Is Gen Z the most challenging generation to work with? | Hush Podcast 

as a millennial, it's really true what germaine says about how the gen z kids have lesser sense of 'decorum' or 'respect' to their seniors or supervisors. when i was their age i wouldn't dare to banter or crack jokes with my bosses or even more senior colleagues and i felt it was natural to have some kind of 'distance' between us as i was so much more junior. not saying it's a bad thing that gen z are less formal now, it's just quite different and a bit of a culture shock the first time i had to work with gen z colleagues. at the same time i really appreciate how gen zs advocate for their rights and not just unquestioningly accept workplace norms like 9-5 in the office for the sake of it as discussed in the video.

I can't speak for everyone, but here is my 2 cents as a '97 baby, as someone who is personally very introspective. Those of us who are more assertive and set boundaries, are generally seen as more 'challenging' to work with. Sometimes, our feedback, though well intentioned and constructive, are seen as challenging, especially if our boss/manager is rather resistant to change or have a bit of an ego (might be an understatement tbh). I value effective communication (on work outcomes/discussions) and personally am quite blunt where needed to keep things moving. That saves everyone time and pain, too. Of course, I do reserve some emotional sensitivity too, example when giving personal feedback, i will pull the person aside after to do so for example. Luckily, I am glad to have understanding colleagues, though not everyone has the same experience. I think the main motivations for our work philosophy is work-life balance and in some sense, fairness. When I am at work, i give my 100% (context: vs seeing my older colleagues just spend half the working time on their phones/coffee break/smoke break), so I feel I deserve my outside of work hours to live my life and rest. The 9-5 is alright, occasional overtime is alright too, where required. What I (and maybe we) can't stand is, when additions in workload/hours are imposed upon us where unreasonable, power-trippy and 'just cause'. We've seen boomers and some millennials work SOOO much, and then their life is just that, some even pass on early too (grim, yes but true) and all they did was work. From there, we have come to realize what really matters: "our hobbies, family, friends and experiences". We know we need to work, so we do, but don't want it to consume our lives, our work is not our whole identity (though as discussed many people take it to be that way). Regret is a powerful emotion and I think it's great we have the resources nowadays to learn from the mistakes of the prior generations without living through the same experiences. I realised too that not many of my peers think about such things, whether its about work, relationships etc. There is also the curse of comparison, but that is another topic altogether. So if there's a takeaway here, it would be "Have you thought about the life you want to live, truly?" That's what i can think of off the top of my head, but hope it gives some perspective.

as a gen z in the professional industry, i think work-life balance must come with work-life integration (although people often compare these 2 concepts as opposites). this means that one must understand the difference between "work" and "life", and try to allocate activities for both, yet also not derive satisfaction from purely either one and expect there to always be a clear distinction.

Jordan, you are such a cheerful GenZ and a smart one at that. You'll go a long way. Thanks, Hazelle and Germaine, for this insightful podcast. I managed to pick up quite a good bit of Jordan's mindfulness.

As an ex-secondary school teacher, I noticed a major shift in attitude starting from those born in 2001 and beyond. Remembering the shock when that batch entered sec 1, it wasn't just a handful but the entire cohort was super confident, rude, obnoxious and disrespectful. I asked them where did they cultivate that confidence, and also how is it that they had no fear in saying/joking certain things to me(I was a discipline master). So apparently, those born in 2001 was the first batch of kids who were taught the new "curriculum" in Primary school. They were taught, and strongly promoted by Primary school to "speak your mind", "no question is a stupid question", "speak up to anyone", "your teachers are your friends". This was a double edge sword. On one hand, Gen Zs developed self confidence, and can take rubbish comments and bounce back immediately. Which is seriously fantastic. On the flip side, many of them developed a sharp tongue, not realising how rude they are because that's how all their friends speak, and it's alright to talk down and insult others, even towards adults, as a joke. Because all their primary school life, still in the foundational building period, their teachers took in all the bullshit they gave. This gave them a false impression of how every adult in this world is like. No, adults in the real working world do not have the patience of a teacher. I asked those born in 2000, which is just a year earlier, about learning such way of communication in primary school. Everyone of them shook their head, there was no such thing taught to them. 00 batch had the self-awareness of how cheeky and snappy they were, but even they were taken aback by how rude their 01 juniors were. It was an "oh shit" moment for me because I knew that the entire generation is going downhill in terms of having that sense to respect, due to the entitled treatment they've been receiving since young. And no, it isn't their fault, but Gen X and Y's fault 100%. We failed at teaching children at home and school on what respect and discipline truly mean.

Lol, nice advice, I also felt attacked 34:31

THIS IS MY FAVVVVV EPISODE OF YOUR PODCASTT😍 cause im a gen Z hahahahaa

I'm not a gen z but we have to keep our minds open and to rethink, be receptive to new ideas. Learn to think like a gen z at some point. And i agree mostly with him! If i dun get this job, who cares? I will get another. My life is not my work. I'm all out for work life balance!

Have Gen Z thinks that if they only want to work from home , then employers might as well hire overseas due to cost. What’s the difference between managing a person remotely in SG or Elsewhere in Asia ?

It was funny hearing one of my very successful ex-student, a Gen Z, complaining that she had to fire a lot of Gen Zs in her company because of their bad work ethics and attitude. So like with every generation, it's a mix bag of good and bad people. The smart and adaptable ones will thrive. And opportunities are always there for those living in their little bubbles, for when they finally decide to come out of that bubble.

although I do think gen z's slang is a little hard for me to understand, but they are not terrible people to work with. In fact, I think every gen, there will be an older gen people critizing us. Remember gen x calling millienials "the strawberry generations" just 15 to 20 years ago? I think it is because previous generations just cannot and refuse to understand the newer generation, I think it would be great if each gen at least try to understand one another.

Hmmm.. what a generation..

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