Things I find a tad exasperating v.3

[Metro]

Working on a project today using a YouTube tutorial, and every 10 minutes or so I get the same damn unskippable Jack Daniels ad with a horrible cover of Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation.

[pg1067]

I bought a new pair of jeans online a while back.  They sat around in the package for a while before I opened them a couple weeks ago.  They're not 501s (or Levi's at all), but they're button-fly.  I'm sure the description on the listing clearly said this, so it's on me for not noticing, but seriously?  Why would anyone make button fly jeans for guys anymore?  They're silly inconvenient.

[JayOctavarium]

Decided to put a mobile order in for Dunkin while on the way to work this morning. Medium ice coffee and 3 orders of the 3 piece donut holes (9 total because I'm a fatty). I run in to grab my order and there's only 3 in the bag. I very politely mention it to the chick behind the counter and she got super annoyed. Treated me as if I was going Karen on her over it.

All I said was "oh, this is supposed to be 9 total. 3x 3pc"

Small mistake. I get it. Not a big deal. But to act like I went off on her is a bit much.

[Cool Chris]

I bought a new pair of jeans online a while back.  They sat around in the package for a while before I opened them a couple weeks ago.  They're not 501s (or Levi's at all), but they're button-fly.  I'm sure the description on the listing clearly said this, so it's on me for not noticing, but seriously?  Why would anyone make button fly jeans for guys anymore?  They're silly inconvenient.

Can't find a clip but from Seinfeld: "I like the button fly. That is one place on my wardrobe I do not need sharp interlocking metal teeth."

[HOF]

Not really exasperated by this because it wasn't anyone's fault really, more just an odd experience that happened to me today.

Went to pick up some things from the grocery store (Kroger, not some mom and pop chain) to get through the weekend. I knew that there was weather coming through, but didn't think it was anything serious. Anyway, I kind of dragged my feet getting there, and just as I'm about to head home I hear rain on the roof and realize I missed my window to get out before the rain. So I start kind of slowly walking through the store since I didn't want to leave right then with it pouring down rain. A few minutes later, the power goes out, then quickly comes back on. "Man, I guess I better get home" I think, and then a few seconds later, out they go again. Pitch black because I'm in the back of the store away from any windows. I hear someone talking about the generator, and I figure the lights will come back any minute once that kicks in. I basically stayed right where I was, since I had my phone for light and that was about it. Try to text my wife that the power is out, and I have zero service. Try to call, same deal. Turns out we had gotten slammed by a major thunderstorm and half the town is out of power. Eventually someone tells me they are trying to get all the customers to the front of the store. People are just milling about, it's very quite because I guess we're all antisocial and on our phones. Lots of people are kind of near the checkout, and I decide I might as well get in line and hope for the best.

Time goes by and nobody from the store is saying anything. No generator is coming on, and I finally overhear a manager on the phone saying he's got no power and the generator is out too. Rather than make any sort of announcement, they just keep saying people can leave if they want, or they can wait. So I waited maybe 45 minutes to an hour, because I've got a cart full of stuff and don't want to have to come back later. As time goes on I notice that most people had left (it was dark and not easy to see - I found it odd that there were no emergency lights of any sort). Finally I go over to the deli area where there are some seats to get off my feet, and the deli staff are all like "yeah, this isn't getting fixed today." So I finally decided to leave, sans groceries.

Stuff happens, and as it turns out this was the worst thing that happened to me because of the storm. There were trees down all over my neighborhood, but our house was relatively unscathed, so I really have nothing to complain about. Still, it seemed like there was no real protocol at the store in terms of telling customers what to do or expect, or how long things might take. Just seemed oddly handled.

[TAC]

The emergency lights would be tied to the generator so if the generator is out, then so are the em lights.

[HOF]

The emergency lights would be tied to the generator so if the generator is out, then so are the em lights.

Makes sense, I just thought there could have been some sort of battery operated lighting that would kick in to keep it from being pitch dark. The staff didn’t even seem to have flashlights to use. Just kind of seemed totally unprepared for something like this (and the deli lady I talked to said it’s not the first time she’s been through it at the store).

[orcus116]

At the local grocery store near me there's a decent salad bar that makes for a cheapish lunch so I go to it quite frequently. Today I, along with several other customers, experienced something that has become more common at this place: someone with absolutely no salad bar/buffet/etc. etiquette.

This one woman who was clearly on her own planet was very slowly shuffling down the bar filling not one but two giant salads, stopping frequently to make a decision what to add and picking through some of the trays. It probably took her about 5 minutes to go down a barely 20' long salad bar and in that time we backed up behind her about 10 deep. I think a few people were thinking of going around her but she had her cart in front of her and was taking up a lot of room. Total obliviousness drives me up the wall and I see it more than ever in grocery stores but I was almost impressed by how much this woman seemingly did not give a shit how much she was backing everything up.

[Jamesman42]

We have lawn service (and had it at our old house). Both here and the old place, without fail, they come up to my child's window during their nap every week that they come. They don't come near in the morning or toward the end.

[TAC]

So I am interested in work culture and workers in general.
I saw this article tonight:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/gen-z-and-millennial-workers-feel-confused-irritated-and-left-out-by-endless-workplace-jargon-in-the-office-linkedin-research-shows/ar-AA1cu3tT?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=fc66b39d06324d23927d484a68d11935&ei=9

WTF?? Why is this a problem? Every employee has to learn the culture or God forbid...jargon. What a load of shit. If you apply yourself to your job, it'll start to make sense. This is what happens when you join a company. Sounds like they don't want to put in the work.  More victimhood. Or at least that's my old man view on it.

[KevShmev]

We had a co-worker years ago who went crying to the boss (in tears, literally) because someone used the expression "we don't want to get caught napping" in an email to her, and she thought they were implying she was going to literally fall asleep on the job.  You can't make this stuff up. 

[jingle.boy]

Oh ffs. Like Gen Z and millennials don’t have 5s or own secret language and jargon that confuses the fuck out of us fogeys.

Oi vey!!

[wolfking]

Seems like the young ones make literally anything a problem these days.

[King Postwhore]

A simple thing that can be done that nobody does anymore is, scroll on by. Social media has allowed people to act out what they don't like.

Just scroll on by.  It makes life so much better.

[Lonk]

Oh ffs. Like Gen Z and millennials don’t have 5s or own secret language and jargon that confuses the fuck out of us fogeys.

Oi vey!!

This is the first thing I thought of.

I never had any issues with work language or phrases, it was one of those things that I already knew, and if it was something I didn't know, it wasn't hard to figure out or ask for clarification. I'm in the millennial group (right in the middle), but have always been referred to as an old soul, so maybe I'm just different

[lordxizor]

So I am interested in work culture and workers in general.
I saw this article tonight:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/gen-z-and-millennial-workers-feel-confused-irritated-and-left-out-by-endless-workplace-jargon-in-the-office-linkedin-research-shows/ar-AA1cu3tT?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=fc66b39d06324d23927d484a68d11935&ei=9

WTF?? Why is this a problem? Every employee has to learn the culture or God forbid...jargon. What a load of shit. If you apply yourself to your job, it'll start to make sense. This is what happens when you join a company. Sounds like they don't want to put in the work.  More victimhood. Or at least that's my old man view on it.

Saw this too. Just learn the jargon and don't feel ashamed to ask if you don't understand what something means. We all learned it at some point. Problem solved.

[Adami]

Not just my job, but my entire field is FILLED with acronyms. Tons. I suck at them. I know a few but can't remember 80% of them at least.

So, I ask. If someone uses whatever, I just ask what they mean. Someone tells me. I say oh okay cool, thanks. Then it's done.

[Stadler]

Sorry, I have ZERO sympathy for this line of reasoning.  Yet another example of the mass insecurity ("I feel left out!!") that is crippling our society.   When I went to GE - around 1998 - I went from a small(er) family run environmental construction company to what was at the time one of the largest conglomerates in the world.  I was over my head, over-whelmed, and, yes, probably a little scared.  It was MY RESPONSIBILITY to sink or swim.  I went - on my time - and learned the lingo (there were "acronym guides" that were 15 or 20 pages long) and figured it out.   Found someone I could trust and asked questions.  In my ten or so years at GE I was rated an A player every year but one (no small feat).

This, my friends, is called "initiative".  Is that part of the jargon they don't know? 

(And I'm sorry, but I don't buy into the whining to LinkedIn, either.  If you have a beef with your company, or see an avenue for improvement, why not elevate it?  Call HR; you can do that anonymously in most companies; tell them that the communication is a barrier to success.  FIX IT.  Again, initiative, instead of whining to social media as if that's the magic answer.)

[Lonk]

Speaking of ridiculous stories...

https://metro.co.uk/2023/06/13/man-fakes-death-and-turns-up-at-funeral-in-helicopter-to-prank-family-18946416/

[cramx3]

My first job out of college at a big bank and it felt like every 4 words when talking to anyone about work was an acronym that I didn't know. It was very intimidating coming right of college and was not expecting the business to use sooooo many acrynoms like that.  So I complained to my boss.... jk I sucked it up and learned what I could and continued to do my best and ask questions when I needed to know.   It's called learning and adapting.  And fun part, once you understand it, you also realize why people use them because it's ridiculous to spell it all out constantly! The bad part though, you change jobs and it's a whole new set of acronyms to learn, but such is life.  At least I was expecting it at my next job at that point and it was no longer intimidating or shocking.

[hefdaddy42]

So I am interested in work culture and workers in general.
I saw this article tonight:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/gen-z-and-millennial-workers-feel-confused-irritated-and-left-out-by-endless-workplace-jargon-in-the-office-linkedin-research-shows/ar-AA1cu3tT?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=fc66b39d06324d23927d484a68d11935&ei=9

WTF?? Why is this a problem? Every employee has to learn the culture or God forbid...jargon. What a load of shit. If you apply yourself to your job, it'll start to make sense. This is what happens when you join a company. Sounds like they don't want to put in the work.  More victimhood. Or at least that's my old man view on it.

The weird thing is that most of those examples in the article, I wouldn't even characterize as "workplace jargon."  Those are just phrases in the English language.

Level up, motherfuckers.  Read a book or something.

[Chino]

The last line of that article makes a good point: 

"Managers at Deloitte and PWC told the Financial Times in May that pandemic graduates who studied virtually were struggling with teamwork, communication, and collaboration and needed extra training as a result." 

I've been in the corporate game for over a decade now and I didn't know half of the phrases that article chose to highlight. Kids fresh out of college have got to be all kinds of behind initially.



Also, what was the point of that article? It bitched about young kids a bit, saying that they come into the workplace behind and feeling overwhelmed, and that was it. Nothing about the youngins not adapting and getting fired for it. Nothing about young kids not wanting to put in the work and quitting instead. Nothing about managers complaining that they can't find anyone with initiative. Acronyms weren't even mentioned and somehow became a focal point here. Basically that whole article could have been summed up with three sentences - "New entrants into the work place find themselves behind when it comes to corporate phrases and jargon they've never heard. They sometimes get confused and have to put on a front while they navigate their new terrain. They sometimes feel as though they're at a disadvantage when compared to their coworkers.". That was it. This author went out of their way to write an unnecessarily long and repeating piece, about nothing, for the sole purpose of attracting boomers ( ) to the comment sections to voice their complaints about the next generation. That's what I think anyway. 



"Over half of young professionals have looked up a word in a meeting to understand the conversation whilst 83% have used a word they didn't really understand in a professional situation to keep up appearances.

That sounds really close to to Marc's

"I sucked it up and learned what I could and continued to do my best and ask questions when I needed to know.   It's called learning and adapting."

and Bill's

"I was over my head, over-whelmed, and, yes, probably a little scared.  It was MY RESPONSIBILITY to sink or swim.  I went - on my time - and learned the lingo (there were "acronym guides" that were 15 or 20 pages long) and figured it out."

[Stadler]

Well, Brian, as one of those "boomers" who commented, a couple things:
- I mentioned acronyms, only because that was my experience; that was the jargon I had to learn.  The first time I heard Ebitda said out loud I didn't know it WAS an acronym, and I figured it out;
- I guess I'm guilty of assuming here; I wouldn't know what the point of an article like that would be if it WASN'T complaining or making excuses.   I mean, maybe THAT'S the old man complaint I should be making, but I wouldn't give a second thought to writing on LinkedIn how confused I was; I would take that time to NOT BE CONFUSED.

I am more lenient to the generational "these kids" arguments than most are, I think.  I had a dad that was very old school, but very technically savvy. So I kind of saw first hand how someone transitions from slide rules - yes, literal slide rules - to hand held calculators to computers.   And I saw the limits of what he could grasp.  He got all that, but for some reason, the internet tripped him up.  It's a fundamentally different way of thinking at that point.   I'm seeing this now with me and my kid.  I had calculators, then computers, now the virtual world.  My kid knows calculators - but not as cutting edge technology, but rather like you would look at a ruler or a compass.   A basic, limited tool. But her world is computers and virtual processing.  I'm sort of at the edge of things I comprehend.  Block chain... I think I get it, but it's a whole different way of thinking. 

I think that up until recently, with all the technology we've experienced:  steam engines to air travel to JET air travel to space to computers to cell phones... the constant was interpersonal communication and the ability to interact with each other.  We are - and this isn't "old man", this is objective fact, losing that skill.  I am an attorney; I have clients that I have to interact with.  I have ALWAYS had the job that was not sitting in a chair all day. I would go to the MD's office and discuss.  I'd go to the finance directors office and discuss.  I'd go to the sales teams' office and discuss.  I'd go to the contract managers office and discuss....all using ancillary skills I really picked up and honed in college and in my first couple jobs.   Reading the room, learning how to fill gaps in MY knowledge so that no one else could see they WERE gaps.    Since COVID - since virtual - I can LITERALLY go an entire week without interacting with a single human being in real time that is not my wife or kid.  I HAVE those skills and I can feel them atrophying.  I can't even imagine never having had them and having to figure that shit out. 

[pg1067]

So I am interested in work culture and workers in general.
I saw this article tonight:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/gen-z-and-millennial-workers-feel-confused-irritated-and-left-out-by-endless-workplace-jargon-in-the-office-linkedin-research-shows/ar-AA1cu3tT?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=fc66b39d06324d23927d484a68d11935&ei=9

WTF?? Why is this a problem? Every employee has to learn the culture or God forbid...jargon. What a load of shit. If you apply yourself to your job, it'll start to make sense. This is what happens when you join a company. Sounds like they don't want to put in the work.  More victimhood. Or at least that's my old man view on it.

So..."ducks in a row" and "low hanging fruit" are "workplace jargon"??  The other one I saw in the portion of the article I read was "blue sky thinking," and 55-year old me has no idea what that means.  Would they feel more comfortable if someone said, "you know, I really stan our competitor, so let's ship our company and theirs!" (I HATE that I understand what that means).

You know what the solution is...ASK.  In 1988, while I was in the midst of changing majors a bunch of times, my lawyer sister got me a job as a file clerk with the firm she was leaving.  I had long hair and was working my first ever office job for bosses, some of whom weren't keen on guys with long hair.  I would briefly read some of the papers I was filing, and I started asking questions of the lawyers in the office.  I can vividly recall asking one of the attorneys what a "demurrer" was.  He took 5 minutes to explain it in a way that made sense, and that learning experience had a HUGE role in me eventually deciding to go to law school.  Today, I'm a VP with my company, and one of my jobs is to support the department that generates business.  We have a trainee program and, not surprisingly, it's filled with younger millennials and zoomers (gen Z).  We took a couple of them out for drinks a couple weeks ago.  They weren't afraid to ask questions, and folks on my level are more than happy to help them learn and fit in.  It's just not that hard.

Also, what was the point of that article? It bitched about young kids a bit, saying that they come into the workplace behind and feeling overwhelmed, and that was it. Nothing about the youngins not adapting and getting fired for it. Nothing about young kids not wanting to put in the work and quitting instead. Nothing about managers complaining that they can't find anyone with initiative. Acronyms weren't even mentioned and somehow became a focal point here. Basically that whole article could have been summed up with three sentences - "New entrants into the work place find themselves behind when it comes to corporate phrases and jargon they've never heard. They sometimes get confused and have to put on a front while they navigate their new terrain. They sometimes feel as though they're at a disadvantage when compared to their coworkers.". That was it. This author went out of their way to write an unnecessarily long and repeating piece, about nothing, for the sole purpose of attracting boomers ( ) to the comment sections to voice their complaints about the next generation. That's what I think anyway. 

My rant above notwithstanding, you summed it up perfectly.  Sadly, such is the state of "journalism" in the 2020s.

P.S. to Bill:  we're Gen X, not Boomers.

[Chino]

*snip*

I think that up until recently, with all the technology we've experienced:  steam engines to air travel to JET air travel to space to computers to cell phones... the constant was interpersonal communication and the ability to interact with each other.  We are - and this isn't "old man", this is objective fact, losing that skill.  I am an attorney; I have clients that I have to interact with.  I have ALWAYS had the job that was not sitting in a chair all day. I would go to the MD's office and discuss.  I'd go to the finance directors office and discuss.  I'd go to the sales teams' office and discuss.  I'd go to the contract managers office and discuss....all using ancillary skills I really picked up and honed in college and in my first couple jobs.   Reading the room, learning how to fill gaps in MY knowledge so that no one else could see they WERE gaps.    Since COVID - since virtual - I can LITERALLY go an entire week without interacting with a single human being in real time that is not my wife or kid.  I HAVE those skills and I can feel them atrophying.  I can't even imagine never having had them and having to figure that shit out.

Firstly, I hope you and everyone else here doesn't feel like I was taking a legitimate shot at the boomers. Millennials were called out and I felt the need to defend my tribe 

Your spot fucking on with your last paragraph though, and it's evident everywhere.

I've mentioned here before how I have a job in a kitchen doing catering on Sunday. We have an army of 16-20 year olds that run the counters, registers, etc.... It's so weird interacting with them, and it's not just the generational divide. I get along with older generations just fine, and when I was their age doing what they're doing now, I got along with people my age just fine. I could blend no matter the situation (within reason). These kids today are just... off. They're smart. They can interact with the public for the most part, but there is something definitely off. It's almost like they don't pick up and express emotions in the same way or something. It's like a bunch of Sheldon Coopers running around, but it's more sad and eerie than anything. I also find that a lot of them, at least the ones I work with, struggle to talk about anything beyond a few sentences or two unless it's something they're super passionate about.

[TAC]

This author went out of their way to write an unnecessarily long and repeating piece, about nothing, for the sole purpose of attracting boomers ( ) to the comment sections to voice their complaints about the next generation. That's what I think anyway. 

Well, it worked.

Seriously, work habits and work culture is an interest of mine, so I do click on these types of things. I try and take everything in totality as much as I can. I've literally been working for 40 years. I just find it interesting.

.... but there is something definitely off.

I also believe that each generation says this about the next one.



I'm fascinated by the huge shift in labor.

[Jamesman42]

You know what the solution is...ASK.

I sat here for a good 15 seconds trying to figure out what ASK was an acronym for.

[TAC]

You know what the solution is...ASK.

I sat here for a good 15 seconds trying to figure out what ASK was an acronym for.

Approach Someone (who) Knows

[Stadler]

You know what the solution is...ASK.

I sat here for a good 15 seconds trying to figure out what ASK was an acronym for.

Lazy millennial.   



(I don't actually know how old you are; I can sort of guess from other posts, but... I'm 100% kidding.)

[XJDenton]

The workplace Jargon report the article refers to is here:

https://news.linkedin.com/2023/june/state-of-workplace-jargon-report-2023

Professionals feel jargon is being used too much in the workplace with the youngest generations feeling this way the most. 60% of Gen Z and 65% of millennials want to reduce or eliminate the use of workplace jargon, compared to 50% of Gen X and 23% of baby boomers.

Millennials are the generation using workplace jargon the most, with 25% saying they are so used to jargon at work that they barely realize they are using it.

It should be noted that the oldest members of Gen X are rapidly approaching 60.

[King Postwhore]

The texting generation really.  Everything is shorthand with texting.  BRB.

[pg1067]

I think it's worth keeping in mind what a millennial is.  While the dates aren't set in stone, it's roughly people born between 1981-96.  Elder millennials are in their early 40s, while the younger end of the group is in their late 20s.

It's curious that the same generation who is "using workplace jargon the most," with a solid chunk saying "they barely realize they are using it" is also most vocal about feeling that jargon is overused.

Compared to the MSN article, the LinkedIn summary is pretty neutral.  "Professionals feel jargon is being used too much in the workplace" has been a complaint as long as I've been in the world of a "real" job, and "professionals say[ing] [that] overuse of jargon can complicate communication and sabotage productivity" is unquestionably true.  Again, typical of "journalism" in the 2020s.

[Harmony]

The texting generation really.  Everything is shorthand with texting.  BRB.

OMG - I thought this too until just last week I heard an interview on NPR about Prince.  IIRC, he would've turned 65 last week?

Anyway the commenter was saying everybody thinks texting was the beginning of these acronyms but it was actually Prince who ushered it into the lexicon. 

[Stadler]

I think it's worth keeping in mind what a millennial is.  While the dates aren't set in stone, it's roughly people born between 1981-96.  Elder millennials are in their early 40s, while the younger end of the group is in their late 20s.

It's curious that the same generation who is "using workplace jargon the most," with a solid chunk saying "they barely realize they are using it" is also most vocal about feeling that jargon is overused.

Compared to the MSN article, the LinkedIn summary is pretty neutral.  "Professionals feel jargon is being used too much in the workplace" has been a complaint as long as I've been in the world of a "real" job, and "professionals say[ing] [that] overuse of jargon can complicate communication and sabotage productivity" is unquestionably true.  Again, typical of "journalism" in the 2020s.

Look, I went to business school at the height of the dot.com boom.   I have a Master's degree in "Jargon".   .  But I am absolutely one of those people that shakes their head at the over-use of jargon in the work place.  It's a focus on style over substance, and I'd rather put my efforts into the work at hand.

Having said that, I am not taking a bullet in the effort of being a change agent in that workplace.  The last thing we need is a deep dive into the low hanging fruit of the jihad that is American business environment.    If my boss is calling our work effort a "jihad", well, I'm probably not going to use that phrase, but I'm not pushing back on it either.  If my boss calls for a "deep dive" into the mechanics of the marketing effort, my slides (a jargon in and of itself) is going to be titled "Marketing Effort Deep Dive". 

[Chino]

I always find it interesting how certain words start being used out of nowhere and which ones stick around. I went a good eight years in this company without ever hearing a single person use the word "opine". I had to google it the first time I heard it. I hear it in at least one meeting a day now.