Comments on: The greasy pole

By: All you ever wanted to ask abou Generation Y attitudes but were… « Fredzimny’s CCCCC Blog

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:43:59 +0000

[...] The greasy pole (accmanpro.com) [...]

By: Krupo

Krupo — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:26:59 +0000

Finally finished getting around to reading the article – I'll compliment it on having a bit of novel insight: "with Reed in part blaming this ‘have it all’ approach on the fact they are the first generation to come into work saddled with heavy student debt." Right on – I always thought it peculiar that one generation got to go to work with little/no debt, current generation, hammered, and that this would end up with some resentment.

Three things that popped into mind before even reading their full article though:
First, accmanpro.com is one of two places where I hear people bemoaning the fact that there's too many people slogging through the job without learning the meaning of what they're doing. The other place is my office. The people saying this are the partners and senior managers who are teaching me things – and who worry about people who don't take the time to do this.

So in other words, I'm incredibly grateful for the first rate education I'm getting as I do my job.

Second, it's not the first time I've responded to an article like this: http://www.krupo.ca/archive/2008/11/01/idiot-mana…

Finally, I know I'm going to have trouble taking an article on generational conflict seriously when they don't know that GenX *is* part of the baby boom generation. It's the tail end that screwed by the initial bulge. Fortunately that didn't really impact the article, but not knowing the terms you're using is still a good way to hammer at your credibility in ways you don't want to.

By: Brendan Brady

Brendan Brady — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:59:59 +0000

I agree with what Ray Jone said about loyalty being a two way street. However, be that as it may, I work in a small practice in Dublin and we've recently recruited 3 new grads. My observation is that Gen Y in our office just don't seem to know better. They became adults in a time of unprecedented economic prosperity and all they know is that things are just supposed to be handed to them.

By: Lynn M

Lynn M — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:38:42 +0000

This doesn't surprise me because I've seen it in action. But you have to wonder if that kind of attitude will turn around considering the recession and how competitive things will be for recent graduates and even those who are newly employed. Those who lose their jobs aren't going to be able to act entitled when they finally land a new one. I think these types of attitudes are just signs of the times and everything balances out. New grads had it easy for a while there, but the world has changed.

By: Tax Research UK » My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 9th through March 11th

Tax Research UK » My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 9th through March 11th — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:06:32 +0000

[...] The greasy pole | AccMan – The problems of Generation Y auditors [...]

By: Tax Research UK » My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 9th through March 11th

Tax Research UK » My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 9th through March 11th — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:06:32 +0000

[...] The greasy pole | AccMan – The problems of Generation Y auditors [...]

By: My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 9th through March 10th | called2account

My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 9th through March 10th | called2account — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:10:29 +0000

[...] The greasy pole | AccMan – The problems of Generation Y auditors [...]

By: Tax Research UK » My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 9th through March 10th

Tax Research UK » My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 9th through March 10th — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:57:31 +0000

[...] The greasy pole | AccMan – The problems of Generation Y auditors [...]

By: Ray Jones

Ray Jones — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:55:06 +0000

Loyalty is a two-way street. When companies routinely close factories in the US because they can make more money elsewhere, or fail to train people here because they can hire cheaper labor from overseas, it's readily apparent to employees that they are expendable contractors, not valued long-term employees. I don't see this as an excuse for doing poor work or refusing to do 'menial' jobs, but I also wouldn't expect to see a lot of loyalty from employees to companies who aren't extending any.

By: Emily Coltman

Emily Coltman — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:44:59 +0000

I'm not sure if I'm Generation Y. At 31 I suspect I'm a bit too old

But I certainly don't agree with anyone, of whatever age and whatever rank in the organisation, thinking they're too grand to do filing and photocopying. Especially people who are new to an organisation. Filing's often a great way to learn your way round how an office handles things.

And when I was working in a practice, the senior partner used to take his turn to make cups of tea and do the washing up.

Until we convinced him to buy a dishwasher