Constantly in my office computer tasks are pawned off by the leadership team to the lowest paid young guys. Apparently “not growing up with technology” is a valid excuse to be wholly incompetent at your job.
Just today (my day off) I was asked by the administrative assistant to remove the password from a protected PDF. This type of work isn’t my job, I am hired to do construction labor.
I kindly sent her a link to a tutorial on how to remove a password from a document. Minutes later she calls me insisting that I take the password off and calling me insubordinate. Handling PDFs / administration is not in my job description. I still haven’t done it.
It shouldn’t take 5 emails to take a password off of a PDF. There are super computers capable of this task in front of you and in your pocket, but you used these devices to annoy me and take time out of my day instead.
I’m tired of hearing excuses as to why the older generation is technologically impotent. If you can’t remove the password from a PDF file, maybe you should flip burgers instead of being an administrative assistant.
The fact that some people have sat behind a computer working for longer than I have been alive and still don’t know anything insists that their whole career relies on embellishment and manipulation. The excuses “You grew up with technology” and “My brain just doesn’t work like that” are meaningless to me. Professionals in all industries are expected to be constantly sharpening and expanding their skills. Computers have been around for multiple decades at this point. It is no longer novel “newfangled” technology. Tech literacy is the bare minimum expectation for employment at this point in history.
I’m tired of trying not to hurt the feelings of the older generation. Many of them should not be employed and do not possess the skills to work in the modern age. Many of them are just taking up space waiting to retire, vehemently rejecting learning any new skills, pawning their work onto others waiting for that check. The worst part is that there is someone who can actually do their job efficiently and they’re stuck somewhere else. Back in the day working a job you weren’t qualified for / didn’t need was called scabbing, and it was frowned upon by everyone.
The fact that the average construction worker has to do your job for you is genuinely sad. It must be terrifying living in a world you watched change, rejecting to learn or adapt and then finding yourself confused and frightened by things that are monotonous to others. Every day you are taunted by the technological wonders of human advancement, yet they will remain just inches out of reach due to your own laziness. The same people you tore down in front of the whole company for not having a degree are the ones saving your ass. I can’t think of anything more humiliating.
I hope anyone reading this Take some time out of their day to practice/learn something that they’re passionate about. Thanks for letting me vent.