I completely understand the notion of boomers being the figurehead poor managers and whatnot. However, that is not my entire experience.
I’m a graduate of 2022, and I got a job at a gimmick restaurant in my home state after moving back here. And I wash dishes. It isn’t a glamorous job, and we carry the service of the restaurant on our shoulders with little to no help or thanks (other under appreciated staff like the servers tend to be the most forgiving and helpful of the lot, and there are certain kitchen staff that will stay late and help, but recently it’s been few and far between). In general, we work as hard as we can for hours straight and are more often than not the last lower level staff to leave. All that’s keeping higher ups there is to lock the restaurant down.
A few days ago, though, service was getting to a rough point. So I figured that my coworker and I plowing through dishes and getting them back to the kitchen would be enough. But a recently appointed supervisor, the same year graduated as myself, seemed to believe otherwise. He began pressing us about cleaning up the restaurant’s gimmick; something that I won’t be naming directly here. The thing is, this does not directly affect the night’s service. We have enough of the gimmick item stocked up that what comes back dirty only affects the next night.
So why is he so nervous about us getting it clean? So that HE can go home early.
Prior to his appointment, he didn’t tend to particularly care unless he was required to help us out. He’d happily leave while the rest of the dishwashers had to stay as late as 2 AM (which doesn’t personally affect me as a minor; but I care for the safety and health of my fellow workers.) But now that it does affect him, he cares to a fault.
So, under his supervision, we have no choice but to do the already laborious work of two as well as the work of a third.
Uncaring self-importance is not locked to the older ages. It is part of the problematic hierarchy of our current work climate.