What’s Old is New Again

I’m Andy Temte and welcome to the Saturday Morning Muse! Start to your weekend with me by exploring topics that span leadership, business management, education, and other musings designed to support your journey of personal and professional continuous improvement. Today is August 24, 2024.

In one of my other personas, I’m the lead singer in The Remainders. We started as a classic rock cover band back in 2004, but since leaving Kaplan in 2022, I’ve been focusing my efforts on writing original music with our son and my esteemed business partner, Nick Temte. I’m proud to report that we have an album coming out this fall, and yes, we’ll be pressing vinyl! What’s old is new again - boy I wish I’d have kept some of my records from my youth…

Today, I’m going to focus on the current lamentations surrounding generational differences regarding our relationship with work. For the sake of clarity, I’m a late baby boomer, born in 1963.

Do a quick internet search of the phrases “nobody wants to work anymore,” or “is Gen Z lazy?” and you’ll find a plethora of articles and hot takes that propagate—with very little evidence—stereotypes about the current generation.

In the spirit of busting this myth, I’ll point you to a wonderful thread by Paul Fairie on X from July of 2023 which shows newspaper clippings dating back to 1912—yes, you heard that right, 1912—that show business leaders, journalists, and other pundits complaining that “nobody wants to work anymore.”

I’d like to add to the evidence that the current assessment of Gen Z’s work ethic is unfair at best and that the current level of intergenerational angst is a retread of very old tropes, memes, and stereotypes. Here’s where my experience as an old classic rocker comes in.

One of my favorite bands is Styx and our band does a great rendition of A.D. 1928 and Rockin’ the Paradise from their 1981 album, Paradise Theatre. Let’s read the lyric lines:

Whatcha doin' tonight? (Whatcha doin', whatcha doin')

Have you heard that the world's gone crazy?

Young Americans listen when I say

There's people puttin' us down

I know they're sayin' that we've gone lazy

To tell you the truth we've all seen better days

Don't need no fast buck lame duck profits for fun

Quick trick plans, take the money and run

We need long term, slow burn, getting it done

And some straight talking, hard working son of a gun

So whatcha doin' tonight (whatcha doin', whatcha doin')

I got faith in our generation

Let's stick together and futurize our attitudes

I ain't lookin' to fight

But I know with determination

We can challenge the schemers who cheat all the rules

Come on take pride, be wise, spottin' the fools

Big shots, crackpots bending the rules

A fair shot here for me and for you

Knowing that we can't lose

So as a reminder, these lyrics were written in 1981—43 years ago. The parallels to the present day are uncanny. The point of today’s muse is to ask that we all think twice before throwing stones at the members of other generations. Stereotypes must be used with extreme caution, and no, you didn’t work harder, you don’t necessarily “know better,” and many things weren’t “better” in the old days. Things were certainly different. The tools we used to communicate were different as were many social/societal/business norms. Is today perfect? No. If you take off the rose-colored, glamor-shot glasses that bias your recollection of a bygone era, you’ll find that the past had its warts and challenges. Many warts and challenges.

My advice is instead of looking down your nose and denigrating members of the generations that follow you, lend a hand. Use your gifts to mentor, lift up, and inspire those who are less experienced than you are. Also, remember that attempting to impose your historical frame of reference onto individuals who did not witness your lived experiences is a fool’s errand.

Yes, the memes and tropes can be fun to throw around and may make you feel better in the moment, but all they really do is drive unnecessary wedges between the generations. Let’s seek to understand and actively listen to the needs of those around us and be mindful of unnecessary, unhelpful intergenerational comparisons. We’ll all be better off for it.

Grace. Dignity. Compassion. | Teach, Coach, Mentor, Inspire

Andy

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Paradise Theatre, Rockin’ the Paradise, and A.D. 1928 are all copyrights of A&M Records. A.D. 1928 was written by Dennis DeYoung. Rockin’ the Paradise was written by Dennis DeYoung, James Young, and Tommy Shaw. Lyrics are a copyright of Wixen Music Publishing.