20 something kids

[skippyelwell]

Yea I don't know about that, I must have grown up in a different Canada than you

You must have.

 

[Proxule]

Would you fire him.

Wouldn't of hired him....

 

[Doggggboy]

Fire his ass. Money is too easy to come these days, not many of us remember what it feels like to be hungry, in this country no one under the age of 50 has ever felt it.

A little time in the hoods of most cities or the local food bank may change your mind.

 

[Tom O]

Tell him to pick a nice corner

 

[Sqought]

As a (sometimes useless) 29 year old, I'll say that it's rough out there in a variety of ways:

- The entry level job market is tough, and a lot of entry level positions are being removed through automation, process-optimization or are taken by recent immigrants. It doesn't help that the hiring process is increasingly impersonal.

- Internet companies employ hundreds of PhD psychologists, purely focused on making it engaging / addictive, and they're good at their jobs. Like any addiction, the younger they hook you, the harder it is to avoid.

- Depression correlates strongly with productivity loss (including similar feelings like anxiety, hopelessness and desperation) and these feelings are endemic to us young-uns.

With that said, It sounds like he doesn't know how do do something he's never done, and he can tell you expect him to just know. I get pissed off/disinterested when that happens to me. I'd try to be cordial and teach him, but also remind him that you can get the job done on your own if he doesn't want to be there.

 

[whydontu]

Aristotle:
“This younger generation are all lazy and useless. Why, they don’t even know all the names of the gods and can’t identify the four humours.”

Old folks complaining about how little young folks know is probably older than the use of fire.

 

[gerritv]

Delegating is difficult, and takes effort. Ask him if he wants to learn how to do stuff you need him to do. If he wants to learn then invest some time.
And make some rules, e.g. phone in a locker except during breaks and lunch time. I even do that to myself if I find myself drifting into endless phone-checking.

 

[Chicken lights]

With that said, It sounds like he doesn't know how do do something he's never done, and he can tell you expect him to just know. I get pissed off/disinterested when that happens to me. I'd try to be cordial and teach him, but also remind him that you can get the job done on your own if he doesn't want to be there.

That goes both ways though, I get frustrated with people who don't know how to use basic tools. If it's a specific task, sure, that's worth explaining how it needs to get done, or what the end result should be. I do my best to stay patient, like someone asked me how to use a cordless drill. This guy was in university to be an accountant. I showed him how, obviously, but I kinda feel I shouldn't have to

I get that there may be some chance of not wanting to wreck something. I showed a guy how to start an Echo leaf blower. The next day he asked how to start an Echo hedge trimmer. There's gotta be a point you try on your own

The worst one I've heard was foreman said to the new guy to grab a shovel. Kid says "sure! what's a shovel?" Foreman showed him one. 10 minutes later he's in the trench looking at the shovel. Foreman had to show him how to use one. But apparently a few months in he was a good worker, he just needed a mentor

And another thing I've run into is the old guys won't teach the new guys because they don't stick around long enough to bother. If I know you're just there for the summer, too, not much point showing you beyond the basics

 

[Susquatch]

not many of us remember what it feels like to be hungry, in this country no one under the age of 50 has ever felt it.

My oldest son is well over 50. I recall my wife and I going without so he could eat. But the great depression from 1929 to 39 was much much worse. I didn't see those years myself, but I am old enough to have lived with the generational memory of it.

We had a German saying on my home farm which roughly translated to: Hard bread is not hard - no bread is hard.

Nothing went to waste back then. Recycling and reuse were a way of life. Not because it was the environmental thing to do, but instead because they had to.

 

[David]

My oldest son is well over 50. I recall my wife and I going without so he could eat. But the great depression from 1929 to 39 was much much worse. I didn't see those years myself, but I am old enough to have lived with the generational memory of it.

We had a German saying on my home farm which roughly translated to: Hard bread is not hard - no bread is hard.

Nothing went to waste back then. Recycling and reuse were a way of life. Not because it was the environmental thing to do, but instead because they had to.

My parents were children of the Depression. So I lived first hand the lessons they learned. Nothing was wasted. And yes, I often was hungry, not because we didn't have food but because eating till satisfied was never an option.

 

[Sqought]

That goes both ways though, I get frustrated with people who don't know how to use basic tools. If it's a specific task, sure, that's worth explaining how it needs to get done, or what the end result should be. I do my best to stay patient, like someone asked me how to use a cordless drill. This guy was in university to be an accountant. I showed him how, obviously, but I kinda feel I shouldn't have to

That's fair but your "basic tools" might not be so straightforward to someone else. That guy would probably feel the same way teaching my mom about spreadsheets. My wife needs to teach me every time how to make her a coffee (I don't drink them, or make them very often).

This past weekend, I was rolling on a layer of primer on my new house and after 3 minutes of decent instruction from my dad, I was significantly faster/better/more confident. I've also broken stuff because I thought I should just try on my own.

Teaching is a good way to make a connection, and if that doesn't work you can politely show them the door.

 

[Chicken lights]

Teaching is a good way to make a connection, and if that doesn't work you can politely show them the door.

Unfortunately, unless you're the owner, it doesn't work that way. You're stuck working with whoever the boss can find fills a pair or workboots and can pass a drug test (how, they don't care). Fortunately the day drinker alcoholics seem to have petered out.

Then your moments of teaching generally surround before they make a mistake, during or after. Try to keep them alive until quitting time, don't work right next to them and at the same time watch them out of the corner of your eye

The day drunks were usually cheerful

 

[skippyelwell]

A little time in the hoods of most cities or the local food bank may change your mind.

That's where I'm from, born and raised in Vancouver's East End and I can assure you there was no such thing as food bank at the time, ... unless you count the five finger discount from Woodwards grocery section.

 

[whydontu]

That's where I'm from, born and raised in Vancouver's East End and I can assure you there was no such thing as food bank at the time, ... unless you count the five finger discount from Woodwards grocery section.

Even on $1.49 Tuesday?

 

[Tom O]

Even on $1.49 Tuesday?

is that the one just down from the 5&dime?

 

[Martin w]

I can feel your pain.
I usually let my son take care of the newbies. He does a great job mentoring them. If I don't by the end of the week I've tried to strangle them, and they are afraid to come back. Lol
I don't have the patience I used to have.

 

[Bandit]

In other times, things were not wasted as very few had lots of anything, it was about, eating, keeping warm/dry, a few cloths, trying to pay taxes. The better off people had shoes/boots. And sometimes farming was not great either, the king/government/etc. demanded tithing?/tax/service, no matter good crop or bad. Food was generally local, limited, seasonal, and slight variety. This was even before wars/upheavals took their toll on food, people, livestock, materials, etc. And there were lots of wars, etc.
It has been said that if you made 14 years old, you had survived starvation, disease, but a war would often end that, if lucky?,you might live to be 40. You were considered to be an adult, and expected to work as one. Often at what your father had done, unless you could apprentice under someone, if your family could afford to buy in. Apprentices were generally not paid, sometimes even had to supply their own food and lodging, often treated very poorly, etc.
Girls/women, often did not survive first child birth, and the above.
Sadly we expect younger people to know how to do things with their hands and minds, but their parents did not show them anything, or make/need/require them to do anything and grandparents were the same, and possibly before.( trying to give a better life to them, bull sh@#$t).
This is not true of all, some rise above, regardless, for good and or bad. Others need some help to get started and become unstoppable, some, sadly, are “barely cannon fodder”, ( not sure what before there were cannons).
A rant, yes, but what would have happened to any of us, with a small change in our past years?
Sorry to carry on, I am not patient with many younger than me, often forgetting that I also can not do everything, have no idea how to do many things and age is starting to play into life too.
I am stopping now. LOL.

 

[slow-poke]

The no basic skills part I understand, it's the laziness that gets me.

My son who is now an architect and definitely has a strong artistic bent, so was not interested when I was building engines, or fixing something at home. Then in grade 12 he applied to Architecture at Waterloo. They only take about 65 kids so you need to have your act together to get in. His marks were stupendous and he was doing a lot of extracurricular activities; provincial ranked swimming, life guarding, teaching swimming, UN stuff, etc etc. however when he visited the open house for Architecture they had on display all the projects that the previous year kids had done and are required to submit and talk about during their all day tour and lengthy entrance interview. My son realized he would not get in based on how good the projects that were on display and the fact that he had nothing built from scratch (requirement for the entrance interview) they interview about four people for every spot, so 3/4 get rejected at that stage. Next thing I see him in my workshop building a little ancient style boat he dreamed up from scratch. He is using the drill press, power saw etc. Motivated yes, lazy not!

 

[skippyelwell]

I had a an employee a few yrs back, young guy, smart, good worker.
He quit at the end of his first week, I asked why, he said. "Between welfare and selling drugs I can make in 2 hrs what I just made for the whole week, I owe it to myself"
I just stood and stared, blinked, finally I said, good luck man.
He might be smarter than me.

 

[Ironman]

Fire his ass. Money is too easy to come these days, not many of us remember what it feels like to be hungry, in this country no one under the age of 50 has ever felt it.

When you eat alfalfa shoots in spring because the Super-Valu hasn't thrown out any usable food, and your mother tells you it's good stuff...then you know.