Gen X for the win

I was reading this article the other day about how the boss-men are all irritated with Gen X and Gen Y employees. Basically, we're the worst 2 generations of ungrateful brats that have ever graced the planet. We're lazy, we're disloyal, we feel entitled, we're too informal, we're disrespectful, we dress like slobs and they don't want to hire us. [I'd look the article up and link to it, but yeah, I just can't be bothered to do that.]

Beside the obvious comment that every generation has said this about the generation that comes after them, there is just so much wrong with this. I'm like totally fer sure that all Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers are exactly the same. We all belong to a great hive mind that tells us when, where and how to irritate our higher ups. I don't know about you, but I get that information beamed into my head every night when I'm sleeping.

The way I see it is, I'm not lazy (although I can be). I prefer to work smartly. I'm not going to put in a ton of hours in the office for no compensation. I'm of the work to live camp, and I have a life outside of the office. I'll admit that I'm not particularly loyal to any employer. That's becaue I know they're out to get the maximum amount of work out of me for the least amount of money. And when push comes to shove, they'll can me if it helps the bottom line. Why should I be loyal to a company that isn't going to be loyal to me?

Don't get me started on ties and formal office wear. Wearing 'nice' clothes does not affect my ability to do my job. The only time this comes into play is when one is dealing with clients and the expectation is that you look nice. I'll dress up for that -- but to sit in my office and mess around with HTML? I'm not getting all dressed up. Also, don't expect me to respect you just because you have a great title. I'll respect you when you've proven to me that you're worth being respected. I'll treat you politely, and I expect that you do the same to me .... but I'm not going to lick your boots because you're the Executive Vice-Assmunch of Development and Tossed Salads.

Basically, what it boils down to for me is that some people are really mad that on the whole Gen X and Y have completely rejected the established idea of how the workplace should be. We don't want to put up the crap our parents had to put up with, we've seen that there is a better way to do things. I don't want to spend the best years of my life slaving away for a company and sacrificing things and then when I've retired enjoy myself. I want to be able to enjoy my life now, and I want to be able to enjoy my job. Which means that I'm aware of how much I'm worth, and I'll jump ship the minute any sort of crazy comes down the pike. I'm not a bad worker, or afraid of hard work. There's just a limit to how much I'll actually tolerate.