Blame it largely on the pandemic, which weakened the hold the workplace held on people’s psyches
By outward appearances, the labor market today looks much as it did before the pandemic. The unemployment rate is just as low, the share of adults in the labor force is just as high, and wages are growing at roughly the same pace after inflation.
But beneath the surface, the nature of labor has changed profoundly. Career and work aren’t nearly as central to the lives of Americans. They want more time for their families and themselves, and more flexibility about when, where and how they work.
The impact of this change can already be seen in both individual companies and the broader economy. It has led to a persistent shortage of workers, especially in jobs that seem less desirable because, for example, they require in-person work or fixed hours. That, in turn, has altered the bargaining position of employers and employees—forcing employers to adapt, not just by paying more but giving priority to quality of life in job offers.
To be sure, some of these changes arise from an exceptionally tight labor market. If unemployment rises, some of employees’ newfound leverage may evaporate.
Examples?
I’m still youngish (29) but there’s been a definite shift in new hires at our tech company. I know “everyone always complains about the young generation” anecdotally so I’ll give some concrete examples (I used to work with the internal reporting people so I’ve seen the data):
-5x+ increase on cheating in onboarding tests (not hr bs but like actual stuff for the job). Everyone’s cheating. And talking to people who were in school in the pandemic with virtual classes, everyone there was cheating too so if you didn’t cheat you were falling behind
-people coming in at 10 and leaving at 2. Our company had been around for 50+ years and has a generally laid back tech vibe where you get your work done and you’re good. It’s never been an issue. So many new hires this past year were doing it that we had to institute a mandatory 9-5 which really pissed off everyone else who was getting shit done
-customer feedback. Objective ratings of the support from newer hires is lower than we’ve ever had for the tenure cohort
Each of these backs up the anecdotal feeling we have that newer hires aren’t as independent or resilient. That being said, this is a generalization and the majority of them are doing good work. Just less than before