I grew up with you, as a fellow baby boomer which means i know what it was like to grow up with the parenting skills of our parents. I would say, if you knew my context, i had a more difficult childhood then most of my peers.
Now, you are parents of children who are in the workforce. I am single but as an employer, i am the party hiring your children [metaphorically speaking].
Your ‘child’ is at our doorsteps ready to conquer the world with their greatly manicured intelligence [from when they were 6months old], strong disposition to ask questions and willingness to challenge established practices. All this, we do sincerely thank you because your child is great for innovation and growth.
Allow me to also share with you the challenges the work place faces because some of you did not do your job in instilling values and left that to the schools to do; the schools could not fulfil that responsibility because of strict laws prohibiting correction [also because of demands from parents].
However, most of you did not think it is important to ensure your child has humility, patience, pursue success that comes from hard work, respect of timeless virtues…. More damaging is that fact that you have over-inflated an unrealistic representation of the real world.
When we were freshies in our days [1980s], our compliant was that the schools never prepared us for our first job. Same complaint today.
The difference is that we knew what it was to learn quietly, gain our standing by toughing it out. Your children cannot handle criticism but are the first to criticise establishment. They crib about negativity yet they are bathed in the air of distrust. They want praises but yet they hardly give to those who guide and mentor them. They demand respect but ask them to show respect for those who had sweated before them, they ask why should they; they want this and that but employers cannot want this and that; they speak vocally and sometimes rather brashly yet they fall apart when the boss loses temper over bad behaviour.
If we honestly examined beyond the surface, we can see there is no level playing field. Today’s young adults grew up with parents [you] who are mostly absent, with guilt, and who tend to over-compensate with material bribes [you might call it something else]. You would praise your children even for nothing. Your children could manipulate you like puppets on a string and worse like a dog on a leash. [I respect those of you who are the exception.] You justify and rationalise and in the end you are the helpless one. You disconnect and focus on your own life instead. You are satisfied that you have created a wealth that can provide for all your children’s future needs, when you are gone.
They are no longer your challenge. They are now, ironically, facing your peers as their supervisors or bosses. The boss may have the same scenarios at home but at work he or she complains about the attitude of the young adults at work. As a non-parent watching behaviours at the home of friends, and those at work, all i can say is that it is somewhat humorous - full of dark humour.
The corporate world that did not use to have discipline issues typically faced by teachers in schools, is today dealing with [more incidences of] staff who do not respect the organisation’s code of conduct principles, who cannot or choose not to submit assignments on time with full completion, and who would not bat an eyelid to say ‘my computer ate my work’. There is a clear impression that a large number of young adults do not think twice about lying, taking information or work done by others without giving due credit to originator…..
The sad reality is that - should you stand on the side of your child ie continue to over-shelter him or her, when they are being corrected in the real world of career struggles, you are actually standing in the way of their future success and even their ability to withstand trials of life.
Already, no one can deny the young in today’s affluent world does not have the resilience / tenacity to face a pro-longed hardship. They tend to blame others or expect others to clean up after their messes .. They are too focused on their ‘rights’.
[as with all general observations there is the bell curve and much of what is shared above is within the bell curve and there are indeed exceptions that do not befit the discussion. We are thankful for the young adults making the difference, being role models to their own peers. Thanks to you, their parents.]
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