What is up with younger people not wanting to work?

Inflation was high in the late 70’s and early 80’s but people weren’t allowed to live at home forever. Young people realized that you had to work and save for nice things. Now kids expect to have everything that it took their parents years to obtain.

What’s changed is expectations. My parents generation had it harder than we did and their parents had it worse. The younger generation is a bunch of cry babies!
 

Teacher Terry said:
Inflation was high in the late 70’s and early 80’s but people weren’t allowed to live at home forever. Young people realized that you had to work and save for nice things. Now kids expect to have everything that it took their parents years to obtain.

What’s changed is expectations. My parents generation had it harder than we did and their parents had it worse. The younger generation is a bunch of cry babies!
Click to expand...
Abssolutely.
 
Pepper said:
The rents are too damn high. If the rent were doable, more young people would leave their parents' home earlier, and get a job to support their apartments and an independent way of life. I couldn't wait to have my own home, and when I was young it was not only possible, but easy. The rents are too damn high, it's enslaving our young people as well as their parents.
Click to expand...
Also, extremely few employers are giving full-time hours. My granddaughter can't get over 30hrs/wk and her boyfriend works only 15hrs/wk, and this is not by choice. They are constantly asking for more hours, but employers have to give "extra" benefits to employees who work over 30hrs/wk, and in some industries it's 20hrs.

My granddaughter has so many room-mates, the house they're renting looks like a group home for kids who aged-out of the foster-care system or something.
 

Last edited:
Murrmurr said:
Also, extremely few employers are giving full-time positions. My granddaughter can't get over 30hrs/wk and her boyfriend works only 15hrs/wk, and this is not by choice. They are constantly asking for more hours, but employers have to give "extra" benefits to employees who work over 30hrs/wk, and in some industries it's 20hrs.

My granddaughter has so many room-mates, the house they're renting looks like a group home for kids who aged-out of the foster-care system or something.
Click to expand...
I don't know how it is in your area, but here, many employers have cut benefits over the last 15 to 20 years. So now that many of us have retired, they have a hard time replacing us. Benefits were a big draw to get and keep employees. There are a lot of good jobs available too, but most that apply can't pass a drug test. There are also many young ones that were not brought up with a work ethic like we were.
We had it tough starting out too, with high interest rates and high fuel prices. Some things have changed though. Now cell phones and computers are a must.
If the young ones keep trying and never give up, and a little bit of luck, they will have a good retirement too.
 
HoneyNut said:
I think if you search historical newspapers you will find that every younger generation has been unwilling to work as hard as their elders. Funny how that is.
Click to expand...
Oh I strongly disagree with that. When I was younger, parents forced you to get a job to help them out. When I was still in school, it had to be a part time job. After I graduated, it was a full time job. It's the current generation who are lazy and spoiled. Don't get me wrong, I have seen some very good younger employees in the nursing homes where I have worked since the 90's. But by the same token, I've seen some very lazy goof offs also. Some have no skills, but they expect a good job with good pay.
 
stretch5881 said:
I don't know how it is in your area, but here, many employers have cut benefits over the last 15 to 20 years. So now that many of us have retired, they have a hard time replacing us. Benefits were a big draw to get and keep employees. There are a lot of good jobs available too, but most that apply can't pass a drug test. There are also many young ones that were not brought up with a work ethic like we were.
We had it tough starting out too, with high interest rates and high fuel prices. Some things have changed though. Now cell phones and computers are a must.
If the young ones keep trying and never give up, and a little bit of luck, they will have a good retirement too.
Click to expand...
It takes a lot more than a little luck these days. After all, employers have millions of unemployed candidates to choose from.
 
Lara said:
Why work a 9-5, job hold up in a office cubby, for insufficient pay for a boss who tells you what to do when you can be be your own boss being an online "influencer", or create viral videos, or work at home selling for Amazon, or building up followers on Instagram etc, for 6 figures?!! And takes much less time per day, make your own hours, and then go out and play in the fresh air with all your friends and get whatever exercise you want to do whenever and however long??
Click to expand...
Sounds like you know some people personally, making good money that way.
 
I never figured it out while my parents were alive, and I forgot to ask and now they're gone. But when I was 12 or so, I wanted a particular style of cardigan that was popular with boys at school. My folks wouldn't buy it, either because they didn't like the style or because they couldn't afford more kid clothes at the time. So I got summer jobs on orchards.

After that, I became a yard boy (retired people's yards). A couple years later, window washing for retail stores. It gradually became a habit. Maybe my folks had a strategy to get me started?
 
oldaunt said:
It has always taken more than a little luck. You have always had to put in the actual work as well. May don't think that's "fair" now.
Click to expand...
I don't deny some young people are lazy and have been over-indulged by their parents, but consider that rent is sky-high, a decent used car costs upwards from 7 grand, and you can't even buy a sturdy couch for under $800, which for a lot of kids is an entire month's pay.

Most young working adults have to have room-mates in order to keep a roof over their heads, and getting ahead seems like a blatant lie. There's no motivation there if it all seems futile.

It's tragic that high-schools (and parents, for that matter) still push college on every student who manages a 2.7 or better grade-point average when dozens of trades apprenticeship and skills-training programs have openings.
And well over 300,000 skills and trade jobs are available today, right now.
 
Murrmurr said:
It's tragic that high-schools (and parents, for that matter) still push college on every student who manages a 2.7 or better grade-point average when dozens of trades apprenticeship and skills-training programs have openings.
And well over 300,000 skills and trade jobs are available today, right now.
Click to expand...
Schools should be promoting the trades & skills over college. There will always be a need for heating/air, electrical, plumbers & construction which are taking care of basic needs to live. Our local JVS has classes for high school kids in these along other trades. They also have evening classes for adults.
 
My husband worked at least 2 jobs,if not 3 when we were married.
His father 'made 'him help on the farm which taught him how to work.

Our sons got to help their grandfather on the farm when they were old enough.

Our oldest son was interviewing graduates last year for jobs.
He kept getting this answer,,"Why should I work 8 hours at $16., per hour when I can work at McDonalds for 4 hours @ the same wage?"
They didn't care that they were learning a skill that would make more money.
 
I don't know what young people you know but the ones I know are eager to be and remain employed. I told one of my grandsons that he could teach a course on how to find jobs. When he gets laid off from one, he quickly finds another. My granddaughter is a full time college student and working damned near full time while maintaining a 4.0 GPA (she's upset because it dropped from 4.67). My youngest grandson who will be 19 soon got a job at AMC theaters. They messed up his pay so bad, then finally paid him what they owed. He cuts hair on the side and got a job in November as a TA in the school his mother works at. It's a commute for them but he's happy to be making money.

My honorary granddaughter wanted to work so bad that she was taking Ubers to the only work she could get at the time, in fast food restaurants. The Ubers probably ate up a good chunk of her pay but she lives where there is basically no public transportation. She has her masters and finally got a decent job in the school system as a teacher. She still has to Uber it though.
 
Last edited:
I think the next generation just want it all...today....without putting in the man-hours.

Quick story-

I was in-between jobs in my early 30's...my girlfriend was working a low-paying job at a call center. I took a very lousy job driving and collecting donations for the local Fire department. It paid barely enough to cover my gas.

However. NOW I had the 'I worked for the Fire Fighters" on my resume. I parlayed that into a great job at a Shipping Company...with the big money I was making, I put my girlfriend through College. She got her degree...landed a great career job in the Federal Government. Together, we made some pretty good coin.

My point? Rome wasn't built in a day. We both worked our way up from the bottom rung...worked hard...and eventually found our way...home/ family...and set down roots of our own.
 
I read in the newspaper a week or two ago, that
a young man, here in England, was invited to a
meeting in an office, to see if he was suitable for
a job that he had applied for, he said, "go to an
office for an interview, I'm not doing that I will
do it on Zoom", I doubt that he will ever find a
job with that attitude.

Mike.
 
I've been misunderstood in this thread by some members. This is why I mostly post pictures in SF. I don't have to explain myself :giggle:

The title of the thread asks "what's up with younger people not wanting to work". Of course there are many youngsters working hard in fast foods, grocery stores etc, but they aren't making enough to live on. There's a labor shortage because the pay is not sustainable for these young people.

Instead, I'm being supportive of the young people who aren't seen working but ARE working. They are working online for less hours and for more a lot more money as influencers and amateur viral video series, selling for Amazon, and holding online seminars and classes on how to make money online.

No, I don't know any personally...but I've seen them online and ads for training people on how to make easy quick money online.
 
When I read of younger people criticizing the American way of capitalism and standard work culture I hear about three/four things:
1. I want a paycheck that will afford me a middle class life. That means I want to be able to buy a home and start a family by the time I'm 30, not 40. (The average age of home ownership in many parts of the U.S. has increased to about age 40.)
2. I want work that adds meaning to my life.
3. I want the whole American capitalist system to be MORE FAIR. That means they are sick and tired of profits always flowing to the top alone,. They are sick of the billionaires who lean hard on politicians and "bribe" them with donations to create public policy that only or mostly benefits billionaires and corporations.
4. They are also clued-in to our for-profit health care system and they are not fans of that either.

These young people, they are not stupid. They know very well how the system works and they do not like it. Now, how do we persuade them to leave their phones and computer screens and show up to VOTE? I met a young man once, a few years ago, not a recent immigrant, native English speaker, I'm pretty sure he was at least a high school grad because he had a decent job, and I happened to bring up how it was Voting Day and this man didn't even know that its only one day. Yes, there are early voting options in some counties in our state, so maybe that made him confused, but it was the Official Tuesday to complete your vote and he thought he still had a few days.

Can't blame the press for that. They had been blabbing about voting in the news for weeks because it was a Presidential year. But dang, even after a media barrage of information for weeks and this young guy still didn't know. Facepalm.
 
JBR said:
I never figured it out while my parents were alive, and I forgot to ask and now they're gone. But when I was 12 or so, I wanted a particular style of cardigan that was popular with boys at school. My folks wouldn't buy it, either because they didn't like the style or because they couldn't afford more kid clothes at the time. So I got summer jobs on orchards.

After that, I became a yard boy (retired people's yards). A couple years later, window washing for retail stores. It gradually became a habit. Maybe my folks had a strategy to get me started?
Click to expand...
That in my opinion, was their way of showing you how to "grow up " and take responsibility for yourself. I call it "learning how to be an adult ". JimB.
 
Most of us here are of an age where we learned,
that if we didn't work, then we wouldn't have much,
as nobody would buy stuff for you.

I heard last year that youngsters here don't want to
get out of bed for less than £50.000 per annum, I
never earned money near that until I was in my 40s.

Mike.
 
During my high school and college years, full and part-time work for kids abounded. A gradual transition from childhood to the working world. Employees at McDonald's, small stores, privately owned restaurants, etc., were nearly all kids aged 16+, because we'd work for minimum wage or close to it. Only managers made more.

Owners/mangers knew employing kids involved working around schedules plus a bit of "parenting." (Kids who were chronically late or lazy were warned, ultimately fired if they didn't straighten up, and eventually learned to be good employees.)

Go to those kinds of places now and look around. Employees are primarily middle-aged adults trying to support their families. Meantime, HS kids need to pad their college applications with extra curricular school clubs and sports, hundreds of community service hours, and take weeks of PSAT and SAT prep classes.

The rules of the game have changed and opportunities to learn the rules of the working world with few long-term consequences for missteps are over.

Just remember, WWII generation folks complained loudly about Boomers, believing we'd all be on welfare one day.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top