting like a lunatic and announces she will be taking leave for a "mental health break", which she was led to believe (by herself) would be provided on unlimited offer by this company.

*Boss decides she's had sufficient of employee's mental health and sees that it very clearly will not be a good fit for the company, making an executive decision to let her go before she's forced to talk her off a ledge the first time she hears the words "excel report".

*Employee takes to her bed for a month to "heal".

*Miraculously, employee lives to tell her story. She is a survivor, and she is wiser for the experience. Wiser than ever.

I was perfectly willing to see both sides of the story until she said she spent an entire month on bed rest after her three-day trauma. Talk about MARY!.

Spare the rod, spoil the child!!

Mommie! I had to, like, work!

It was GHASTLY!

Gen Z?? We need another 'Nam to thin their ranks.

This has to be fake.

[quote]Afterward, I spent a month in bed

A lot of the posts in this thread shows why work places continue to be so dysfunctional. Employees just internalize the dysfunction and everyone else who doesn't, is the problem.

There is so much that she says and describes in her own words that explain WHY she was fired. Pretentious and fragile. She tried to distill everything down to her ‘generation’ vs. everyone else - and implies she is speaking on behalf of her entire generation. She is not.

Companies have run amok because they are populated with these idiots that agree to a full-time job with a specific job description. Once hired they figure out a way to work 28 hours a week at best, and claim their mental health is under attack when held to account.

Then, as she demonstrates above, they roll out the ageism and complain of corporate managers being stuck in the past.

Businesses are failing at an all-time rate. She is a perfect example of why.

[quote]She tried to distill everything down to her ‘generation’ vs. everyone else - and implies she is speaking on behalf of her entire generation. She is not.

The scary thing is...she actually is.

She's toxic.

Apparently her type lacks the olfactory sense to recognize it.

Since they'll be living in squalor in stinking surroundings all their lives while crowing about their superior sensitivities and values, that's nice for them.

Apparently she was being paid by the hour? Yeah, honey, you can't just take a mental health break while you're on the clock.

[quote] I think a lot of posters on here have Stockholm Syndrome.

First off, that’s not what Stockholm Syndrome means, second, Stockholm Syndrome isn’t a real thing. It was a controversial theory.

[quote] Most work isn't enjoyable and most employers see us as $$$ only.

Exactly, which is why nobody should ever take corporate speak seriously. You are not a "family." This is not a "team." You are not following some glorious "mission statement." You are a whore and a slave, and the best thing most people can work toward is to be "at work" as little as possible. Never take it seriously as some place of "fulfillment" or "growth" or anything else. It's whores leading whores and never take it more seriously than that.

And that is why we need to stop avoiding the real discussions, like how much of this corporate whoredom is actually necessary? How much of it is just doing shit for the sake of doing shit, and looking busy? How many hours, really, does everybody need to be chained to some cubicle dealing with the nonsense and fuckery of corporate culture? Why is it necessary? These are the real questions that our culture is terrified of asking because it has built itself around various assumptions from the 19th century going into the 1950s. It's mostly bullshit, and I don't blame anybody for questioning the bullshit.

Thank goodness I don't share this grim worldview. That's a dark place from which to try to build a life. I'm sure you're only adding to yours and others misery with it.

your*

You build a life outside the workplace. That is the thing. Stop thinking like a corporate whore and you will be better off.

You know how companies started putting less and less contents into the packaging of their products while the prices increase? That is what gen-Z brings to the workplace. An emptier container demanding the same (or higher) wage.

Brilliant ^

So sounds like dishonest bullshit all around, but somehow we are ONLY ever supposed to condemn or at least do something about the dishonesty from the employee side of things.

Aggrieved or just lazy? I'm going with lazy. Someone's supporting her ass.

Probably a bit of both, lazy and aggrieved. Similarly, the boss is probably a bit of both, condescending bitch half-assing the explanation of what she wanted originally and also somewhat justified in questioning the employee's maturity.

You don't start complaining "my boss wouldn't listen to me" when you've been there two days.

R152: brilliant!

R164, are you the subject of the article? If not, I’m sure we’ll be reading about you and it won’t be pretty.

I’m agree with the Gen Zerthat the boss was an idiot, on the basis of her social media strategy alone, and she would have been wise to quit. However, when her boss told her the things she wanted done, the Gen Zer should have taken note of what they were to show she could follow directions, instead of fleeing from the room for a mental health break.

it is okay to question your corporation r175. I know it is just not done, but it's okay. Question it, don't worship it. It's okay.

Nobody's suggesting that Lady I Took To My Bed for a Month should have willingly subjected herself to abuse. Or gone along to get along in a toxic culture. No one is suggesting that any of us do that.

This situation is ridiculous not because she questioned things at all, but because she had been there for <20 hours and was already challenging enormous amounts of the job she'd agreed to do.

No one is saying she should have never spoken up about anything, and no matter how many times some of you try to suggest bullshit like the "Stockholm Syndrome" fuckery, it simply isn't the case. We're just saying that by day three, you barely know what the code for the men's or ladies' room is by that point. To make effective change - especially large scale change - in any organization, you have to know a lot about it first, understand its culture and work with a lot of people to effect change.

That's not what Lady Bed For A Month did. She pouted when she wasn't petted, praised and coddled as she'd expected, and then flounced when she was challenged and redirected to redo something in a different way. That's utter fuckery and nonsense, no matter whether she's 23, 43 or 73.

R177 this thread is not about corporations or corporate culture. It is about people who are unable to cope with the demands of an employer who doesn’t coddle them.

I work at a New Seasons in Portland. (An upscale but also superficially progressive chain).

About a 100 employees from 20s-60s. I’m 50. The more vigorous, focused and pleasant people are the older ones. The Zoomers look tired, depressed, don’t make eye contact and have really ratty hair.

She might be young, but she’s 100% correct!

“Not every opportunity is a good opportunity.”

the corporation and the traditional workplace are dying, and that's actually okay. these really feel like growing pains. People being shocked and pissed off that younger people just don't like the old arrangements. They are being childish about it, no doubt, but the underlying problem that the old ways just don't work anymore are the real problem. Nobody ever really liked them, and there is no reason to be upset if they are finally passing away.

WTF is this person going to do to keep a roof over her head and food in her mouth?

Stay at home forever?

Say what you will about them, but a Tiger Mom would never allow this entire situation to happen.

OP sure did strike a nerve with this topic. I'm not sure even what to think, but these responses are interesting and thought-provoking.

I'm in my early 60's and thankfully retired (so far) from the workforce. I may go back, not sure. I've had many different low-level jobs, some that I stayed with for ten years. It's interesting to read what both the younger and older people think. I've worked with both younger and older people who were lazy and condescending as well as those who were the smartest and hardest-working people ever. I've worked with so-called bosses who were one step above imbeciles and bosses who I adored because they were so smart and kind and taught me a lot about perseverance, a good attitude, and skills to succeed, mainly by being great examples of how to behave.

Age can be a benefit and a detriment, but y'all know that. Assholes come in all ages and somehow I had a pretty satisfying work life by quitting jobs if I didn't think the boss was worthy of my time. Carry on!

What is “work”?

Work is an outgrowth of what humans have done for centuries to survive.

Originally our ancestors hunted and foraged in order to have food. In time we began to raise our own food. Later generations gathered into groups (usually family based) to farm food, collectively, and sold/bartered their excess to others in return for [italics] their [/italics] production (eggplants for potatoes).

Work/life balance was maybe Sundays/stormy days off.

The invention of Money made goods exchanges easier, but you still had to Work in order to earn enough to survive.

Much as she may want it (or been told by Mommy and Daddy to expect it), unless she’s Very lucky, three day jobs made up of lots of fun “me” time ain’t ever going to cut it.

Why do you think they call it WORK?

R156 and ironically, she’s of Vietnamese descent.

The hate and jealousy of the young here is completely deranged. Have you ever considered that you’re being manipulated to blame Gen Z?

Also it’s pretty obvious most of you were mistreated at work and feel need to pay your misery forward to those who bear no responsibility for that

Look at the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers having meltdowns when THEY get called out on their shit.

R189 Are you out of bed yet, social media director?

This bitch has such a punchable face.

R192 as do most aging Boomers and Gen Xers.

I’m an eldergay. What I’ve seen within the last 15-20 years is many managers who have zero idea how to manage people. And HR is never *for* lower level workers. In my previous job, I didn’t even know who my HR “Business Partner” was.

I used to be anti-union, but now I’m seeing unions as a necessary protection from managers who have zero people management skills.

That’s not to say this employee is right.

The most hilarious thing about this thread is that the majority of the posters commenting haven't worked in decades and the workplace has changed drastically in the past 2 decades since they have worked. Therefore, they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about when it comes to the modern workplace. You can tell because "HR" doesn't exist and is a nineties/2000s term.

Hey bitches, where is the whining about generational warfare on this thread?

I suppose she could have been fired after “fewer” than three days on the job.

R191 no, I'm an elderfrau. I just feel sorry for you

R198 So...you're NOT out of bed yet.

[quote]WTF is this person going to do to keep a roof over her head and food in her mouth? Stay at home forever?

She's going to start a GoFundMe page, silly! She can stay in bed forever, and watch her GFM bank explode.

Why is the OP grayed out ?

[quote]Why is the OP grayed out ?

Too many flames/freak downvotes.

I never get why a fairly innocuous post gets downvoted to this degree. Who has the time or inclination to bother?

Fragile Gen Zs find it offensive and need to take to their bed for a month.

It's literal violence!

[quote]Who has the time or inclination to bother?

There has always been a small subset of sick individuals on DL who complain and flag everything. Years ago, they weren’t as noticeable because there were several excellent posters who created engaging content.

"You have not prepared me to be successful at my job. I am going to need a few mental health days to recover from the aggressive conversation."

"I just asked you to make a copy of this,"

"Wow, okay this is a toxic workplace, I quit."

I retired last year. Hope my experience is recent enough for you.

I don't generalize about any generation but I do see people plugging their personal issues into this thread. I can't imagine a workplace where this woman would succeed. She's an ass. Maybe her boss is, too.

No one should stay in an oppressive situation. Nor should anyone reduce a generation to stereotypes.

What's going to happen to corporations when they are nearly fully staffed by people who have to go on mental health breaks every thirty minutes, and who spend the rest of their time trying to "improve" things rather then doing the work that needs to be done?

There’s a role for people who want to “improve” things. It’s in leadership, and it doesn’t happen on day three of your employment.

I love getting a fresh perspective on new things. If someone younger makes a suggestion or offers a new way to do something, I listen and incorporate it - if it will work and give them proper credit. If it doesn't work, then I explain to them why it won't work in this particular situation/company and they appreciate the feedback and opportunity to learn and contribute. The worst thing you can tell someone is that we do it this way because it's always been done this way.

[quote]What's going to happen to corporations when they are nearly fully staffed by people who have to go on mental health breaks every thirty minutes, and who spend the rest of their time trying to "improve" things rather then doing the work that needs to be done?

Not to mention they will be changing their pronouns two or three times during the work day.

This is the first time in human history when the 60 year olds can kick the ass of the 20 year olds.

R195, my workplace has an HR department. It's 2024.

HR is now called Human Capital Mgmt. It's still basically designed to protect the company more so than workers, but it's supposed to be more supportive and beneficial to workers and their individual contributions to the whole and their unique talents.

A good HR department is designed to make sure a company adheres to employment laws and its own policies and procedures, most of which are designed to protect employees. Operations tends to bump heads with HR a great deal, but a good company owner/head will generally back HR. The problem in many companies is that they give a payroll person the HR title when they’re not qualified. Those people usually cave and do a lousy job for everyone involved.

Agreed, R216. HR is now a specialized field with a unique set of regulations and responsibilities. My company is large enough that payroll and HR are entirely separate areas.

What’ll happen when Gen Z takes over is the same boring capitalist exploitation that’s always happened. I have faith in most humans to be greedy breeders.

Today I was watching a video from Japan about how far they have come with robots. It's getting to the point where they can do anything. These kids will be replaced by robots if they can't do the Jobs that companies want. If we don't have basic income there will be homeless everywhere.

Nah, there's something very peculiar about this lot.

[quote]There has always been a small subset of sick individuals on DL who complain and flag everything.

"Well, what does this sick individual say to you?"

She sounds like someone who is incapable of holding on to a job.

"But on the third day of work, when I left my desk for a quick mental health break, I was fired on the spot."

What exactly does that mean? 10-15 minutes 30 minutes? One hour, two hours, or more? . It sounds like she abandoned her desk or office without telling anybody and was gone for a possibly quite a while. One needs to be acting responsibly and professionally, especially in the beginning of their new job. You can't just disappear and return whenever you want if you are a newbie. It sounds like she has trouble acclimating to new jobs and environments. Just based on what she posted I'm siding with the employer . As a manager I would not tolerate a new employee that just skips out without telling anybody. I probably would have gotten rid of her too.

How is it that a 24 year old has already worked at numerous jobs? I didn't start looking for my second job until I was 25-26. And my first employer was very sad to lose me because I always worked above and beyond what my job role was, and was super reliable, but I needed a better paying job so I could afford to move out of my parent's home.

[quote]How is it that a 24 year old has already worked at numerous jobs?

I started working when I was 15. You didn't have high school and college jobs?

I was only counting my jobs after college as professional career jobs. I actually started working at age 10 at my dad's restaurant. After I had jobs as counterman, waiter, supermarket cashier, summer camp counselor, tutor and messenger. All to get me through high school and college.

I started working at 14 cleaning houses. Then at 16, in between my junior and senior year, I worked the summer at Del Taco. Then worked at a flower shop at 17, then two jobs at 18 and at 20 I was in full time job and going to junior college. I had moved out of my parents house at 18 and was renting a tiny room from an old lady who rented to college students. I was paying rent to my parents when I turned 18 and having to deal with their bullshit abuse, so I got the fuck out.

I'm 54 now and have never been fired from any job.

Sad abused people often want others to suffer, too

There are many things that GenZ views as suffering that previous generations didn't. That's why we say "so what" to so many of these things. We see these experiences as making us into responsible adults. They were a rite of passage.

The woman here--and she is an adult--had an unsympathetic boss at a crummy job. A smarter person would size things up, suck it up and start looking immediately. No one abused her. She was too dumb to come up with an ambiguous excuse to get 15 minutes to herself.

Exactly, r227. I never viewed my experiences as suffering. It was just what one did to survive. I had some really shitty bosses and still never got fired from any job. I sucked it up, felt sorry for their stupid asses and went about my work because I was fully supporting myself with no help from mummy or daddy. I'm proud that I pulled myself up from nothing and became what I am today. I appreciate everything I have because nothing was given to me. I earned it.

"Mental health break".

If I needed a mental health break on my third day on the job, I would never had kept a job.

[quote] The one thing I respect about this generation is that they will only put up with bullshit in the workplace for so long

She was fired. She didn’t quit because she wouldn’t put up with bullshit.

Our “mental health breaks” were cigarette breaks. “I’m going for a smoke.”

I worked at an office job when I was 17. It was so boring. It was a small company that happened to have a worldwide patent for a piece of medical equipment that was required in every hospital and doctor’s office. Pre-computer days. Everything was “on file.” I worked with an adding machine. I was finished with my work by 1pm. Thing is, I’ve always been giggly and silly but I’m a very hard worker. I couldn’t figure out how to draw my work out to last the whole shift.

Most of the senior people were in-betweeners….between Greatest Generation and Boomers. They were very self confident and mostly male. One older woman.

There were 3 of us young ladies. No coffee fund - the boss paid for coffee, milk and sugar. The older woman made coffee and said, “Don’t think I’m some subservient secretary…I make the coffee because I’m a goddamned coffee fiend.”

We waited for that 3 pm fifteen minute coffee break as if it was a magic moment. We smoked, drank coffee, told jokes, giggled, talked about hot actors in films. It was such a stress reliever. It gave us the energy to push past our torpor and bring us to 5pm.

But I stupidly became a nurse because office life bored me. I wish I’d stayed. I wouldn’t be disabled. I’d have a pension. Office jobs are easy…a piece of cake compared to the tension, complaints from patients, stresses from visitors, snarky supervisors, out of touch administrators, people threatening lawsuits over nothing.

And I missed that 15 minute (ok, 20 minute) office job gathering in the coffee room, puffing our nicotine drug and sipping our hot coffee drug.

[quote]Our “mental health breaks” were cigarette breaks. “I’m going for a smoke.”

This is true. I worked in a movie theater when I was 16. My manager would say, "Movie's started and you've got a new batch of popcorn going. You might as well sit down and have a smoke."

Honestly, I will agree that Gen Z goes overboard with the "the world revolves around my feelings" mentality. However, on the opposite end, boomers and many Gen Xers don't have a healthy and balanced outlook on how to manage one's mental health, either.

In fact, a lot of boomers and Gen Xers are coming doing with dementia and Alzheimer's which has been linked to untreated mental health issues. It's not okay that we've created a culture where it's considered normal for one's workplace to be toxic just for a paycheck. Gen Z is catching on to how counterproductive that actually is, and it's going to get to a point where corporations will have to chill, or they will have no employees due to the fact that the aging yes men and women they've been used to are retiring and/or dying off.

Boomer here. Had an awful family situation and saw therapists for years until there was nothing left to talk about. Still take medication for anxiety. I just didn't publicize it or seek sympathy. It didn't become my identity.

Have a brother who never sought help for family issues. He is sharp as a tack but has hypertension and a heart condition. Let me suggest that those are the logical sequelae for untreated mental health issues, not dementia unless you can provide documentation.

r235 You could've easily looked this up yourself, but okay.

"By the numbers: Gen Z — people roughly between the ages of 12 and 27 —reports the poorest mental health of any generation, according to a recent Gallup and Walton Family Foundation report.:"

r237 Because compared to other generations, they're more likely to actually seek help. The older generations instead choose to wander about until they finally snap and have to be 5130'd or just off themselves.

Lately, the demographic at the highest risk for suicide are those over 45. Especially the males. Boomers and Gen X are messed up, too. You're just not getting help as often by comparison.

R238 Those numbers aren't reached based on numbers of people who have sought treatment, they're from polls.

Only gonna get worse with how fucked up the planet is

Per AARP, suicide among boomer men is often in response to a medical diagnosis. In other words, it's an end of life decision. I think everyone facing dementia or metastatic cancer or another degenerative disease should have the right to die with dignity on their own terms. Unfortunately, few states permit this..

r239 It stands to reason that the individuals who recognize they have a problem are more likely to seek treatment for said problem.

R242 Certainly, it does. It's just that's not how these particular generational mental health findings have been collected.

R242 It would also stand to reason that if the problem has historically been a societal stigma attached to mental health struggles and therefore a resistance to seeking treatment, that this generation would be the most well-adjusted we've ever seen, but that's not the case.

There's never been a time in history when more people have been enrolled in therapy/counseling; have been psychiatrically treated with antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, and mood stabilizer; have been celebrated for public vulnerability; or have received legally protected accommodations for their respective emotional/intellectual struggles. And yet study after study shows that young people have never reported higher levels of loneliness, depression, and anxiety.

It's not about mental health, it's about how they were raised.

What Gen Z needed was a regular slap on their face when they were kids, but now it's too late.

[quote]What Gen Z needed was a regular slap on their face when they were kids

See? That's why most of you are fucked up, now. Just trauma-posting at this point.

There is a wide gap between doling out corporal punishment and spoiling the child rotten.

r247 Getting slapped across the face isn't corporal punishment. That's abuse. Tf.

What happened to good ol' fashion smack on the tush?

As a retired boomer, the greatest source of stress in my life are the Republicans in Congress and Trump. I don't see how a therapist can be of any help although medication is an option. What I can't understand are young people too ill-informed and narcissistic to show up at the polls but who will nonetheless be whining when their rights are taken away.

If you've ever been involved in an easement dispute with a neighbor, you'd know for certain that absolutely NO ONE is exempt from the mentally unstable label.