Something tonight reminded me of an old Twitter rant (sorry, no citation—I am not logging in) to the effect of “GenX is middle aged now. Your 50-something asshole landlord is Generation X, not a Boomer."
I believe the OP's point was about our stereotypes of generations becoming ossified, but I also recall some people taking it as "It’s not just boomers—all the olds are bad!”
But Millennials aren't magic. In another ten years or so, they will be 50-something asshole landlords, too.
I thought about this point in particular as I was musing about the narratives that drive reporting on business, the job market, the economy, etc.
We’ve seen a spate of flimsy articles about the costs and downsides of remote work the same year that commercial real estate interests have really started to freak out about empty offices.
I doubt this is coincidental, but the whole pattern also has me thinking about another economic narrative push: Millennials and their values around work.
For much of the previous decade, I would periodically see articles touting how Millennials thought differently about work. That they prioritized flexibility, the opportunity to learn, family, values, and meaningful work over salary.
To which I say: bullshit.
I don't doubt a lot of Millennials were saying they valued these things, because everybody values these things. The reason it seemed like Millennials “preferred" them, though, was because it was all they could get.
The modern corporate obsession with data is beyond incorrect, it's obscene.
If I order a pizza, there's no universe where the social contract should include a follow-up email about a survey. IT'S A PIZZA. And moreover, I PAID FOR IT WITH MONEY. You are not entitled to 5 minutes of my time to fill out your fucking survey.
Any marketer or data scientist who tells you that every pizza that gets ordered should also generate a survey request email IS FULL OF SHIT and is ABUSING YOUR CUSTOMERS.
