I told her that I wouldn't mind if she informed me but she's just disappointed that my instinct wasn't to just stay without her asking if you know what I mean
You don't need to be a mind reader, you just need to look at the time on the invite. Common sense should be telling you that if you are invited to a meeting your input is wanted. In my experience, if you are flexible with your hours when it's feasible, you'll get understanding when it's not. You'll also get flexibility back when you need it.
This is not generational, it's just life experience.
It’s not stupid of her. If OP wanted to move up, she herself could find out and figure out how to move up the ladder all she has to do is ask. You asking to “align your hours with her” makes no sense. Of course your boss said no. I moved up cause I have a good work ethic and “instinct” to want to. I wouldn’t blame your generation, but be aware if people want to move up, put in the hard work and effort. Don’t wait for others to tell you.
She's just a shit manager. I (mid-gen millennial) also work in government and we have plenty of gen Z employees who are doing very well.
Nobody has any problems with their work ethic. The youngest members of my team have both been recently promoted into Career Service roles.
To me what your boss is asking is common sense. If you are looking to be retained there as a full time employee and make a good impression, meetings are a good place to meet your future colleagues and show you can contribute alongside your peers. It seems like your boss is giving you development opportunities, and you are just not taking them. There are things that aren’t a requirement for your immediate job (trainee) that may help you grow and develop. I think that is what Gen Z folks have a bit of trouble with. Although, I have to admit, they do other things much better (like setting boundaries, for example). Your boss doesn’t have the time to hand hold you through everything. At the end of the day, if they find a person that is going to jump at the chance to be part of the team and contribute, they are going to hire that person and not you.
I would thank your boss for their feedback. Some managers wouldn’t even bother, but just not hire you later. Take this as a learning opportunity and grow from it.
She lacks communication skills. You asked, she answered. But now that she has finally said it out loud, attend the meetings. If it's on your calendar, you are expected to be there. Apparently.
There are two conflicting things here. There is the idea of leaving work at the normal time, and there's the idea of missing company/department/client meetings. Leaving on time is always fine....as long as you're getting your job done. And I'd argue that you're not doing your job if you're missing company meetings you should be attending. I do think that your boss should have communicated this to you. But I also feel that any worker should know that it's frowned on to consistently miss company/department meetings. Were you not made aware of these meetings? Or did you know about them, and you thought it was OK to skip them?
OK. In my opinion, that means mistakes were made on both sides here. Your boss should have communicated her expectations that you attend these meetings. But you have to shoulder some blame here for knowing about these meetings and thinking it was OK to just skip them. Because if we're harping on proper communication for the boss.....one could easily argue that you should have confirmed with your boss that it was OK to skip these meetings.
If a meeting was on your calendar you left before it was time. If I were your boss I would've spoken to you the first time you missed a scheduled meeting.
Older millennial here - there are two problems here, communication (both of you) and inexperience (you). My intention isn't to insult you, you're just new to the office/company atmosphere and haven't figured out what the expectations are yet. I have been stuck in the "above and beyond" loop before and take it from me, if they are expecting you to work (unpaid) overtime and telling you that you need to go above and beyond to get promoted at the end of your training program, I kind of doubt it will ever happen. Anyone that tells you that you need to go above and beyond will just dump more and more work onto you and dangle the promotion carrot over your head all year, and when the year is up, they will have some excuse to not move you up or pay you more money. The excuse will be anything, from budget to performance. I'd highly suggest doing your best but not overdoing it, and towards the end of the year, apply for different jobs either at the same place or at a different government agency. That will be the best way to move up.
are you able to "flex" your hours from one day to the other, i.e. work 7hr one day and 9hr the next? I've found workplaces with flex policies are less accommodating with meetings outside your core working hours.
you've already probably gathered this lesson, but in the future, if work commitments land on your plate and they aren't achievable on the work schedule you've agreed upon with your manager (either because they're outside your core hours or it's too much work in too little time), you should proactively reach out to gauge their expectations and have them prioritize if necessary. It's not always clear-cut what work is considered "going above and beyond" and what's considered the minimum--that's going to change manager-to-manager. The only way to know what they expect is to ask!
I absolutely hate this term/idea, but there's an idea of "managing up" in management philosophy. It sounds like your boss has a poor level of communication and expects you to manage up the missing areas and loose ends. This is something that has now existed for a few generations of workers, and productivity has been placed more and more on middle management and low-level/entry-level employees to uptake the slack in time, efficiency, and effort.
If this really is the case, be prepared that your manager may be expecting you to be on your toes, observant, and address anything that might slip through the cracks, even if those things are like job expectations, skills, and responsibilities. And if that's not for you, then that's not for you, and you should consider a new job or moving laterally in a different part of your organization to a better manager.
Normally I would say without a doubt Gen Z workers are the absolute worst, lacking social skills, inability to deal with stress, bad work ethic, entitlement etc..not saying all gen z but a lot of them. In your case however I think your manager just has poor communication skills and probably inept at her job, that being said she is still your boss so you either deal with it or find another job. Also the gen zers I’m talking about are in the U.S don’t know about other countries.
I have met plenty of Gen Z workers like what you described. Allow me to add, "disrespect to authority" too. Related to poor social skills. Can't handle how to convey bad news in the right context, or respect authority appropriately.
Anyway, in this case I agree with you on the manager.
I’d say that manager belongs to a generation of entitled covert narcissists and their victims. This manager is not an exception.
Edit: for clarification, I’m an old non-US millenial.
The manager is a Millenial. As a Gen Xer, anytime I was invited to a meeting, it was expected that I would attend. I don't know where/why that would have changed in the workplace.
In my experience the habit of setting up meetings after work hours is a bad time management. It’s also bad people management if you want people to attend them just because, especially trainees.
Instructions should be clear, silence treatment and passive-agressivness should not be considered as proper communication.
If you don’t mind spending your time at unpaid afterwork work related meetings where your presence is not required or needed… well, okay.
(Edit: btw my initial comment re narcissism covers both gen X and millenials)
The manager didn’t say the meetings were required, probably done on purpose to test the employees which is an awful tactic which I believe is due to her lack of people and management skills.
There are any number of reasons besises it being a test. It all boils down to lack of communication on both ends. As an employee, it's on you to ask if a meeting you've been invited to requires your attendance or not. As a manager, you get into micromanagement territory if you have to reach out to your employees for every meeting. Because you can't just do it for one employee, but every employee under you, unless you want to go to HR about singling out an employee.
But this is 2024 not 1974; a brief send all reminder email that “our department meeting will be held at 4 pm on Thursday” at couple days or so ahead of time should suffice in almost every case.
As a millennial, I LOVE the gen Z attitude toward work. I’m one of the few at my company who doesn’t work through lunch to make it a 9 hour workday. I go refocus and walk or something, if it’s not nice out I’d rather just sit in my car (not much in the way of break rooms).
I work on weekends or nights all the time, I’ll come in early or leave late. That’s all part of the job. But guess what? I make up for it at other times. If I work partial days on Saturday and Sunday, I’m not coming in Friday. If I’ve gotta stay till 8, in coming in around 10:30 instead of 8 am.
Work should not be the center focus of your life
Thank you! people are calling Gen Z lazy why are we normalizing slaving away to be able to barely afford to live. We should not be working overtime to prove something.
Were you aware that you were required to attend these meetings, but chose not to attend because you were sticking to her previous response that you can "leave when it's time"?
Nope I wasn't aware that they were mandatory, and I even always ask her if it's okay that I leave on time when there seems to be a meeting and she always says yes it's fine but turns out she's secretly unhappy with it
You missed a critical meeting or made her look bad. She’s not secretly unhappy, but something happened (like the head honcho asked why you are never there in front of everyone). She was cutting you a lot of slack and it bit her in the ass. So now she’s not able to give you so much slack but she realizes she’ll need to micromanage you. She was hoping you could manage yourself and the schedule, work independently, instead of trying to cut out early. If you attended the meetings, you “let yourself be known.”
You do need to go to these meetings and give a good appearance. Don’t have to talk. Look very attentive. Take notes. Smile and engage with body language. You’re now under the microscope because you and your manager screwed up by letting you skip out early. Dress very professionally the next week at least.
I once gad a manager attend a meeting just to see what I did during the meeting. She only went to watch me , without warning me she was going for that reason. All I really did was act attentive, take notes, ask genuine questions.
It's not "cutting out early" to leave at your scheduled time, especially after being told *multiple times* that it's okay to leave when you're scheduled to leave.
I came to a conclusion that a significant portion of human population were successfully groomed by narcissists.
So we have an army of enablers and they believe we should all do not only what leader tells us to do, even if it is at our own expense, but now also what was never agreed or requested.
That’s the grooming part - there was no one to teach them to be adults, but to be obidiant to a teacher while making teacher look good. Same goes for the teacher and their teachers.
There’s no misscommunication in “I am *dissapointed* you did what I told you to do, you should know what I actualy want. It can be good for you too, maybe.” >> “Yes, you asked, but I am not exploitative, I am a good person. You should do what I want without you asking questions or me requesting you to do it.”
Imagine using that bs with anyone who does any paid job for you - a hairdresser for example. It can be done only when there was power imbalance and that’s a playground for narcissists and their enablers.
100%. It's so sad to read some comments here. I've unfortunately run into a lot of narcissists at the workplace. They're always the same and super easy to spot once you know the signs. Unfortunately our capitalistic society is build on narcissism and therefore has not only bred narcissistic "leaders" and "managers" but also enablers and flying monkeys. They often don't even realize they're dealing with a narcissist because society has normalized narcissism in positions of power. OPs boss seems like a micromanaging, blame shifting narcissist.
I just picked up some new Gen z team members and had to have the work hours talk with them. They were shoiwng up at like 7:10, or taking longer lunches.
In my state an "8 hour" workday is 8.5 hours total, with two paid 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute unpaid lunch (not my favorite setup by ownership is oldschool). The Tik Tok advise they love to repeat about "core hours" or "it doesnt matter if you're 15 minutes late if the work gets done" does not apply in a manufacturing environment. The Line starts at 7:15, ends at 3:15, with mandatory setup and cleanup brnging the day to 7-3:30. Im paying these kids 35/hr with no degrees, and if they arent there on time, their coworkers on the line end up pulling the slack. One of them seems to have gotten it but the other one may end up getting documented out.
Oh that generation stuff is bullshit. I'm Gen X and there are plenty of slackers and malcontents in my generation too. There are good hardworking motivated ppl in every generation. I think the struggle is real for younger folks tho, since the cost of living is high and wages are stagnant.
Anyhow, your boss is bad at communication, they should be giving you clear expectations. This "above and beyond" crap is...crap.
But it also sounds like you need to be more assertive.
So the way to turn this into a win is to talk to your boss and say something like "I was reflecting on our conversation yesterday and I wanted to thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I know I have things to work on and I value your guidance. I'll make sure to make all the meetings going forward. Thanks again for taking the time to help me improve."
Here is the thing. Yes. It's you.
An example.
We have a monthly safety meeting here. It's not mandatory. It's overtime. Anyone can attend. I decided to attend. Free overtime. Free snacks. ( Usually McDonald's )
I was entry level when I started and in less than three years I'm management.
You're welcome to choose to avoid these things.
You're welcome to do the minimum.
Expect to always have the minimum.
Fair trade. Right?
this is how I climbed the ladder as well. not specifically showing up to meetings that aren't mandatory but by making myself stand out by being more visible than those doing the minimum required to just not get fired.
Work day starts 6:30am. 6:15am i was in the building relaxing before go time where the boss would see me and we'd talk sometimes. Everyone else was sitting in thier car until 6:29am then rushing to clock in by 6:30. Day ends at 4pm and I'm helping shut off lights and make sure doors are closed/locked while everyone else was lined up at the time clock at 3:59 and out of the parking lot at 4:01
Exactly. These meetings introduced me to the day time management and I worked nights. I climbed rank while not even working the same shift because they knew who I was.
These kids that wanna do the lowest amount of work and make the lowest effort and yet want to be the boss one day are going to be in for a really long and drawn out surprise while they watch new hires climb above them.
They lack the brain to realize that if someone like them were the management then the business would fail. Lol
It's not OP when OP wasn't even told "it would look better if you're there".
Edit: whoops, I guess I stumbled into the "you should magically know that your boss is thinking" sect of Boomerism. Sorry mate, we don't have telepathy. If meetings are mandatory, it's Boss's job to communicate that. Not the trainee's job to magically understand that you're incapable of using the words you mean.
Lol I love how angry boomers are downvoting this. Please, keep going. Your predictability when your personal experience is called out is amusing.
There's no mind reading involved. OP was included on the meeting invites and should assume their attendance is required unless explicitly told otherwise.
I got ahead. OP and others responding did not.
My life speaks for itself.
This post speaks for what outcomes you'll all see. Lol
LOL @ Back in my day.
It's obviously working right now tool.
This all just happened to me in the last year.
Ah, so "taking your supervisor at their word" is now the equivalent of being brainless. Got it.
Btw: https://www.reddit.com/r/work/s/hc47kAWxZ1 if my supervisor specifically tells me it's fine for me to leave on days when meetings are scheduled, I'm going to assume that they're *not* doing weird manipulative "yes means no" nonsense.
No. You're really shallow with your thoughts and I can tell you're a low effort and low thinking employee. The kind who needs checked on to make sure you're not fucking up or wasting time.
OP was not mandated to do anything.
OP was likely liked by their superior.
Their superior likely pointed out they wished OP made more effort so they could move ahead. OP decided the minimum was the way to go.
My boss told me safety meetings were irrelevant.
.... And yet here we are.
Think for yourself. Don't require someone to tell you everything.
I'm sorry your boss had such poor communication skills. That's really difficult for everyone involved. But that doesn't make it okay for you to talk down to OP for not knowing that corporate supervisors aren't expected to communicate like proper adults.
See, us younger generations have had these lessons about a little thing called "consent" for... Pretty much our entire lives after age 14. Those videos all come down to one very simple thing.
*No means no*.
So you can't blame someone who grew up being taught that "no means no" for not understanding that corporate supervisors are ass-backwards and constantly say "no" when they actually mean "yes" because nobody taught you boomers how to say what you mean.
Try thinking for yourself instead of expecting everyone to magically know that you speak in opposites.
You're dumb.
Nobody told me it would help me advance.
I did it to advance myself.
So your whole post about my " bosses poor communication " becomes mute.
Stick to the minimum pay. That's where you belong.
You know, maybe if *you* learned to communicate like a rational adult, instead of like an angry old man, you'd be capable of understanding the words that I typed.
I could take the time to type them out differently so you *can* understand, but I know that stubborn Boomers are almost incapable of seeing things rationally now. It's not your fault, it's merely a side effect of the neural degeneration that happens as you age.
But I am determined to enjoy my holiday, after I so recently secured a promotion with my rational adult communication skills instead of assuming my boss says one thing and means another.
Farewell, angry Boomer. I hope you have the day you deserve, for blaming a young person for their boss's inability to communicate what she actually wanted.
Well, reddit won't let me see the comment you just made but...
Most people leave "you're dumb because I said so" behind... In preschool. Might want to update your vocabulary as well as investing in some anger management classes.
OP was invited to meetings and decided not to attend. I don't know any boss that would be ok with that. The whole point of the invite is that your attendance is requested.
https://www.reddit.com/r/work/s/hc47kAWxZ1
The whole point of communicating effectively is that you TELL PEOPLE when you want them at the meeting, instead of explicitly saying it's fine for them to leave at the normal time on days when meetings are scheduled late.
It doesn't though.
If I am normally scheduled to leave at 4pm, and my supervisor tells me that it's totally fine for me to leave at my normal time despite the meeting scheduled at 5pm, *it is completely rational to believe that also means the meeting in question is not mandatory*.
It doesn't sound like OP brought up the meeting when leaving every time there was one. Or asked about a non mandatory meeting and didn't ask when there was a mandatory meeting and just left. Either way, there was a lack of communication on both sides. If I were scheduled for a meeting, I would always confirm attendance. Maybe things are different since I haven't worked in the last 5 years, but we used to get invites, and it would notify the meeting coordinator of who was attending and who wasn't. It would also state whether it was mandatory or not. Does that not happen anymore?
>It doesn't sound like OP brought up the meeting when leaving every time there was one
It does to me.
>Either way, there was a lack of communication on both sides
Nope. If Boss never indicated the meetings were mandatory, it's 100% on Boss and 0% on OP.
If there are meetings late in the day, i come in later or take a longer lunch. You should also ask about comp leave if you end up working over 8 work hours (not including your lunch if your dept doesnt consider lunch as work time)
I recommend you attend as many meetings as you can, at least all of them on your docket until you have a good idea of whats important for you to attend and whats not.
Many places get hung up on meeting attendance. They tell me it’s VERY important to attend, even if this one series of meeting like only one minute long (I kid you not). I gave them zero pushback.
You’re getting a warning to attend the meetings as part of your job. She communicated that too bluntly but she’s showing her unfiltered opinion of your overall work ethic, and she’s frustrated because you got her in trouble. You need to change her opinion and break the stereotype instead making excuses why you can’t attend meetings. The easiest path is to look at the meeting schedule and revise your work schedule, without working for free. Or if you have to, do it as comp time.
The next thing to do is step up to do well at your job and to act professional when she talks. Tell her I appreciate the feedback, let me know in the future when I need to adjust anything else, and will do what she says - so fixing things instead of making up reasons why you can’t do it. So next time you make a mistake she’ll want to help as a mentor. Ask her for clarification and make a few steps in that direction to show you did it. If it looks like good advice then continue taking those steps. If it looks like bad advice then take a few steps sideways to find what works. Adaptively manage while providing the appearance that you’re taking her direction. I had one manager tell me to do outreach so I did it once his way, didn’t get great results, so next time did it my way (but I did what he said and then met the goal in an adaptively managed way).
Maybe you don’t “take work advice from Tik-Tok” but you clearly do from Reddit. You are actively listening to social media rather than your own boss telling you where you need to improve in order to be retained and promoted.
Take responsibility for your own success. No amount of upvotes on Reddit is going to change your actual performance review.
I just wanted to see my situation in comparison to everyone else's because I'm young and don't know what's acceptable or not, I took her feedback and promised changed behavior, I'm just here to think out loud :)
No, that's an "I'm married to my job and I expect everyone else to be too" problem. With your manager, btw, not you.
"How am I supposed to know something I was never informed of? If you expect me to stay late for meetings that are purposely scheduled after I'm supposed to be home, you need to tell me so."
I told her something along those lines, that I'd be happy to stay if I was informed that I need to, she said that I should assume every meeting is important
Oh, that is SO not true. I (gen x) actually was told by a manager to be more critical of meetings. So often they are timesucks with very few concrete benefits to doing your tasks. To me that seems to be even more true so in an organisation were they value meetings (especially if they are alwats at least an hour....). Having said that, when I am new in an organisation I do attend meetings, even if I might have doubts. It can be a good way to meet new people plus some meetings can actually be valuable and you don't know till you attend.
That's just silly. OP is a new trainee and isn't experienced enough to assess which meetings are important. So yes, until she gets that figured out, they should all be treated as important.
the trick is to develop a good feeling for what meetings/events are important to attend.
you can often be late as long as you make sure you are there when it matters.
I don't know if it's generation related, but it's likely age related. You learn to pick the right events over time.
Talk to your boss. Apologize to her. Explain that you had asked her about work hours at the start and you misinterpreted her respond to mean you didn’t stay after hours even for meetings. Comment that this job is important to you and you want to do a good job. And then start making sure to stay for the meetings. Wait a few months and ask for feedback on your performance.
You need to learn the golden rule of work known as CYA - Cover Your Ass.
Get things in writing, or post-meeting, summarize the meeting points and email them for confirmation. Do this only for the things that may come back to bite you in the ass.
I've had to do this.
Hello \[manager name\],
As discussed on \[meeting date\], starting on \[date\], my work hours will be \[start time\] to \[end time\]. My understanding is that I am not expected at meetings outside my work hours.
Let me know if there is any misunderstanding.
Thank you,
\[my name\]
That way, if they get pissy, you send back the email and get to write:
Hello \[manager\],
It is my understanding that we originally agreed on the following. Please confirm that from \[date\] you would like me to attend meetings outside my work hours.
You work in a government org. All of ours have hourly pay and unions. If yours does too and she confirms it, bank overtime. If she complains to HR, send the emails and cc the union. Dusk off your cv though once your contract is close to ending.
It's not your job. A small salary. First. Such a long trial period. A whole year! Awful. Second. She also manipulate you. Third. Why do you need work overtime? For what? For a boring meeting? But you are just newb and not a big manager. Repeat: for what? For promoted? It's really good work? Are you like your job? A great salary in perspective? **You need to understand what it will give you**. If your dream or goal is career and it's a job of your dream, well...
Talking about generations is nonsense. You are not a gen-zer or some else. It's just an another theory and not more. You are just a human being like all. And why she think you take work advice from tiktok? Is this true? I don't believe in that. I think it's very negative and untrue opinion about your person.
Your manager is not a smart person and maybe toxic. Maybe she just try to fire you? Maybe it's a his dirty strategy? They takes newbs and by the end of a traine period they say them buy-buy. Don't listen her. In this world so many not smart people. Don't believe in all what people talk you. Remember you life is more and complicated than your job. And all this "important" meeting... You can't remember all this rubbish after some time.
No, gen Z are not the problem. People have been fighting for 8 hours workday since at least 1886, so you may say you learn it from a history book not tiktok.
The problem is negative selection which enables covert (your manager) and overt narcissists to get power positions and to lecture others.
“I am dissapointed you didn’t read my mind and because I have power over you here, going forward l’ll do my best to make you question your sanity and overal purpose.”
Did I say it was? That’s the one event I know from history book and without using google.
Anyway, is that your input? What prevented you to share details about other protests?
I think it's hugely unfair for you to be told to finish at a certain time and NOT align your shifts, only to be unfairly spoken to in such a way.
Her comments are hugely unfair, unprofessional and unwarranted.
Ask her for transparency and respect as a minimum for a professional working relationship.
From my reading of the OP the meetings were during "normal" work hours but not during OP's preferred work hours. Like maybe a 4-5pm meeting when OP prefers to work 7-4. Meetings are not scheduled around one trainee attendee's personal calendar. It's not always easy to find a slot that works for everyone on the invite list.
So your supervisor needs to ASK you go stay late. You are not a mind reader. How passive/aggressive is that BS. If your boss winner tell you when to stay late, you should start asking daily.
Stereotypes are de facto generalizations and don't apply to everyone. Gen Z is statistically entitled and self-centered. Your generation seems to expect to be paid for not doing much. I've had more people in Gen Z that have been disappointing performers than anyone else when lumped together by age cohort. Chances are good that you are a problem.
There is no “above and beyond.” There is only taking advantage of inexperienced and desperate workers.
Hi. I’m a millennial. This “above and beyond” thing is something I actively discourage the gen-Z folks from doing.
Going above and beyond means working beyond your rate. You were hired to do XYZ for B amount of hours each day in exchange for CDEFG salary. To expect more than that is ridiculous. To weaponize it against you is predatory.
Next time this comes up, say, “for this 1:1, I’d like to discuss my performance for the role I’ve been hired to fill, during the hours I’ve been assigned. I mean no disrespect and actually respect you greatly as a mentor and as my boss. Just, based off of our last conversation, it sounded like I was being docked on my performance for things that fell outside of my responsibility.”
Work life balance is incredibly important. It helps to prevent burn out, which can ruin a person’s life for a little while when it hits. Shame on your manager for encouraging you to engage in unhealthy work habits.
Manager expected the trainee to work overtime for free. That's what happened. And manager couldn't tell her to do that, because a trainee has to be paid overtime after 40 hours.
So, yes, manager expected her to read her mind, work for free, and break the rules.
No. There are plenty of good works and bad workers in every generation. The older ones just always say "I've done my time" to which I respond "okay then retire already"
Honestly Gen z here too and my work hours are 9-5. Like we lived through a whole pandemic where we learned to value our time and not live to work, but work to live. If you didn’t learn you are disposable to a company then, idk what to tell you.
Literally don’t understand older generations who are like so uptight, if you didn’t finish a task I don’t think it was life threatening important like it is working in the medical field, save it for the next working day.
That’s my two cents and i know older generations do not agree at all.
How often were these meetings? If they're like twice a month then just shift your hours later those days. It's just making an effort.
I told her that I wouldn't mind if she informed me but she's just disappointed that my instinct wasn't to just stay without her asking if you know what I mean
Unless mind reading is part of your job description that’s just stupid of her
You don't need to be a mind reader, you just need to look at the time on the invite. Common sense should be telling you that if you are invited to a meeting your input is wanted. In my experience, if you are flexible with your hours when it's feasible, you'll get understanding when it's not. You'll also get flexibility back when you need it. This is not generational, it's just life experience.
It’s not stupid of her. If OP wanted to move up, she herself could find out and figure out how to move up the ladder all she has to do is ask. You asking to “align your hours with her” makes no sense. Of course your boss said no. I moved up cause I have a good work ethic and “instinct” to want to. I wouldn’t blame your generation, but be aware if people want to move up, put in the hard work and effort. Don’t wait for others to tell you.
She's just a shit manager. I (mid-gen millennial) also work in government and we have plenty of gen Z employees who are doing very well. Nobody has any problems with their work ethic. The youngest members of my team have both been recently promoted into Career Service roles.
To me what your boss is asking is common sense. If you are looking to be retained there as a full time employee and make a good impression, meetings are a good place to meet your future colleagues and show you can contribute alongside your peers. It seems like your boss is giving you development opportunities, and you are just not taking them. There are things that aren’t a requirement for your immediate job (trainee) that may help you grow and develop. I think that is what Gen Z folks have a bit of trouble with. Although, I have to admit, they do other things much better (like setting boundaries, for example). Your boss doesn’t have the time to hand hold you through everything. At the end of the day, if they find a person that is going to jump at the chance to be part of the team and contribute, they are going to hire that person and not you. I would thank your boss for their feedback. Some managers wouldn’t even bother, but just not hire you later. Take this as a learning opportunity and grow from it.
Gen z folks are good workers. Generations aren't real. Every generation is fundamentally the same.
Gen z doesn't have an issue with this at all. Companies need to adapt. We will just get another job, the company your married to will die.
> It's just making an effort. No, company should make expectations clear. Stop with this worker blaming horsheshit.
She lacks communication skills. You asked, she answered. But now that she has finally said it out loud, attend the meetings. If it's on your calendar, you are expected to be there. Apparently.
There are two conflicting things here. There is the idea of leaving work at the normal time, and there's the idea of missing company/department/client meetings. Leaving on time is always fine....as long as you're getting your job done. And I'd argue that you're not doing your job if you're missing company meetings you should be attending. I do think that your boss should have communicated this to you. But I also feel that any worker should know that it's frowned on to consistently miss company/department meetings. Were you not made aware of these meetings? Or did you know about them, and you thought it was OK to skip them?
the latter
OK. In my opinion, that means mistakes were made on both sides here. Your boss should have communicated her expectations that you attend these meetings. But you have to shoulder some blame here for knowing about these meetings and thinking it was OK to just skip them. Because if we're harping on proper communication for the boss.....one could easily argue that you should have confirmed with your boss that it was OK to skip these meetings.
that makes sense thank you
If it makes you feel better, us old people hate those meetings too... we just leave the teams on mute and act like we care.
Do you talk to other employees? No one ever spoke about a meeting they attended? I find it hard to believe you never heard of said meetings.
If a meeting was on your calendar you left before it was time. If I were your boss I would've spoken to you the first time you missed a scheduled meeting.
Older millennial here - there are two problems here, communication (both of you) and inexperience (you). My intention isn't to insult you, you're just new to the office/company atmosphere and haven't figured out what the expectations are yet. I have been stuck in the "above and beyond" loop before and take it from me, if they are expecting you to work (unpaid) overtime and telling you that you need to go above and beyond to get promoted at the end of your training program, I kind of doubt it will ever happen. Anyone that tells you that you need to go above and beyond will just dump more and more work onto you and dangle the promotion carrot over your head all year, and when the year is up, they will have some excuse to not move you up or pay you more money. The excuse will be anything, from budget to performance. I'd highly suggest doing your best but not overdoing it, and towards the end of the year, apply for different jobs either at the same place or at a different government agency. That will be the best way to move up.
are you able to "flex" your hours from one day to the other, i.e. work 7hr one day and 9hr the next? I've found workplaces with flex policies are less accommodating with meetings outside your core working hours. you've already probably gathered this lesson, but in the future, if work commitments land on your plate and they aren't achievable on the work schedule you've agreed upon with your manager (either because they're outside your core hours or it's too much work in too little time), you should proactively reach out to gauge their expectations and have them prioritize if necessary. It's not always clear-cut what work is considered "going above and beyond" and what's considered the minimum--that's going to change manager-to-manager. The only way to know what they expect is to ask!
I absolutely hate this term/idea, but there's an idea of "managing up" in management philosophy. It sounds like your boss has a poor level of communication and expects you to manage up the missing areas and loose ends. This is something that has now existed for a few generations of workers, and productivity has been placed more and more on middle management and low-level/entry-level employees to uptake the slack in time, efficiency, and effort. If this really is the case, be prepared that your manager may be expecting you to be on your toes, observant, and address anything that might slip through the cracks, even if those things are like job expectations, skills, and responsibilities. And if that's not for you, then that's not for you, and you should consider a new job or moving laterally in a different part of your organization to a better manager.
Normally I would say without a doubt Gen Z workers are the absolute worst, lacking social skills, inability to deal with stress, bad work ethic, entitlement etc..not saying all gen z but a lot of them. In your case however I think your manager just has poor communication skills and probably inept at her job, that being said she is still your boss so you either deal with it or find another job. Also the gen zers I’m talking about are in the U.S don’t know about other countries.
"My bias is fine because I've had bad interactions with people of this type" is somehow fine for age? Sounds like you're a douchebag.
I have met plenty of Gen Z workers like what you described. Allow me to add, "disrespect to authority" too. Related to poor social skills. Can't handle how to convey bad news in the right context, or respect authority appropriately. Anyway, in this case I agree with you on the manager.
Another person who enjoys being a slave
I’d say that manager belongs to a generation of entitled covert narcissists and their victims. This manager is not an exception. Edit: for clarification, I’m an old non-US millenial.
The manager is a Millenial. As a Gen Xer, anytime I was invited to a meeting, it was expected that I would attend. I don't know where/why that would have changed in the workplace.
In my experience the habit of setting up meetings after work hours is a bad time management. It’s also bad people management if you want people to attend them just because, especially trainees. Instructions should be clear, silence treatment and passive-agressivness should not be considered as proper communication. If you don’t mind spending your time at unpaid afterwork work related meetings where your presence is not required or needed… well, okay. (Edit: btw my initial comment re narcissism covers both gen X and millenials)
The manager didn’t say the meetings were required, probably done on purpose to test the employees which is an awful tactic which I believe is due to her lack of people and management skills.
There are any number of reasons besises it being a test. It all boils down to lack of communication on both ends. As an employee, it's on you to ask if a meeting you've been invited to requires your attendance or not. As a manager, you get into micromanagement territory if you have to reach out to your employees for every meeting. Because you can't just do it for one employee, but every employee under you, unless you want to go to HR about singling out an employee.
But this is 2024 not 1974; a brief send all reminder email that “our department meeting will be held at 4 pm on Thursday” at couple days or so ahead of time should suffice in almost every case.
But in reality it's not true at all of Gen z . I've never seen this. I know more gen z workers than you do.
As a millennial, I LOVE the gen Z attitude toward work. I’m one of the few at my company who doesn’t work through lunch to make it a 9 hour workday. I go refocus and walk or something, if it’s not nice out I’d rather just sit in my car (not much in the way of break rooms). I work on weekends or nights all the time, I’ll come in early or leave late. That’s all part of the job. But guess what? I make up for it at other times. If I work partial days on Saturday and Sunday, I’m not coming in Friday. If I’ve gotta stay till 8, in coming in around 10:30 instead of 8 am. Work should not be the center focus of your life
Thank you! people are calling Gen Z lazy why are we normalizing slaving away to be able to barely afford to live. We should not be working overtime to prove something.
Were you aware that you were required to attend these meetings, but chose not to attend because you were sticking to her previous response that you can "leave when it's time"?
Nope I wasn't aware that they were mandatory, and I even always ask her if it's okay that I leave on time when there seems to be a meeting and she always says yes it's fine but turns out she's secretly unhappy with it
You missed a critical meeting or made her look bad. She’s not secretly unhappy, but something happened (like the head honcho asked why you are never there in front of everyone). She was cutting you a lot of slack and it bit her in the ass. So now she’s not able to give you so much slack but she realizes she’ll need to micromanage you. She was hoping you could manage yourself and the schedule, work independently, instead of trying to cut out early. If you attended the meetings, you “let yourself be known.” You do need to go to these meetings and give a good appearance. Don’t have to talk. Look very attentive. Take notes. Smile and engage with body language. You’re now under the microscope because you and your manager screwed up by letting you skip out early. Dress very professionally the next week at least. I once gad a manager attend a meeting just to see what I did during the meeting. She only went to watch me , without warning me she was going for that reason. All I really did was act attentive, take notes, ask genuine questions.
It's not "cutting out early" to leave at your scheduled time, especially after being told *multiple times* that it's okay to leave when you're scheduled to leave.
I came to a conclusion that a significant portion of human population were successfully groomed by narcissists. So we have an army of enablers and they believe we should all do not only what leader tells us to do, even if it is at our own expense, but now also what was never agreed or requested.
Is it narcissism or is it just an endless cycle of people who were never taught how to communicate like adults?
That’s the grooming part - there was no one to teach them to be adults, but to be obidiant to a teacher while making teacher look good. Same goes for the teacher and their teachers. There’s no misscommunication in “I am *dissapointed* you did what I told you to do, you should know what I actualy want. It can be good for you too, maybe.” >> “Yes, you asked, but I am not exploitative, I am a good person. You should do what I want without you asking questions or me requesting you to do it.” Imagine using that bs with anyone who does any paid job for you - a hairdresser for example. It can be done only when there was power imbalance and that’s a playground for narcissists and their enablers.
100%. It's so sad to read some comments here. I've unfortunately run into a lot of narcissists at the workplace. They're always the same and super easy to spot once you know the signs. Unfortunately our capitalistic society is build on narcissism and therefore has not only bred narcissistic "leaders" and "managers" but also enablers and flying monkeys. They often don't even realize they're dealing with a narcissist because society has normalized narcissism in positions of power. OPs boss seems like a micromanaging, blame shifting narcissist.
I just picked up some new Gen z team members and had to have the work hours talk with them. They were shoiwng up at like 7:10, or taking longer lunches. In my state an "8 hour" workday is 8.5 hours total, with two paid 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute unpaid lunch (not my favorite setup by ownership is oldschool). The Tik Tok advise they love to repeat about "core hours" or "it doesnt matter if you're 15 minutes late if the work gets done" does not apply in a manufacturing environment. The Line starts at 7:15, ends at 3:15, with mandatory setup and cleanup brnging the day to 7-3:30. Im paying these kids 35/hr with no degrees, and if they arent there on time, their coworkers on the line end up pulling the slack. One of them seems to have gotten it but the other one may end up getting documented out.
Oh that generation stuff is bullshit. I'm Gen X and there are plenty of slackers and malcontents in my generation too. There are good hardworking motivated ppl in every generation. I think the struggle is real for younger folks tho, since the cost of living is high and wages are stagnant. Anyhow, your boss is bad at communication, they should be giving you clear expectations. This "above and beyond" crap is...crap. But it also sounds like you need to be more assertive. So the way to turn this into a win is to talk to your boss and say something like "I was reflecting on our conversation yesterday and I wanted to thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I know I have things to work on and I value your guidance. I'll make sure to make all the meetings going forward. Thanks again for taking the time to help me improve."
Your manager is right. In your phase of your career going above and beyond will pay huge dividends compared to the minimal extra effort.
Here is the thing. Yes. It's you. An example. We have a monthly safety meeting here. It's not mandatory. It's overtime. Anyone can attend. I decided to attend. Free overtime. Free snacks. ( Usually McDonald's ) I was entry level when I started and in less than three years I'm management. You're welcome to choose to avoid these things. You're welcome to do the minimum. Expect to always have the minimum. Fair trade. Right?
this is how I climbed the ladder as well. not specifically showing up to meetings that aren't mandatory but by making myself stand out by being more visible than those doing the minimum required to just not get fired. Work day starts 6:30am. 6:15am i was in the building relaxing before go time where the boss would see me and we'd talk sometimes. Everyone else was sitting in thier car until 6:29am then rushing to clock in by 6:30. Day ends at 4pm and I'm helping shut off lights and make sure doors are closed/locked while everyone else was lined up at the time clock at 3:59 and out of the parking lot at 4:01
Exactly. These meetings introduced me to the day time management and I worked nights. I climbed rank while not even working the same shift because they knew who I was. These kids that wanna do the lowest amount of work and make the lowest effort and yet want to be the boss one day are going to be in for a really long and drawn out surprise while they watch new hires climb above them. They lack the brain to realize that if someone like them were the management then the business would fail. Lol
It's not OP when OP wasn't even told "it would look better if you're there". Edit: whoops, I guess I stumbled into the "you should magically know that your boss is thinking" sect of Boomerism. Sorry mate, we don't have telepathy. If meetings are mandatory, it's Boss's job to communicate that. Not the trainee's job to magically understand that you're incapable of using the words you mean. Lol I love how angry boomers are downvoting this. Please, keep going. Your predictability when your personal experience is called out is amusing.
There's no mind reading involved. OP was included on the meeting invites and should assume their attendance is required unless explicitly told otherwise.
https://www.reddit.com/r/work/s/PE51VIMgfe
I wasn't told it would look better when I was there. I have a fucking brain in my head and KNEW that for myself.
You’re awesome. We need an inspirational “back in my days” post on LinkedIn from you, please.
I got ahead. OP and others responding did not. My life speaks for itself. This post speaks for what outcomes you'll all see. Lol LOL @ Back in my day. It's obviously working right now tool. This all just happened to me in the last year.
I think they chose you because of your personality. You’ll serve them good.
They probably did. They want strong leaders, not soy boys.
Ah, so "taking your supervisor at their word" is now the equivalent of being brainless. Got it. Btw: https://www.reddit.com/r/work/s/hc47kAWxZ1 if my supervisor specifically tells me it's fine for me to leave on days when meetings are scheduled, I'm going to assume that they're *not* doing weird manipulative "yes means no" nonsense.
No. You're really shallow with your thoughts and I can tell you're a low effort and low thinking employee. The kind who needs checked on to make sure you're not fucking up or wasting time. OP was not mandated to do anything. OP was likely liked by their superior. Their superior likely pointed out they wished OP made more effort so they could move ahead. OP decided the minimum was the way to go. My boss told me safety meetings were irrelevant. .... And yet here we are. Think for yourself. Don't require someone to tell you everything.
I'm sorry your boss had such poor communication skills. That's really difficult for everyone involved. But that doesn't make it okay for you to talk down to OP for not knowing that corporate supervisors aren't expected to communicate like proper adults. See, us younger generations have had these lessons about a little thing called "consent" for... Pretty much our entire lives after age 14. Those videos all come down to one very simple thing. *No means no*. So you can't blame someone who grew up being taught that "no means no" for not understanding that corporate supervisors are ass-backwards and constantly say "no" when they actually mean "yes" because nobody taught you boomers how to say what you mean. Try thinking for yourself instead of expecting everyone to magically know that you speak in opposites.
You're dumb. Nobody told me it would help me advance. I did it to advance myself. So your whole post about my " bosses poor communication " becomes mute. Stick to the minimum pay. That's where you belong.
You know, maybe if *you* learned to communicate like a rational adult, instead of like an angry old man, you'd be capable of understanding the words that I typed. I could take the time to type them out differently so you *can* understand, but I know that stubborn Boomers are almost incapable of seeing things rationally now. It's not your fault, it's merely a side effect of the neural degeneration that happens as you age. But I am determined to enjoy my holiday, after I so recently secured a promotion with my rational adult communication skills instead of assuming my boss says one thing and means another. Farewell, angry Boomer. I hope you have the day you deserve, for blaming a young person for their boss's inability to communicate what she actually wanted.
Well, reddit won't let me see the comment you just made but... Most people leave "you're dumb because I said so" behind... In preschool. Might want to update your vocabulary as well as investing in some anger management classes.
No means no.
Ah, if only you were capable of applying that level of understanding to other people's situations.
OP was invited to meetings and decided not to attend. I don't know any boss that would be ok with that. The whole point of the invite is that your attendance is requested.
https://www.reddit.com/r/work/s/hc47kAWxZ1 The whole point of communicating effectively is that you TELL PEOPLE when you want them at the meeting, instead of explicitly saying it's fine for them to leave at the normal time on days when meetings are scheduled late.
And OP contradicts themselves in another comment. https://www.reddit.com/r/work/s/rEcQlxP810 https://www.reddit.com/r/work/s/FiytGmOcAf
It doesn't though. If I am normally scheduled to leave at 4pm, and my supervisor tells me that it's totally fine for me to leave at my normal time despite the meeting scheduled at 5pm, *it is completely rational to believe that also means the meeting in question is not mandatory*.
It doesn't sound like OP brought up the meeting when leaving every time there was one. Or asked about a non mandatory meeting and didn't ask when there was a mandatory meeting and just left. Either way, there was a lack of communication on both sides. If I were scheduled for a meeting, I would always confirm attendance. Maybe things are different since I haven't worked in the last 5 years, but we used to get invites, and it would notify the meeting coordinator of who was attending and who wasn't. It would also state whether it was mandatory or not. Does that not happen anymore?
>It doesn't sound like OP brought up the meeting when leaving every time there was one It does to me. >Either way, there was a lack of communication on both sides Nope. If Boss never indicated the meetings were mandatory, it's 100% on Boss and 0% on OP.
If there are meetings late in the day, i come in later or take a longer lunch. You should also ask about comp leave if you end up working over 8 work hours (not including your lunch if your dept doesnt consider lunch as work time) I recommend you attend as many meetings as you can, at least all of them on your docket until you have a good idea of whats important for you to attend and whats not.
Many places get hung up on meeting attendance. They tell me it’s VERY important to attend, even if this one series of meeting like only one minute long (I kid you not). I gave them zero pushback. You’re getting a warning to attend the meetings as part of your job. She communicated that too bluntly but she’s showing her unfiltered opinion of your overall work ethic, and she’s frustrated because you got her in trouble. You need to change her opinion and break the stereotype instead making excuses why you can’t attend meetings. The easiest path is to look at the meeting schedule and revise your work schedule, without working for free. Or if you have to, do it as comp time. The next thing to do is step up to do well at your job and to act professional when she talks. Tell her I appreciate the feedback, let me know in the future when I need to adjust anything else, and will do what she says - so fixing things instead of making up reasons why you can’t do it. So next time you make a mistake she’ll want to help as a mentor. Ask her for clarification and make a few steps in that direction to show you did it. If it looks like good advice then continue taking those steps. If it looks like bad advice then take a few steps sideways to find what works. Adaptively manage while providing the appearance that you’re taking her direction. I had one manager tell me to do outreach so I did it once his way, didn’t get great results, so next time did it my way (but I did what he said and then met the goal in an adaptively managed way).
Noted thank you!
Maybe you don’t “take work advice from Tik-Tok” but you clearly do from Reddit. You are actively listening to social media rather than your own boss telling you where you need to improve in order to be retained and promoted. Take responsibility for your own success. No amount of upvotes on Reddit is going to change your actual performance review.
I just wanted to see my situation in comparison to everyone else's because I'm young and don't know what's acceptable or not, I took her feedback and promised changed behavior, I'm just here to think out loud :)
No, that's an "I'm married to my job and I expect everyone else to be too" problem. With your manager, btw, not you. "How am I supposed to know something I was never informed of? If you expect me to stay late for meetings that are purposely scheduled after I'm supposed to be home, you need to tell me so."
I told her something along those lines, that I'd be happy to stay if I was informed that I need to, she said that I should assume every meeting is important
Oh, that is SO not true. I (gen x) actually was told by a manager to be more critical of meetings. So often they are timesucks with very few concrete benefits to doing your tasks. To me that seems to be even more true so in an organisation were they value meetings (especially if they are alwats at least an hour....). Having said that, when I am new in an organisation I do attend meetings, even if I might have doubts. It can be a good way to meet new people plus some meetings can actually be valuable and you don't know till you attend.
There's an old adage that says if everything is important, nothing is important. As a manager, she should have a better ability to prioritize tasks
That's just silly. OP is a new trainee and isn't experienced enough to assess which meetings are important. So yes, until she gets that figured out, they should all be treated as important.
She needs a hobby
the trick is to develop a good feeling for what meetings/events are important to attend. you can often be late as long as you make sure you are there when it matters. I don't know if it's generation related, but it's likely age related. You learn to pick the right events over time.
Talk to your boss. Apologize to her. Explain that you had asked her about work hours at the start and you misinterpreted her respond to mean you didn’t stay after hours even for meetings. Comment that this job is important to you and you want to do a good job. And then start making sure to stay for the meetings. Wait a few months and ask for feedback on your performance.
You need to learn the golden rule of work known as CYA - Cover Your Ass. Get things in writing, or post-meeting, summarize the meeting points and email them for confirmation. Do this only for the things that may come back to bite you in the ass. I've had to do this. Hello \[manager name\], As discussed on \[meeting date\], starting on \[date\], my work hours will be \[start time\] to \[end time\]. My understanding is that I am not expected at meetings outside my work hours. Let me know if there is any misunderstanding. Thank you, \[my name\] That way, if they get pissy, you send back the email and get to write: Hello \[manager\], It is my understanding that we originally agreed on the following. Please confirm that from \[date\] you would like me to attend meetings outside my work hours. You work in a government org. All of ours have hourly pay and unions. If yours does too and she confirms it, bank overtime. If she complains to HR, send the emails and cc the union. Dusk off your cv though once your contract is close to ending.
thank you this is really helpful!!
It's not your job. A small salary. First. Such a long trial period. A whole year! Awful. Second. She also manipulate you. Third. Why do you need work overtime? For what? For a boring meeting? But you are just newb and not a big manager. Repeat: for what? For promoted? It's really good work? Are you like your job? A great salary in perspective? **You need to understand what it will give you**. If your dream or goal is career and it's a job of your dream, well... Talking about generations is nonsense. You are not a gen-zer or some else. It's just an another theory and not more. You are just a human being like all. And why she think you take work advice from tiktok? Is this true? I don't believe in that. I think it's very negative and untrue opinion about your person. Your manager is not a smart person and maybe toxic. Maybe she just try to fire you? Maybe it's a his dirty strategy? They takes newbs and by the end of a traine period they say them buy-buy. Don't listen her. In this world so many not smart people. Don't believe in all what people talk you. Remember you life is more and complicated than your job. And all this "important" meeting... You can't remember all this rubbish after some time.
No, gen Z are not the problem. People have been fighting for 8 hours workday since at least 1886, so you may say you learn it from a history book not tiktok. The problem is negative selection which enables covert (your manager) and overt narcissists to get power positions and to lecture others. “I am dissapointed you didn’t read my mind and because I have power over you here, going forward l’ll do my best to make you question your sanity and overal purpose.”
The fight for the 8 hour work day did not start in America and goes much further back than 1886.
Did I say it was? That’s the one event I know from history book and without using google. Anyway, is that your input? What prevented you to share details about other protests?
I think it's hugely unfair for you to be told to finish at a certain time and NOT align your shifts, only to be unfairly spoken to in such a way. Her comments are hugely unfair, unprofessional and unwarranted. Ask her for transparency and respect as a minimum for a professional working relationship.
Why is she such a bad planner? Could those meetings have been scheduled during “normal” working hours? Is that a boomer thing?
Generally it is to accommodate multiple time zones. The real question for a lot of this is do we even need the meeting?
From my reading of the OP the meetings were during "normal" work hours but not during OP's preferred work hours. Like maybe a 4-5pm meeting when OP prefers to work 7-4. Meetings are not scheduled around one trainee attendee's personal calendar. It's not always easy to find a slot that works for everyone on the invite list.
She's a millennial lol
Generations aren't real. Everyone is the same, the only differences between generations are superficial ones like fashion and pop culture
So your supervisor needs to ASK you go stay late. You are not a mind reader. How passive/aggressive is that BS. If your boss winner tell you when to stay late, you should start asking daily.
Stereotypes are de facto generalizations and don't apply to everyone. Gen Z is statistically entitled and self-centered. Your generation seems to expect to be paid for not doing much. I've had more people in Gen Z that have been disappointing performers than anyone else when lumped together by age cohort. Chances are good that you are a problem.
Lol no. Gen z are the hardest workers. I know more gen z workers than you do.
There is no “above and beyond.” There is only taking advantage of inexperienced and desperate workers. Hi. I’m a millennial. This “above and beyond” thing is something I actively discourage the gen-Z folks from doing. Going above and beyond means working beyond your rate. You were hired to do XYZ for B amount of hours each day in exchange for CDEFG salary. To expect more than that is ridiculous. To weaponize it against you is predatory. Next time this comes up, say, “for this 1:1, I’d like to discuss my performance for the role I’ve been hired to fill, during the hours I’ve been assigned. I mean no disrespect and actually respect you greatly as a mentor and as my boss. Just, based off of our last conversation, it sounded like I was being docked on my performance for things that fell outside of my responsibility.” Work life balance is incredibly important. It helps to prevent burn out, which can ruin a person’s life for a little while when it hits. Shame on your manager for encouraging you to engage in unhealthy work habits.
Manager expected the trainee to work overtime for free. That's what happened. And manager couldn't tell her to do that, because a trainee has to be paid overtime after 40 hours. So, yes, manager expected her to read her mind, work for free, and break the rules.
No. There are plenty of good works and bad workers in every generation. The older ones just always say "I've done my time" to which I respond "okay then retire already"
Honestly Gen z here too and my work hours are 9-5. Like we lived through a whole pandemic where we learned to value our time and not live to work, but work to live. If you didn’t learn you are disposable to a company then, idk what to tell you. Literally don’t understand older generations who are like so uptight, if you didn’t finish a task I don’t think it was life threatening important like it is working in the medical field, save it for the next working day. That’s my two cents and i know older generations do not agree at all.
I agree Gen Z is hopefully changing the work force for the better, work should not be the center of your life.