At a retail business based in New York, managers were distressed to encounter young employees who wanted paid time off when coping with anxiety or period cramps. At a supplement company, a Gen Z worker questioned why she would be expected to clock in for a standard eight-hour day when she might get through her to-do list by the afternoon. At a biotech venture, entry-level staff members delegated tasks to the founder. And spanning sectors and start-ups, the youngest members of the work force have demanded what they see as a long overdue shift away from corporate neutrality toward a more open expression of values, whether through executives displaying their pronouns on Slack or putting out statements in support of the protests for Black Lives Matter.
That's so interesting because you are basically describing my boss. He hasn't gotten to that last part yet. Mid-30s, very smart. He turned our entire department around because all of the previous managers either retired or died. He's been promoted several times, genuinely cares about all of us and many of the changes he made were just a matter of stopping the "well, we just do x because we've always done that."
But, yeah, I genuinely worry he's going to burn out. He has a lot on his plate and I he's the only good manager I've ever had. I think he would probably enjoy a more technical role as well.
The people who should be managers care too much and burn themselves out or get taken advantage of, and the people who shouldn't strive on the stress and power.
It's a catch 22 where you can't have a good manager because good managers end up leaving and stop being managers.