# Could Today's Young Employee's Handle Employment Years Ago?



## ClassicRockr (Mar 27, 2018)

LIke, before cell phones came to being? At work, a non-office employee had to call on a pay phone in the Break Room or wait until the supervisor or manager left and use the phone in their office to make any personal calls.  If the employee had their own office, they could use their office phone. Companies back in the 80's really frowned on personal calls coming into the company or being made from the company. 

Like, only being able to work from work? Today, a company can set up a person's PC at home, so the employee can work from home sometimes. That was never done way back when. 

Like, no computers? I didn't start using a computer at work until 1989. In fact, when I worked for a division of Bell & Howell (1982 thru 1986) there wasn't any computers at all in the company. We manufactured microfilm computers, but no computers for Inventory, Purchasing, Shipping/Receiving or anything else. Inventory was done on 3 x 5 Index Cards and the Buyer used Buy Cards for Purchasing. Could today's young employee's survive in that type of atmosphere??

REALLY, could today's young employee's handle what we, us Senior's, had to handle back in the 80's and some time beyond?

Do they really know how good they have it???​


----------



## SifuPhil (Mar 27, 2018)

This makes me think about the area I live in. 

We're an old coal-mining town, and I really doubt that I could have made it as a coal-miner. Nasty working conditions, low pay, black lung ... 

Computers have truly made an order of magnitude difference in our lives.


----------



## C'est Moi (Mar 27, 2018)

Yes, of course they could.   We did just fine and today's young people are as capable as we were.


----------



## SifuPhil (Mar 27, 2018)

I think the trick is that if you don't know the tech is available / hasn't been invented yet, you won't miss it.


----------



## C'est Moi (Mar 27, 2018)

When our power goes out in the summertime, I whine and moan about the a/c being off and can't deal with the heat.   My parents had one window unit that was never turned on unless they had "company."   It's all a matter of conditioning, no pun intended.


----------



## SifuPhil (Mar 27, 2018)

C'est Moi said:


> When our power goes out in the summertime, I whine and moan about the a/c being off and can't deal with the heat.   My parents had one window unit that was never turned on unless they had "company."   It's all a matter of conditioning, no pun intended.



Very true.

Keep in mind as well that houses were designed differently back in "the day" - they took advantage of ventilation and breezes.

Now we live in vacuum-sealed coffins and have to depend upon artificial methods. 

Of course, you're in Houston, so you get what you deserve. layful:


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 27, 2018)

C'est Moi said:


> Yes, of course they could.   We did just fine and today's young people are as capable as we were.



I serious doubt they are as "capable as we were" AND, there are those Senior's that truly believe that. 

I do know this, compared to those "good old day's", as some call them, I really wish there were computers back then. Would've made my jobs a whole lot easier. 
In fact, back then, young kids in school had no way to contact their parents, because there were no cell phones then.


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 27, 2018)

SifuPhil said:


> Very true.
> 
> Keep in mind as well that houses were designed differently back in "the day" - they took advantage of ventilation and breezes.
> 
> ...



You implying that Houston gets pretty hot? LOL Try Phoenix or anywhere in Florida during the summer months. You can sweat all day!


----------



## SifuPhil (Mar 27, 2018)

ClassicRockr said:


> You implying that Houston gets pretty hot? LOL Try Phoenix or anywhere in Florida during the summer months. You can sweat all day!



I actually lived in Florida (Melbourne, then Key West) for a time. Maybe it's because I was young and dumb, but the heat never bothered me.

Now the love bugs smooshed all over my windshield, _that_ was a different story.

Never been to Phoenix but heard tell ...


----------



## C'est Moi (Mar 27, 2018)

ClassicRockr said:


> I serious doubt they are as "capable as we were" AND, there are those Senior's that truly believe that.
> 
> I do know this, compared to those "good old day's", as some call them, I really wish there were computers back then. Would've made my jobs a whole lot easier.
> In fact, back then, young kids in school had no way to contact their parents, because there were no cell phones then.



Well, bully for you.   My children and grandchildren are all extremely bright, motivated young people.   I have no doubt that they are capable.   Every generation has had things a little easier than the last.


----------



## C'est Moi (Mar 27, 2018)

SifuPhil said:


> Very true.
> 
> Keep in mind as well that houses were designed differently back in "the day" - they took advantage of ventilation and breezes.
> 
> ...



layful:   Yeah, Houston is pretty miserable, especially during the summer.   It doesn't matter how your house is built; there is no "fresh breeze" that will matter in the unrelenting heat and humidity.   (Plus the mosquitoes will carry you away if you crack a window.)

We were without power for 2 weeks after Hurricane Ike in 2008; it was pure hell.


----------



## SifuPhil (Mar 27, 2018)

C'est Moi said:


> layful:   Yeah, Houston is pretty miserable, especially during the summer.   It doesn't matter how your house is built; there is no "fresh breeze" that will matter in the unrelenting heat and humidity.   (Plus the mosquitoes will carry you away if you crack a window.)
> 
> We were without power for 2 weeks after Hurricane Ike in 2008; it was pure hell.



Ouch.

I stayed a few weeks in Austin, the "garden spot" of Texas. I think I was there in the fall, but it was still pretty darned hot.

Mostly I remember armadillos on the road and a store that sold _only_ cowboy hats - the store was the size of your typical Wal-Mart. 

I guess it's true that everything is bigger in Texas.


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 27, 2018)

C'est Moi said:


> Well, bully for you.   My children and grandchildren are all extremely bright, motivated young people.   I have no doubt that they are capable.   Every generation has had things a little easier than the last.



Cell phones made things somewhat worse, but computers definitely made things much easier..........especially for those that can type fast and/or use the 10-key, on the side of a keyboard, fast. 

IOW, the kids of today have it made!! They don't have to look for a pay phone or available phone to use to make a personal call. They don't have to write shipping info into a UPS or FedX book, the don't have to do inventory on those little index cards and so on and so on. Yes, the kids have it made today.


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 27, 2018)

SifuPhil said:


> Ouch.
> 
> I stayed a few weeks in Austin, the "garden spot" of Texas. I think I was there in the fall, but it was still pretty darned hot.
> 
> ...



Not in Pennsylvania, but there are areas of America a person won't "fit in" unless they have a cowboy hat on........areas of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, the Dakota's, Oklahoma, Texas and others. East Coast States, nope.


----------



## SifuPhil (Mar 27, 2018)

ClassicRockr said:


> Not in Pennsylvania, but there are areas of America a person won't "fit in" unless they have a cowboy hat on........areas of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, the Dakota's, Oklahoma, Texas and others. East Coast States, nope.



We throw rocks at people that wear cowboy hats here. :banana:


----------



## Ruth n Jersey (Mar 27, 2018)

I think they are very capable but complain more than we did and their motivation is money and doing the least amount of work to obtain it. They have many more benefits than we did and working conditions have improved drastically. When I first started working as a Practical nurse we had no air conditioning in the county hospital where I worked. We did everything from cleaning the room when the patient was discharged to administering meds and we even had a huge cart come up on the floors where we dished out the food for each individual patient. We never complained.Today they have a department for everything.


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 27, 2018)

I remember having to wait at least a year before getting a week of vacation. At my wife’s last job, in the banking industry, she got 4 weeks off per year. 4 weeks!! Now she’s in the insurance industry and gets 3 weeks off a year. 

When I tell young folks that I use to drive a forklift that used actual gas, they are stunned. They’d get the same way when I would tell them that I had to write down all shipments going UPS and FED-X into a book. 
My wife use to do Accounting in a Ledger book.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Mar 27, 2018)

Every generation does what it has to do to get by and little more.

I think that today's kids would do just fine if they were working alongside us years ago.


----------



## TonyK (Mar 27, 2018)

How would we have handled 6-day work weeks, substandard working conditions, extremely hazardous occupations, entire industries closed to our gender, and discrimination based on race and ethnic background?


----------



## jujube (Mar 27, 2018)

I worked for a while in the middle 1960's as a receptionist/telephone operator at a desk that still had an old "cord board".  Outdated even at that time, I can't imagine what the young'uns of today would have thought of it.  Just the ringing and buzzing alone would drive them crazy.


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 27, 2018)

TonyK said:


> How would we have handled 6-day work weeks, substandard working conditions, extremely hazardous occupations, entire industries closed to our gender, and discrimination based on race and ethnic background?



You talking about yesteryears or today?
Have to remember, not all areas of the U.S. have diversity. There are some areas that are much more of one race than another. 
Discrimination will always be in some jobs in one respect or another.


----------



## TonyK (Mar 27, 2018)

"You talking about yesteryears or today?"

The generation or two before us baby boomers. Imagine having Sunday as your only day off and some of it was spent in church. They were as tough as nails back then. No sick days, "no Irish need apply", and no pension and social security.


----------



## Shalimar (Mar 27, 2018)

TonyK said:


> "You talking about yesteryears or today?"
> 
> The generation or two before us baby boomers. Imagine having Sunday as your only day off and some of it was spent in church. They were as tough as nails back then. No sick days, "no Irish need apply", and no pension and social security.


Many died before they were fifty. Whole families of children perished to polio, scarlet fever etc.


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 28, 2018)

Folks, I’m not going back that far! 
Only going back to the late 60’s and up to mid 90’s or so. 

When I was in the Navy, late 60’s thru early 70’s, no cell phones or computers at all. 

When I worked for Bell & Howell, 1982 thru late 1986, had neither of those either. But, did have vacation, sick days and something like a 401k. 

Some of you folks, who are older than myself (I’m almost 69), could be talking about the years prior to what I am.


----------



## 911 (Mar 28, 2018)

I have noticed a huge difference in the Cadets for the State Police of today compared to when I started. Today's cadets are not as committed as we were back in the 70's. They get a cold, they call off work for a few days. They get a sore finger, they want to be excused from participating in the physical training class. We had a young cadet in this last batch that came through that wanted to take three days off to go be with his sister in Iowa while she was having her baby. He told us that they are a very close family and that the whole family was going to be with her. We told him that if he took the three days off that he would be suspended from the program and may not be allowed back in with the next hiring group. He went and when he came back, he called us and asked if he could come back to school. Simple answer; "No, but thanks for asking." 

The average cadet class is usually about 25-35 cadets. The average graduation is somewhere around 60-70% that actually make it through the course and graduate. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff these young people come up with as to why they can't do this or that. We have a class in driving pursuit. Normally, we will take about 10 at a time to go through the class. To pass the course, the cadet must be able to follow a robotic car through a course without hitting certain obstacles, including pedestrians. This class is always a treat to watch. They all think that they are Mario Andretti. Most can't drive without hitting something or someone. Some take 4 or 5 times to get it right. Why? Because they don't concentrate on what they are doing. They truly believe that it's all about speed.


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 28, 2018)

911 said:


> I have noticed a huge difference in the Cadets for the State Police of today compared to when I started. Today's cadets are not as committed as we were back in the 70's. They get a cold, they call off work for a few days. They get a sore finger, they want to be excused from participating in the physical training class. We had a young cadet in this last batch that came through that wanted to take three days off to go be with his sister in Iowa while she was having her baby. He told us that they are a very close family and that the whole family was going to be with her. We told him that if he took the three days off that he would be suspended from the program and may not be allowed back in with the next hiring group. He went and when he came back, he called us and asked if he could come back to school. Simple answer; "No, but thanks for asking."
> 
> The average cadet class is usually about 25-35 cadets. The average graduation is somewhere around 60-70% that actually make it through the course and graduate. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff these young people come up with as to why they can't do this or that. We have a class in driving pursuit. Normally, we will take about 10 at a time to go through the class. To pass the course, the cadet must be able to follow a robotic car through a course without hitting certain obstacles, including pedestrians. This class is always a treat to watch. They all think that they are Mario Andretti. Most can't drive without hitting something or someone. Some take 4 or 5 times to get it right. Why? Because they don't concentrate on what they are doing. They truly believe that it's all about speed.



Funny, but many young employee's for a lot of jobs don't know really what they are getting involved with when they take the job. When I first got into EMS, which wasn't called that back in the mid 70's, I really didn't realize what I was getting into. IOW, lots of blood, people on drugs that wanted to hit me, driver's that didn't want to pull over when I was going Code 3/Emergency and so on. I only worked the job for a few years, then had enough. 

Some will complain about all the hours they have to put in on a certain job...........well, find out about the job first! There are jobs that aren't 7AM to 3:30PM or 8 to 5 Mon thru Fri.


----------



## C'est Moi (Mar 28, 2018)

A little OT, but maybe not.   My concern is the growing number of overweight and out of shape young people.  How will we have a fit military, police force, firemen, etc. with all the physically unfit and unable to pass the fitness tests?


----------



## ProsperosDaughter (Mar 28, 2018)

NO!
Before I retired I worked with many people young enough to be my grandchildren. For the most part the were a bunch of whiny slackers


----------



## ClassicRockr (Mar 28, 2018)

ProsperosDaughter said:


> NO!
> Before I retired I worked with many people young enough to be my grandchildren. For the most part the were a bunch of whiny slackers



A bunch of "whiny slackers"........I would have a tendency to agree with that. But, wouldn't say all of them. There are those that take their jobs pretty seriously. A lot of that "seriously" thing also depends on the salary they are making. 

Funny, but every time I ask a young cashier at Walmart "So, how is it working for Walmart?", they give me that look of.............."definitely not that good, but I need a job".


----------

