'I can't keep it to myself anymore': 35-year-old millennial engineer claims that older employees are making their work "impossible"

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  • Engineers scoffing at their colleagues.
  • I can't keep it to myself anymore... older generations simply cannot keep up with today's work expectations

    I'm an engineer who works on a large team at a multi-billion dollar company, but I've also led teams at other companies, and I once ran my own successful small business.
  • I'm 35 and whenever I get to work with other peers or even people much younger than me, we always seem to align and be on the same team.
  • We accomplish tasks quickly. It's only when older folks get involved that things drastically slow down.
  • This means communication comes to a screeching halt. When I'm just working with peers who are similar in age, we are talking to each other like human beings and making our needs and expectations known.
  • But then someone over the age of 50 comes in and they start talking to us like a robot with vague instructions and no clear solution.
  • When I work with peers I feel like nothing is impossible. When I work with someone older it seems like things are ONLY IMPOSSIBLE.
  • I really don't want to put down anyone else because of their age... we'll all be over 50 someday too and the corporate world doesn't define anyone's value.
  • But I'm sorry, I can't keep this clear and obviously distinction to myself.
  • Old worker and middle-age worker unite on construction site to work together.
  • People shared their own experiences, which were very intriguing as well

    Select Pilot4197 I'm the youngest person in my corporate office and I what I see is that it's not so much know how but "I don't do that" that really slows the rest of us down. We transitioned to a new HRIS system 2.5 years ago and it's really an all in one. I'm still arguing with some of our older members about them doing things on paper
  • and then making paper files and uploading to the system. We just don't do that anymore. No paper.
  • This worker found that their coworkers are too stuck in their ways

    SavingsEconomy I work at a water treatment plant and it's the same for mechanical/blue collar work. The older guys love cutting corners or doing things inefficiently because "that's how I've always done it". Well you've been doing like then. I'll ask them about something and they'll give a super vague advice that isn't accurate or helpful.
  • I keep trying to write SOPs to improve the process and they claim they're too complicated or wordy. They just want everything to be one page with giant font and a few bullets, when that's just not the way the world works anymore. I get told all the time to stop inspecting things/trying to improve the plant because "if you keep looking for problems you're gonna keep finding them".
  • They'd rather just rot on their phones watching Al generated YouTube shorts than actually work and make things work better. The f it mentality is wild especially for those that are still 5-10 years off from retirement.
  • External_Week_3... I'm in marketing. The biggest issue I'm having right now is how older generations are using Al. You'd think it would be a young person's crutch: nope. These Gen X and Boomers are singing Al praises while they submit sloppy prompts and sh out Al slop. I've had to explain to people multiple times that Al
  • makes things up when it doesn't have enough information and that you do, in fact, still need to proofread. I've had older colleagues tell me not to hire designers and just "get Al to do it" when we literally work in the arts and part of our job is promoting why human arts are relevant, important, and worth supporting.
  • woojo1984 My oldest employees are lifers at my company and are my most challenging to align. My dudes... The company wants to do this. We are here to implement.
  • Good point!

    sh... Working in entertainment, the people over 50 are often some of the most skilled people on the job and usually the least likely to be staring at their phones instead of working.

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