September 4, 2023
East Coast Edition — from Starboard Cove, Maine — where the mesmerizing tide ebbs and flows twice each day. Good morning! It’s the Feast of Labour in the United States — and also in Canada — and perhaps elsewhere around the world. Where would we be without those who willingly — and often unwillingly — load the pig iron, butcher the hogs, and keep the sewers working?! It’s now possible to screw-up putting on your socks. There are left foot socks and right foot socks — not to mention, among the more stylish, socks needn’t match. You will see the moose 
when it wants to be seen. 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 — purportedly soon to be the first trillionaire from The United States.) We are continuing from the last two weeks with this special feature, providing snippets and editorialized comments for this and next week’s edition as well. Disagree if you must, but think first. For starters, we are hesitant to fall prey to generalizations, but we plead guilty to the sociological pressure and putter on. There are 8,000,000,000 humans on the 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)
- (Continued from last week…)
- “Jenny Fernandez, a professor at Columbia Business School and an executive coach who frequently works with Generation Z leaders,
- described the generation as both realistic and idealistic.
- ‘They’re not willing to compromise when it comes to compensation, they want to be paid,’ she said.
- ‘At the same time, they have options, and they know they have options.’
- Despite the severe loss of jobs during the COVIDs, Generation Z actually has more opportunities than any group of recent graduates going back to before the Great Recession (2008).
- Companies are often competing for them, instead of the other way around, and that, combined with the exigencies of the time they were born into, lends a certain empowerment.
- As Biuanca Alvarado, a 23-year-old junior publicist at a marketing firm in Los Angeles, who spent months looking for a job after graduation, said,
- ‘People my age don’t take any bulls***. We’re doing our best to rise above all the mistakes of past generations and fix things more urgently.’
- During the job application process, Generation Z has the digital tools to research companies on a level previous generations couldn’t.
- Alvarado recalled watching a TikTok video on job interviews that instructed her to always have a question ready.
- Once hired, they are activists.
- A majority of them view capitalism in a negative light, but they’re actively working to improve the system.
- More pro-labour than past generations, Generation Zers are leading union drives (note Amazon and Starbucks – YT) and making
- education TikToks about unfair labour practices.
- They are also focused on more collective and holistic notions of stability.
- (How can our jobs and careers help build long-term security for our communities, the world around us, and our lives outside the workplace?)
- Several people interviewed for this story emphasized the importance of working for companies invested in environmental sustainability —
- in other words, contributing to planetary stability.
- ‘I’m not going to work for a company that might be harming the climate in a very obvious way,’ said Balogun,
- echoing the sixty-seven percent (67%) of Generation Zers who believe the climate should be a top priority. (Pew Research Center, 2021)
- Forbright Bank in Chevy Chase, MD has a stated mission to “accelerate the transition to a sustainable and clean energy economy”,
- — and a slew of employee incentives for climate-friendly choices like riding a bike to work, using public transit, and using solar electricity at home —
- and would appear to be the kind of workplace that would draw Generation Z talent — and that does seem to be the case.
- Out of 180 new employees, the bank hired last year, 40 were Generation Z…
- ‘The Generation Zers really get excited about the possibility of working for a company that aligns with their values,’ Killen said.
- Generation Z also reports new interest in jobs that contribute to one’s personal stability, both mental and physical.
- Emma Choi, age 23, who lost her podcast hosting job in the recent layoffs at National Public Radio,
- only to be rehired several months later as a producer for the show, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!,
- had always wanted to be an English teacher until continuous school shootings dissuaded her.
- ‘There’s already so many factors to put into what you want to do and where you want to work —
- and now you have to factor in your personal safety, too,’ she said.” (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
The Ocean is a Poem
August 29, 2021
By Michael A. Mullin
The ocean is a poem, she said
Not like a poem, is a poem
Really?
What do you mean?
Enchanting
Interesting
Mood altering
Layers and layers of richness
Teeming with metaphors
Carries you on its waves
Food for the soul, for sustenance
Lovers, warriors, sailors, thinkers, writers, poets
A medium for reflection, introspection
Stormy
Unsettling
Ever changing
Romantic – moved by the moon
Salty
Sensuous
Sometimes erotic
Gripping
Patient
Siren sounds beckon, haunt
Art not needing canvas
Endless horizon
Everlasting.
©2021 Michael A. Mullin
