August 21, 2023
East Coast Edition — from Starboard Cove, Maine — where the mesmerizing tide ebbs and flows twice each day. Good morning! Saw this bit of etiquette advice recently, no kidding: “Do not bring a cheap wine as a host(ess) gift. “Really? We need to have that spelled out for us? Faithful reader Christopher is 54 today! Since we are coming to you from as far east as it’s possible to come — in the United States, that is — we are providing you with the treat of a summary of a piece that appeared in The Washington Post a few days ago. (Jeff Bezos’s paper, if you’ve forgotten.)We are planning to provide snippets and editorialized comments for this and the next three (3) editions. Disagree if you must, but think first. For starters, we are hesitant to fall prey to generalizations, but we plead guilty and putter on. There are 8,000,000,000 humans on this planet and each one deserves an unique analysis, but alas, we don’t have time nor the data.
For a culture to survive and thrive it must have collective memories, sustained traditions, and shared experiences.
- What the so-called Generation Z wants in the workplace: (Peterson, 2023)
- “Ayobami Balogun, age 23, thought she would work at Microsoft for the rest of her life.
- As an immigrant from Nigeria and the oldest of five children, she had chosen a career in software engineering because it would provide financial stability and manageable hours.
- Growing up, Balogun had watched her parents work multiple jobs as home aides for people living with special needs
- while she helped take care of her siblings.
- After several internships while she was a student at Ohio State, Balogun accepted a full-time job in 2020.
- Everything seemed to be falling into place — until March, when she lost her job in a company-wide layoff.
- Balogun was not too worried.
- Along with her severance from Microsoft, she already had two side hustles: an Airbnb business and an events company called BeBs that she operated with her best friend.
- Being laid off also gave her the chance to think about what she really wants in her career, the first time she had time to do so.
- ‘I don’t want to be the only Black person or the only woman on my team,’ she said, explaining that she is looking more intently at a company’s values,
- particularly when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion during her job search.
- ‘I feel like that’s scary.’
- Balogun’s resilient self-confidence and determination are common traits for Generation Z — often defined as people born between ~1997 and ~2012 —
- who have begun entering the workforce.
- They are more diverse, tolerant, educated, and socially committed than past generations,
- yet they also report higher levels of stress, mental illness, and poverty.
- And, as one of the largest generations (they make up one-fourth — 25% — of the United States population)
- they have tremendous potential to transform not just the job hunt process, but also the industries they’re entering.
- ‘I would like to be able to afford some things, but I don’t want to be attached to the material grind,’ said Griffon Hooper, a University of San Diego graduate
- who is working at a dive shop while applying for jobs in his chosen field, nautical archaeology.
- ‘I’m not interested in sacrificing 30 years of my life for a handshake and a golden watch… and I don’t think a lot of people are anymore.'” (Peterson, 2023)
(To be continued next week….)
For more on this topic, check out this quick primer from our friends at McKinsey: Generation Z in the Work Place
Bell in a Tree
By Michael A. Mullin
Listen to the lonely bell,
its chromatic chords whimsically
composed by wisps of wind,
mournful cries for those who died.
A random unpredictable carillon
stilled late at night when breezes rest.
Three forever notes in
a never-ending symphony,
a melancholy melody.
©2017 Michael A. Mullin
