Why Do Young People Not Have To Work

I own a business and have a hard time keeping employees. They work 1-3 days until they get paid and quit. It isn't me. An employee from the temp agency said he has never worked for anyone like me in his life. I buy lunch and supply Gatoraid for everyone. I think parents give too much. I have a cousin who live with his parents. He is 38 years old and does not work. He hasn't had a job in 4 years maybe more. It is the parent's fault. If they didn't allow it then it wouldn't happen. My child will not be driving to school. If I allow them to have a cell phone that dials more than 4 people, he will be paying for it himself. I was thinking the other day that all kids should have to work at McDonald's to build some character. If that isn't incentive to get an education I don't know what is. LOL

I cannot understand parents. When I was young, it was very hard to find work because there were so many of us. And I was discouraged from getting a job ==my father wanted all my money, so I waited until I had left home and then went the walk the pavements, took business classes, worked, got laid off, and continued looking for jobs, up until I married. My father had taken the money my mother saved for university, so I only got grade twelve. When I married, and had children, my sons worked at the work experience in high school, worked at a restuurant doing dishes, and later preparing meals until they graduated, and went to university, yet they still worked at the same restaurant until they got jobs in their chosen fields as interns. We did not have to pay for their University, they did it all themselves. One of them owns a house, the other is married, has a baby, and is already saving for his house. And we never gave them anything. Kids nowadays are spoiled.

Well I have to say that is bad I guess these Kids get everything from their Parents so why bother working I am lucky as both my Children are workers

Hi. I think I can just clear this a bit. You have made some really fine observations, but the point is that the young ones are not getting the kind of work they desire to do. How much do you think a person satnding at the bill counters will get? Talking about the gadgets, in your times the individaul worlds were not so big in terms of square meter so we don't have any other way to keep connected.

Great topic for discussion and sharing. If you are middle-aged or older, and have worked the last 20 or more years, you would have noticed the change in the young generation when it relates to working. People's attitude to working, work ethic, desire for quick money and propensity to spend have changed in this information age. This seems to be a worldwide phenomenon. Below are some of my opinions with regards to the younger generation: First let me say that this Y generation is blessed with many opportunities, made possible by the information age, advancements in technology including the internet explosion, better education prospects and more opportunities for travel for work or leisure. The generations before them never had it so good. Many people in this generation experience a better life than their parents. Their parents and fore-fathers had to struggle for a living, and went through hard times. Young people on the other hand are on the receiving end of their parents' labour. Majority don't have to work hard for it; they only have to ask for something, and often it will be given. Some parents may have spoilt their children by doing so, because it is not easy for children to appreciate the value of money, thrift and the requirement of hard work to earn something when things are given on a silver platter. Many need not have to encounter the hardships of life right from young. They know that even if they don't work for a period or work less, there will still be food on the table. Their parents will help them out financially. Their drive to work and make a living has somewhat eroded. They don't have to strive that hard anymore to get on in life. With life's comforts provided, people tend to get spoilt. They will pick and choose, go for the more cushy jobs, work less if they can, don't want tough jobs with shift work and long hours, or involves much physical work for little pay. More young people can afford to think this way, because they either have the education, mobility or the means to make better forms of living. Some people have learnt to leverage on technology to move ahead in life, because now we are in an age where opportunities brought on by technology are available. They have harnessed new ways and opportunities to earn on the internet, eg. setting up an ebay business, or doing affiliate marketing. These virtual businesses can bring them great rewards doing easy work from the comfort of their homes, without the need to struggle through a physical demanding job. If they have such abilities to earn money easily, who wants to do shift work at department stores or grocery shops? Because of affluence, wealth, abundance, the easy life the young experience, these have also shaped their attitudes to work. Some just live by the days and weeks, rather than think of their careers and doing the necessary to build them up. 'Easy come, easy go' may be the motto they live by. This also affect their work ethics, and pride and loyalty in their work. I know many young people also don't think long term about savings for their later years. They spend like there's no tomorrow, because there are so many wants to be satisfied. They want to enjoy what they earn NOW and not when they can truly afford it in the future after saving some money first. So if they do not earn enough to satisfy their desires, they will be prepared to find another job. As a result, people don't stay in jobs long enough, or are not very keen to do those jobs which don't pay them well and put more money in their pockets to spend. The current Y generation is quite a different one because of all the above influences. I feel this situation will only get worse with each new generation coming on-stream, because we cannot stop affluence, progress, technology further evolving and societies in the world becoming more open and inter-connected.

You have made some good points. I look at our young people today and it seems that many have the opinion that they are owed everything that they want without earning it. I think that many parents are responsible for helping to encourage this attitude. I know so many parents who do not make their kids accountable. It's pretty sad to me, but that's just my thinking.

I have a friend that is 35 years old and still living with his mom. He works but only one day a week and only a few hours. I do think parents are spoiling their children more these days and younger people are becoming more lazy. They also seem to be very picky about what types of jobs they want. I think the attitudes of younger people have changed compared to many years ago.

I have no idea what you're talking about. I started working at age 12, doing under the table stuff in the neighborhood, since I legally couldn't get a job at that age. Started a real job outside of school at 15 and have been working ever since. Not only that, but I don't have the OPTION of being a stay home mom. I HAVE to work to be able to pay our mortgage and AFFORD to have a baby - food, clothes, all that junk. I HAVE to be a wife, mother, and career person all together. And I am so sorry, but MY mother had the option, and took it, to stay home. Not only that, but my husband and I live on a farm. We both work full time and we raise chicken, sheep and lots of veggies. You better believe my kids will be helping out on the farm with age appropriate chores. I don't know what "kids" you are watching. But my neighbors kids... their 16 year old has a job AND does volunteer work. Their 14 year old raises sheep and goats. And their 8 year old mows the lawn, and helps feed and exercise the horses! So I'm sorry, but where I live, kids work hard, don't need designer clothes and have character and integrity.

Your right...My Dad started working when he was 14 washing rigs for the company his Dad (my Grandfather) worked for. When he turned 18 he went to work for the same company and worked there for some 30 years. Hubby started working at 16 and worked up till 5 years ago when he became disabled due to his bones deteriorating. Nowadays your lucky if you can get a kid of any age to even clean their room. AT PEACE WITHIN

I really don't think it has anything to do with the way kids are brought up only now...so much depends on how children were raised period no matter from what time. To give you an excellent example I don't have to look any further than my mother and how she was raised..a spoiled prima Donna princess. You have to realize my mother lived her young years during the Depression and war years, but she never knew lack, want, need or hardship...she grew up with maids and housekeepers and everything was literally handed to her on a silver platter. Oh, yes she did work after she left high school but she never ever had learned any responsibility at all and palmed it off on others--Now when I was only five my mother, grandmother and I moved from my great-grandmother's house (my folks had been divorced) --this was back in 1961 --well from that year up until 1986 my mother never paid rent, utilities,nothing..she was too busy being very extragant with herself and trying to impress people by buying expensive gifts for everyone...Me? She hardly got me zilch...also, I was a latch key kid, on my own most of my young years and it was I who very quickly learned responsibilities--it was almost as if I were the parent and she were the child, and I'm just betting her mother (my grandmother) wasn't exactly a disciplinarian so my mother got away with an awful lot of crap--so here you figure from 1961 to 1986 my mother never paid any rent or anything...that was when she was from about age 29 to 54--and never took on such responsibilities as helping out financially with major bills except for her to pay her high credit card bills and even then she was always borrowing money from people--even me! I almost didn't graduate college since she had borrowed so much of the money I had set aside for my college needs that I had earned working...I had to dash out and get a student loan to finish college!! I think the real low down was that my mother never wanted to work at all--just like many of the kids today,since they too like my mother want everything handed to them on silver platters without really "earning" it. Maybe if kids today did work and earn their money, then they'd all get a better sense of what it means to buy whatever it is they want with their own money and more important how hard it can be to get those things

I hear what you are saying! I am only 38, but I started working when I was 13 years old and bought my own clothes and my first car. I see so many young children today that are getting everything paid for by mommy and daddy and they feel no need to help themselves and find a job. I work part time in a Subway shop and we have some new teens working there, if you call it working. They come in and do absolutley nothing, and say they just wanted to get a job to get out of the house for a while. My son is only 12, but he has been making his own money for mowing lawns, until he broke his arm. I want to instill in him that he needs to work to earn his own money and be able to support himself once he is out on his own. I do give him money for things he wants or buy him things, but for the most part, any extras that he wants he buys with his own money. But, my friends have teenagers that are old enough to work, but they don't and when they ask for money or cell phones or whatever, they are just handing it out and later on they will wonder why their children can't get out on their own and support themselves.

this depends from place to place i guess. a lot of young teens work here, i still work part time jobs. parents here mostly provide food and some extra money for some social coffees :D. for example i am in college now. i get around 50 $ a week for life here. with this money i buy food, everything for college coffees (coffee is around 1,20 $ :((((), clothes, pay some bills. for everything else (if i want to go somewhere, go out to drink or whatever) i have to earn it by student work. my boyfriend is from a rich family and his parents would and give him everything but he is still working wants to work and doesn't like too take money from them. I think i get a lot of money from my parents and they could give me less and i would still survive. of course there are some "kids" who do not appreciate this and are all dolce gabbana and high society and cry it their parents did not buy them a new car for new year. but they are a minority.

Ah ~~ That 's really worth discussing . I think parents should help us to let us be more independent instead of buying everything wanted by us. what they should do is not giving material, they should teach the way of earning and how to make a living by their own hands!

i think sometimes parents do spoil their kids too much. You are right about kids having all the newest shoes, clothes, video games, and technology. I know half of them don't work. I know lots of parents who work extra hard just to make sure their kids have the name brand stuff and I'm wondering why they don't send their kids out to work either. Doesn't make sense to have to work so hard when your child could be working.

I work very hard, but I bet my neighbours all think I don't work. I live in an apartment building, and they see me around at all hours of the day. I am working though, it's just that I run my own little business and go to people's houses at different times of the day. My husband right now is not working, as he is finishing up school and the place where he works is on strike. So it kind of looks like we're lazy. :( I do know what you mean about there being a lot of jobs and young people won't take them, instead preferring to live off of their parents. But I don't really think there is an easy solution. I'd rather work hard than have my parents pay my way, and so would most of my friends.

I suppose these parents will think they can buy their kids a job when they are older. Or perhaps the parents think they will support their children throughout their adulthood as well as their childhood. I've found that the school kids that have a weekend or after school job are the ones with the great work ethic and do well at school and go on to achieve great things as adults....good jobs, nice home and family etc. What scares me the most is that the teenagers of today will be running the world when I'm elderly...may our gods and goddesses help us then.

Well, I can sort of understand. my son worked at a Dunkin Donuts, he would start many morning at 4:30 or 5 AM. I would drive him, and then we would sit and wait for the manager to come in, he was later. Then to add insult to injury, my son did not get paid for being there when he was scheduled because he could nto punch in, then he had to work twice as hard to make up for the guy being late. Schedules were not posted for the kids to work until sometimes 24 hours before, after about a year, they had my son basically acting as an assistant manager - yet he did not get a raise, he also did electrical work for them - they were too cheap to hire an electrician. He was a good worked and when he finally got a car, he had to work entirely to pay for his car insurance at the wages he got. I think these low paying, minimum wages job are a double edged sword. The kids work hard, lose out on time for school and just being a kid and still can't pay for what they need, so they don't bother.

Here's why, Uncle sam gets a large chunk of your pay before you even get your hands on it.This discourage people from earning more.the more you earned the more you're taxed. The trick is to go on business for your delf . Be your own boss, this way you get to spend your earnings first and whatever is left is tax, compared this to when you're just employed, they withhold taxes from your pay.Meaning they tax you off the top. Its like this , you work and earn, then your earnings are tax, then whatever is left is your take home pay.In business, you make money, then you spend the money, then whatever is left is tax.Yu see the difference.This is the reason why people are discourage to get a job,Uncle Sam will give them food stamps anyway.

Employers want more and more flexibility, while giving you long term job security. With what Warmart pays you are not going far. Minimum wages are too low. If I can earn more on the internet than by sitting behind a till why should I join the league of exploited people?

I think it is up to the young people also. I do think that now adays young people get more and are more spoilt by their parents. I have worked since I was 15 and do work at home now too. But I do see it around me, children who are only 9 or 10 years old already have cellphones and such