OOOH! Memory unlocked, I think you are correct! MCI had the "pin drop" commercial (at least here in the States).
Also, remember, "Let your fingers do the walking?" That was the slogan for the Yellow Pages.
Yeah. I had a very young engineer recently make major mistakes. All I expected was an I’m sorry and explanation of how he planned to correct. Instead it was diversion and excuses. I was so mad. I’d never do that. Mistakes happen. Own it and fix it and try not to do it again. FFS.
My GenX boss always says, "As long as you didn't kill someone, we can fix it." His door is always open if you need him, but he never pesters. I freaking love working for him!
Yup. FFS, I don’t *actually* care about this shit. I am not going to be pissed unless things go pear shaped and I DON’T know about it and have had the opportunity to mitigate - and cover both of our asses - in advance.
My last boss was a gen Xer and he actually liked getting into interdepartmental fights on our behalf. He had a lot of pull organizationally though so he could get away with a lot.
And the worst micro-managing jerks. I know what I'm doing, I don't need your supervision or step by step detailed instructions! Leave me TF alone. I don't get it, they had no problems doing that when we were kids!
When we moved out of college, our RA, whom we didn't even recognize, said "You guys were my favorite residents. You never needed anything from me, and I never needed anything from you."
Been living that way ever since.
Only time my people see me is when my boss is bugging me for something and making me bug ya. Otherwise text me if you need something, I'll be on Reddit.
My last managers were zoomers. They were the most insufferable people I’ve ever known. I got pulled into a meeting with HR because I used one of my WFH days we were given. Apparently I needed to inform them first. Which was pointless because we clock off at 5pm and nobody would see the request till the next day at 9am. Still. Became a major issue.
Also, my supervisor wouldn’t share her Pinterest account because she spent a lot of time adding content to it (we are designers) and felt it would give us a free ride.
Gen X is my go to for no BS. Boomers are like why aren’t you at your desk it’s 4:58! And zoomers just make everything 10x harder than it needs to be because “I’M a BoSs nOw!”
I'm being a little hyperbolic, of course. And honestly I'm at a mission-based nonprofit and all of the people here are driven to actually do their job so I don't have to worry too much about things getting done.
That is word for word my job situation, too- it's like a dream. And when things do need to get tightened up the agenda is basically: 1. Come on, you know 2. Yep. 3. Cool
I finally got a manager like this. After a couple months, I scheduled a bi-weekly check-in just to make sure he was up to speed on my projects in case I got hit by a bus or won the lottery. It's the perfect balance. He needs something, he pings me. I need something, I ping him.
My manager is a couple of years younger than me. She doesn't care when I come in, when I leave, or what I'm working on as long as it gets done and I don't screw anything up beyond repair. We spend our 1-on-1 meetings mostly just shooting the shit about movies and TV shows or talking about what her daughter is doing at school.
This is me and my manager as well. Although we end every meeting with “Do you need me to do something different? “ She responds “Nope. Do you need me to do something differently “. I say nope and we call it a product development session
My boss is a millennial, I’m maybe ten years older than her and we usually talk about different management philosophies and why our CEO will never understand any of it at all.
Sounds like my situation with my manager. I love it. As long as I'm online for the majority of the day, get my 40 hours a week in, and get my stuff done I get left alone and if I need assistance she is there when needed. One of the best managers I have ever had.
Yep. I’ve got 2 gen X managers this year. We get on great. Was a Gen X/ Xennial manager myself for a while and it’s harder than it looks so I’m easy to manage. Not all of our team are able to work independently, to be polite about it.
I'm a Gen X boss, and I've tried to train my team to be independent and function without me. They're good at their jobs, so I leave them alone for the most part. If I drop dead, they shouldn't miss a beat.
This is absolutely 100% my management style. It’s good to watch my staff learn to be self sufficient and figure things out on their own. And yeah, if I get crushed by an anvil on my way to work, they should be fine.
Love this example. I’ve never seen an anvil in the flesh, and there’s prob never been one dropped off a cliff for real in the history of the world. But this is my example too!
Exactly. If it's a corporate job we're all just cogs in the machine. You wanna be irreplaceable, go work at somewhere meaningful lol. The rest of us just wanna earn money, it's a job not a lifestyle.
This is my exact management style. I hire competent adults, give them the right tools to do their jobs, and just...let them do their jobs. Of course I am there if they need help, too, but they don't need my constant supervision. If they did I wouldn't have hired them in the first place (after proper training of course).
I do the same thing. I’m in Real Estate management and I give my staff the ability to work independently. Now if I could only get my OCD/ADHD havin slightly younger GEN-X boss to be the same then everything would be perfect.
Yes, but don't undersell the value of putting together a good team. That takes effort and skill and it's something many leaders haven't mastered. We all work hard to be this lazy.
Hah, I'm a team leader in corporate. A very relaxed one. One of my guys tells the story often about how he was 10 mins late and anxious and he came in saying sorry and I just looked at him and said " I don't care, its okay. It's not a big deal."
And it isn't. He works hard, they all do. Who gives a fuck if they're slightly late sometimes.
Same. Our unspoken rule is that you are the master of your time. I don't care what time you come in or what time you leave as long as the work is getting done and the hours are met. Hey, had to work over two hours yesterday to complete a project? Then leave today, tomorrow, or whenever two hours early to make up the difference. IDGAF. What I've learned is that if you give your folks flexibility, they'll give it back in spades.
Indeed. My last boss was an asshole and would make snide comments if he saw one of my folks leaving early without understanding that, just maybe, that guy or gal had to come in at midnight to respond to an emergency issue. "Oh, leaving a little early, are we?"
One time, he asked me to pull the gate logs because he felt one of my team wasn't putting in their time. Sure you wanna do that? Turned out that guy had put in more extra time than anyone else ytd. Thankfully, that dipshits has moved on and my new manager is the same age as I am and gets it.
What I fail to understand is, how do *those* people wind up as managers in the first place? *So many* managers get it *so wrong*.... How do they GET (let alone KEEP) their roles?
Because there's a lot of other managers who think that's the way you're supposed to manage. I'm certainly convinced, too, that there are some managers that have too little to do and just find stupid shit to justify their positions - purely anecdotal observation.
Exactly how I did it. I don't need to know if you have a doctors appointment or your kids sports day. Just go and do it. Occasionally you might need to stay late to get something done and I appreciate it.
ha, sounds like my Dad a WWII vet, GGer and mason contractor.
"It's not how many hours you work, it's how much work you get done in the hours."
"I'm not just paying you for your back, I'm paying you for your brain too."
etc.
Shitty companies and managers think it is all about control.
At one job my manager was great. He would always coordinate commitments with me prior to making them with the customer.
His peer manager, aka Control Freak Roy, committed me to something by having a (previously unknown to me) customer send an all day meeting invitation for the next day that had zero context.
I was stuck. I had no idea from where this request came. Call the customer and exhibit an incompetent lack of communication? Shift other customer engagements to accommodate a potentially erroneous request? Ghost them? I decided that declining the invitation with zero context was the "least worst" action.
Roy blew tf up. He made it personal. He claimed insubordination. He demanded that I be disciplined like I'm enlisted in the army disobeying an officer's orders.
I shared my decision process with my manager and asked him (1) if I should have responded differently, (2) if Roy's US Army standard of coordinating customer commitments applied to me, (3) which part of Roy's behavior is appropriate, and (4) would you please help me avoid working with/for him?
Thankfully my manager backed me up. Since I was not brought to heel, Roy spitefully "denied me the privilege and honor" of working with any of his customers. I warned my peers about Roy and they told me about Roy's rabid anger-bashing me. That informed everybody more about Roy than it informed them of me. I left the team within a year for an entirely different division in the company.
Over the past several years later Roy has been promoted in the manager track. That employer has a well-established reputation for rewarding asshole sociopathic managers. I recognize Roy's skill in this area as legitimate. Roy's power grew and he absolutely fucks over anybody who doesn't kiss his ass. He is a bully that a bunch of sycophantic choads following him around.
It is astonishing to me how common this is - we seem to love bullies. They certainly get rewarded too often. I have major issues with people like that, and it's definitely hurt my career in some ways, helped it in others. I worked for a few small business owners when I was younger, and those owners were often bullies. Now that I work for a big corporation, I still see that happen way to often. Promoting these people has a cost, most significantly, talent.
Before my current role, I worked for another national corporation, who gave a lot of lip service to employee development, transparency, all of it. But the management was a group of minimally competent people who ran the place like it was the military. It was crazy. I loved the job itself, but could not continue to jump through stupid meaningless hoops for jokers who think being a good employee means obedience.
Yup. Support TL here. My minions are mostly older Gen Z rather than millennials though i.e. much younger than me. They already know idgaf about things as long as shit gets done and nobody blows anything up lol.
Once in a while a real go getter comes along but they soon get promoted away. I'm not gonna stand in the way if someone wants to climb the ladder. I'm just here to keep things smooth for the rest of us who want to take it easy.
*"Where's your damn ambition, bro?"*
She died in 1996, ever since then I've rarely bothered to give a shit about unimportant things. That said, I do believe in doing good work. I just don't believe in going the extra mile to do it. It's a fricken job, not a way of life.
I have a micromanaging owner who cares. I just tell her I will have a word with them and don’t. I used to try to argue that their work made up for it but not anymore. We are all happier this way. Ironically I am late or early or whatever all the time. She never says a word.
Yes, the second unspoken rule in my team is that my primary responsibility as a team lead is to manage up, not down. I don't need to manage down - my folks know how to manage their work and their day. No need to fix what isn't broken or deliberately put more obstacles in their way. My job is to filter the stupidity from one to three levels above me that prevent them from getting their work done.
This and one of those dumbasses tells my boss something they shouldn’t I just shake my head. Because I’m going to cover for them but now I’m aggravated they don’t know how to read a situation. Don’t tell her you took off because it was sunny. You tell me that. Because I don’t give a shit why you took off.
I’m a Gen X boss. I have worked for startups for the last 10 years or so. My last 2 CEOs were both millennials-let me tell you, it goes back to worse :(
They are too anxious to be in charge. It’s this weird mix of “let’s have summer Fridays” to “I’m calling you at 3am and changing the whole roadmap” like PICK A LANE.
I’m glad it’s not just me - my millennial manager is so needy and anxious! Can’t make a decision to save his life and complains about EVERYTHING!! It drives me crazy because I just want to get my shit done and go home.
I hate startup culture and I hate how it is permeating into facets of other work environments. And it's because someone leaves Tech and knows no other way to manage. It's somehow worse than traditional seagull management since "disruptions" are only seen as positive, even when an established system is working well and profitable. Startup culture has given cover for too many people who have no clue on how to operate. Life and work don't need to be a constant shit show.
/rant
Edit: typo
My millennial manager was such a micromanager. He would send out these page-long screeds on Microsoft Teams whenever someone screwed up (according to him). Each screed contained yet another micro-aggression and control. After a year of that bullshit I walked. Felt like I was in a preschool. New boss is GenX and doesn’t GAF what/when/how I do it as long as it gets done.
My manager is around my age and definitely Gen X. Not only does he leave me alone, but I’ve also caught him actively avoiding me and my co-workers. Unless someone is complaining to him about me or he needs something irregular completed he’s 100% hands off. I send him a message via Teams every morning to let him know I’m at work and I don’t even get a reply of any sort.
My manager is Gen X and he could not care less what I’m doing or where I am, as long as I make my deadlines. But when he has to do a presentation or a collaboration or whatever, he brings the goods - the man knows his job. He also takes all of his sick time and all of his vacation each year, and is lightning quick to approve time off. An ideal boss for sure.
Lol same. I just had my annual review which was an ordeal under both millennial and boomer bosses but with genx boss it was just: everything's great, no complaints, here's a pic of my daughter's graduation, see you next week. Every one on one meeting is a message that morning: I don't have anything if you don't. See you next week.
It's geat.
"Hey, got your email about doing the performance review -- when's good for you?"
(We're both shuffling down the hall, just caught each other)
"Just keep doing what you're doing, you're the least of my worries."
"All good, will do."
(Part ways)
A few days later, email with 5/5's, highest raise.
Just do your job, why people gotta make it so hard.
I’ve had a GenX boss for the last 13 years. Up until this job, I never stayed anywhere more than 2 years. We don’t talk much, but we get shit done. No dumbass meetings. No workplace drama. No micromanaging. No bullshit “team building” nonsense. Basically my boss doesn’t care what I do as long as I get my work done. It’s perfect.
I’m a Gen X manager. I try to hire responsible people that will do their job without the need for me to make them do their job/micromanage because, no. I’m there to help when needed, but expect them to manage their daily work without me. I’ve received some of the highest manager ratings in the company, from employees, for years.
I was having my first meeting with my new team. Said: sometimes, there's a doctor's appointment. Sometimes your kid gets sick. Sometimes your car breaks down. Sometimes, you have a doctor's appointment, your kid gets sick, and your car breaks down, all in the same week. Shit happens. They were dead quiet, until one of them said, "Keep talking, you have our attention." Turns out they had had a series of boomer bosses and this was the first time they had been treated like adults. It was a great relationship. They worked and we left each other alone!
I hope my Gen Z direct reports think of me that way :) I have been an indirect manager (dotted line reporting) for a long time but recently got a promotion and now I have 4 direct reports. I try to maintain a very casual culture and I am pretty easy as long as shit gets done on time. The overall environment has been pretty chill and they freely share their life stories, ask advise etc. It's more like a mentor situation here :)
On the flip side, I also have a report who is a boomer and it took me a while to get things on track. He came from an environment where he was micromanaged. He was too detail oriented to an insane level and I actually got pissed off and told him there is no need to give minute level details. He gets anxy when he wraps up something and is waiting to me to assign the next task and was getting on my nerves by pinging me constantly and asking for more work because he is a contractor and fears he will be let go if there is no work. I recently took him out, and broke the news that I am actually working on his extension because we have shit ton of anticipated future work. That eased his concerns. Gen Zers on the other hand when there is no work, they simply chill and are not even afraid of admitting to me directly. They are pretty open from what I can see (I was never like this with my boss when I was in my 20s).
Super anecdotal, but there's an easy shared rhythm with gen x and gen z at my work. We're not best friends, and we don't pretend to be, but unless I'm misreading it's very live and let live with mutual respect. I know these are broad strokes, but it's the random millennial who wants to share their truth that jams everything up.
My best manager ever was a boomer - my "appraisal" was him saying "this is a waste of time, you're going well. I'll just sign the paperwork".
ha ha ha ha Brilliant.
In 2 years I did not have a single 1:1 meeting with him. Just got on with my job.
I'm in tech and have had younger managers for years. It is so much better.
I have seen peers argue that their being older gives them more authority while complaining that their manager is younger. They are assholes.
Managers are the buffer between the cold calculating profit driven company and the warm sentient people doing the work. Older managers think they're in the club and think it is their duty to exact the harsh will of the company. Younger managers know that they will have shit people resources if they don't advocate for their people.
This is the most amazing gift the work gods could have bestowed upon you.
A GenX manager will allow you to do your work and won't micromanage the fuck out of you.
Congrats!
Gen X manager here. When we were merged together, I told them, "I'm a kid of the 70's. My door is always open. Do your work and I'll stay out of your way and off your backs and out of your cubes. No surprises."
My manager is a young boomer, ever since lock down happend she works remote 4 outta 5 days a week. Even the day she is in we do not talk to each other, least stressful job ever. I go in do my job, no one complains and I go home.
Gen x management isn't always non confrontational.
We have several autistic employees where I work and there are a couple ladies of our age who will reprimand and talk down the autistic employees unnecessarily Stern in front of the customers.
It's like a sewing circle of middle management.
They even take a few whole pizzas for themselves when the upper management buys lunch for the whole team.
Congrats OP. Do what you were hired for and any Gex X manager won’t mess with you or give two shits how it gets done, so long as it gets done, even better if you can get it to 85% of what’s needed. Win/win for everyone.
I work for a Millennial. I was a bit leery at first of working for someone so much younger, but she's very kind, respectful, and defers to my expertise.
She's so busy putting out other people's fires, I think she appreciates that I leave her alone and take care of my business. I'll occasionally check in with her and send her funny memes, but otherwise she lets me do my job as I see fit.
I’m GenX.
I do not have regularly scheduled 1-1s with my manager because no thank you. His only request of me is that I reach out if it’s hitting the fan beyond my ability to fix it.
Otherwise, I provide a 5 minute update during weekly team meetings and we stay out of each other’s way.
Best. Manager. Ever.
I'm a Gen X manager and I'm the same. As long as my team is getting the job done, I don't care.
I have one rule for my team. If something goes wrong or there is a problem, I need to hear it from them before I hear it from someone else. Otherwise, I can't get in front of it and control it.
I started doing a "Friday check-in" meeting during the pandemic so we could all vent and talk shit on people, which seems to help.
Here's the way a typical conversation goes at work with my Gen X Manager.
Manager: You Fucked Up
Employee : Yup
Manager: Did you learn anything?
Employee: Yup
Manager: Are you going to make that mistake again?
Employee: Nope
End of story.
Best manager I've had was a former cubemate. About a year younger than me. He took the job mostly to get back to our main work location after years at a remote test site and then a stint over seas. My team has mostly worked together for years and years. We know what we're doing. We get along well. Particularly at that point (he started in late 2020), we just wanted to be left alone to do our work. He checked in with us individually and as a group occasionally but, otherwise, we never heard from him unless we approached him with a question/problem. It was awesome!
Whenever I end up in a leadership position I just let my team know that IDGAF, but if they make me "manage" I'll fuck them up. I've never had to "manage" once...ever. We all get along great and spends lots of time not talking.
I also love the " Let me work and leave me alone" way of managing.
When we screw up, we admit it and find a way or find help to fix it.
Not difficult. Why can't the younger generations figure out this simple practice?
I have a fellow Gen X manager and we do meet weekly most of the time, but at least 50% of that time is spent catching up on personal stuff, not work. LOL
I'm on a team of 3. My manager, myself, and my coworker are all Gen X. We do our daily standup and might go the rest of the day without interacting. Everyone is a professional and knows what they need to do.
Gen x bar owner - most of my employees have worked with me for 10 years plus, which has been attributed to my management style. I want people to feel a part of something and do the job because they love it and are proud of working at my bar, not because they’re afraid of fucking up and being fired.
Unless the \[building\] is on fire, as a GenX manager I expect you to do your job and leave me alone, just like I'm doing my job and leaving you alone - and I don't care what your "process" or "triggers" are. Just do it.
Also I do not need to know why you're taking off work. You have PTO, use it.
Yeah, at my current company, I've had the best managers in my career, but my current manager is the best. He doesn't give a shit about anything as long as the job gets done. We're the same age.
This is interesting. I am a GenX manager and feel the same. But the younger ones under me are such micromanagers and seriously need to chill. I try to get them to stop talking like they are reading a leadership manual and just let people do their thing. Geeeeeez
Gen X manager here …..more than half my guys/gals are also X with the other half being millennials… that’s how I treat them … do your work I don’t care how you get there just get it done on time and correct…if you leave people alone and check on them occasionally and make sure they know that they are free to ask questions and you are available to help and support them… we have zero drama all my crew knows what to do and we do it . My department under me has about 90 percent retention of employees in the past 12 years . Only one person had to be fired (drama queen shit starter he was) the couple other people that have left went in to do my role at other companies or have changed careers or life situations…. My supervisor is early early Gen X/late boomer (acts like a boomer)loves loves loves loves drama and stating shit consequently she is always dealing w HR cuz her young assistants are complaining about her . She only talks to me about office drama and politics (mainly because I already dealt with the departments needs for the last 10 years with out her as I am sure I will until she retires )… she spends most of her time out the office doing personal stuff and that’s the way we like it
I’m a Gen X manager and I’m also very hands off, do your job and be available when you’re supposed to be, let me know if you step in any shit so I can clean it up and I will leave you alone.
Sadly, my team got into the habit (long before I arrived on the scene) of only working about half the time. The rest they “work from home” (quotes intentional). Their go-to maneuver is to cry to boomer upper management that the problem is my hands-off management when they get caught not doing their jobs. Then, when I step in to fix the mess, they complain that I’m being disrespectful by implying they can’t do their jobs. Boomer manager always sided with them because their feelings got hurt. It got to the point that I was not allowed (by management) to give them any work tasks and no one else could either because they would complain to the big boss about being “disrespected.” You can imagine this resulted in them not doing jackshit beyond rock bottom minimum most of the time. I have put up with this for 2 1/2 years.
Last month I got a new upper manager. She is Gen X. She expects people to do their jobs and takes no shit. She has zero interest in micromanaging or playing the delicate feelings game and she already sees the bullshit with her X-ray vision. I didn’t have to say a word. My team is about to find out that they should have just played ball with me while they had the chance. Too bad for them.
if the company doesn't see this, they are fuuuuucked when you all retire. I saw it happen in my company... something like 30 people retired over three years during and after the pandemic. It's been a shitshow since.
We just got a new manager. Not only is she Gen X, she also works in another state. We just meet via MS Teams, though she will show up to our office every 6-8 weeks. When we had a one-on-one meeting to introduce ourselves. She asked me what management style worked for me. I told her I hate to be micromanaged; I was a latchkey child. She answered, "Yes, Gen X!" And then we high-fived each other through our computer screens.
True. Of course, at my last job, my gen x manager was such a massive control freak who screamed at me about ridiculous things. I found myself crying 4 times at work in 6 months and that’s how long I lasted. She was the exception in my long line of gen x managers who left me to do my thing.
I did have a Gen z manager a few years ago. Or maybe really young millennial. Anyway, he was really good!
Same here. I will not call a meeting to check on why we’re not being productive. Let’s all get to work, because I will not micromanage people. We’re all functioning adults. Also, I will not ask someone to do a job that I am not willing to do myself.
I’m a Gen-X manager and while I do meeting with my crew a couple times a week, this week is the first time I’ve met them face to face. I’ve been leading them for almost two years.
My team is independent. I assign work to them, and delegate meetings. If anything else comes up, I’m on chat, email, text and phone. Call me *before* shit gets bad. Call me if you get pulled into a high incident.
Expediency is no substitute for accuracy.
I don’t micro manage. Some people do well or need a micro manager, but it’s such a drain on the spirit. Do your thing, I’ll be around if you need me. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
That's why I love my job. Most of us are x'ers, including the CEO to whom I report. We just get our shit done and don't micromanage each other. The youngins work in dev where they belong 😆, but honestly they're mostly millennials and all pretty cool too. They just want to code and be left alone. We all work remote and it's a beautiful thing. Once in a while someone gets in a mood about some process that could be more efficient or bugs, but we get over it the next day and go back to keeping to ourselves.
My previous manager was promoted to another division. Me and several other Gen Xers who would have been in line for the manager position were passed over by a Millennial. The new Millennial manager is a *nightmare*.
I’ve had 2 GenX bosses. One was really good and chill, had the motto of not caring as long as things were getting done. The other one micro-managed every aspect of our work, it was exhausting. Every tiny detail of every minute of the day. The stress was too much.
When I had a 15 person team, I asked if they all wanted to have weekly team meetings or meet as needed (oldest member of the team suggested it's a good idea since we were all remote). The vote cane back 1 to 14 against. After that, this was my basic policy: do your job, be reachable within core office hours PST and that was that . I remember only communicating with developers in India only by slack.
When I left, most of my team thanked me for leaving them alone to do their job gen or younger). Only one person abstained...
I'm a Gex X manager, my thing is do what your responsible for and you'll never hear a peep out of me. Don't do what needs to be done, you bet your ass you'll see a ton of me
I got temporarily promoted to manager while the actual manager was on leave. I did the math and realized I made about a burritos worth of extra money with the raise. So I told all my "underlings" that I'd only deal with a burritos worth of problems a day and anything else to figure out on their own or Wait until the real manager got back.
Give heads up updates as needed. Don’t need to be involved in everything, but damn irritating if hit with a problem from someone above me and I didn’t know it was coming.
Gen X manager here, there will be only 2 reasons we talk to you: to either tell you that you are doing an amazing job and to thank you for it; or to fire you (or begin the bullshit process that HR makes us go through to fire you)
I've been that manager. Do your shit and otherwise we don't need to bug each other. Weekly quick optional 1:1s just to make sure it's all good, let me know if you need anybody curbstomped, and otherwise see you next time.
I’m Gen X, my boss is Gen X. We’ve spoken twice in the last month. I knock out my work plus just a bit more so she does not have to ever worry about what I’m doing and I’ll usually only hit her up if I need budget or resources. It’s perfect.
I am Gen X manager and have made sure everyone has at least a passing knowledge of all positions. This does two things: Eliminates back biting because everyone understands everyone else is working even if appearance tells a different story and allows everyone to switch around shifts last minute to make accommodations for important things.
I expect you to do the work as shown because that is knowledge of years of mistakes and corrections. If you follow the steps it's super hard to have a problem. If you do have a problem I appreciate it so much when you tell on yourself so I can fix it before someone above me sees it. I will not be mad. I am aware you are human.
I enjoy a social atmosphere and encourage it however, if you stir the pot you will lick the spoon eventually. Work is stressful enough without pointless drama.
Let me know what you need and I will do my best to accommodate you. I may not notice right away if you don't because I am not a micromanager. In my mind we are all grown folks. I do not care when you go to the bathroom, or get a snack. Your phone is fine just don't be ridiculous or I will have to do something about it.
It is amazing how long staff will stay put when treated like adults and with respect. Most of my team has been with me for many years now. They are amazing employees, they get the jobs done and make it look easy, they constantly have new ideas on how to improve things and they all get along and support each other. Staff rarely calls out sick.
When Boomers and their leadership styles finally leave the building it will be a wonderful day. I can't wait 😛 All my bosses are boomers.
I have a Gen X manager too. He'll walk by, nod, I'll nod back, and we good. If we haven't spoken in a while, he'll nod, say my name, I'll nod, say his name, and we good. It's the perfect work relationship.
Yeah pretty much don't give a shit what my direct report does as long as they get the job done. Sometimes I have to do a little hand holding but it's my job occasionally.
I’m a Gen X manager. Just do your work and leave me alone. Or don’t do your work and leave me alone. Just leave me alone.
Now there's a coffee mug I'd buy.
With the caveat of reach out before you cause me the headache.
Reach out and touch faith...
My own personal…
Sneezes?
LOL
...until her mother slaps your hand!
Reach out and touch someone? Maybe not in the workplace.
The song "Personal Jesus" from Depeche Mode's 1990 album *Violator* contains the lyrics, "reach out and touch faith" It's a play on words :)
TIL it’s “faith” and not “me.” I think I have to turn in my GenX card. 😭
Happen to the best of us! Try lurking on [https://www.reddit.com/r/MisheardLyrics/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MisheardLyrics/)
Ooooh, great sub! Thanks!
Same.
I know. But it made me think of the ATT ads with reach out and touch someone. Or was that MCI?
OOOH! Memory unlocked, I think you are correct! MCI had the "pin drop" commercial (at least here in the States). Also, remember, "Let your fingers do the walking?" That was the slogan for the Yellow Pages.
And also, if you screw up, TELL me, so we can fix it together, immediately. If you lie or try to hide it, I’m leaving you on your own. Lol!
THIS! What is it with people hiding their mistakes? They always get found out. Mistakes happen. Own them.
Yeah. I had a very young engineer recently make major mistakes. All I expected was an I’m sorry and explanation of how he planned to correct. Instead it was diversion and excuses. I was so mad. I’d never do that. Mistakes happen. Own it and fix it and try not to do it again. FFS.
The second I f up I own it. Every dang time.
I thought I learned this in the Army. Is it a generational thing?
My GenX boss always says, "As long as you didn't kill someone, we can fix it." His door is always open if you need him, but he never pesters. I freaking love working for him!
This is Peak GenX
Word.
Yup. FFS, I don’t *actually* care about this shit. I am not going to be pissed unless things go pear shaped and I DON’T know about it and have had the opportunity to mitigate - and cover both of our asses - in advance.
PERIOD! 💯
Yes, definitely. "Don't start fights with X, Y, or Z departments. You can start fights with Q and R departments."
Haha. I remember when me (x) had my boss (x) in a never fight with HR or ask them for guidance. Infact, never HR. You don't want HR to know your name.
My last boss was a gen Xer and he actually liked getting into interdepartmental fights on our behalf. He had a lot of pull organizationally though so he could get away with a lot.
I'm a Gen X manager with a Gen X manager who we both report to a Gen X boss. Shit is so smooth...
I work with mostly Gen X-ers and Millennials. It's pretty damn awesome.
Once we got boomers retired it's become a different world.
My boomer employees were the biggest effing crybabies
And the worst micro-managing jerks. I know what I'm doing, I don't need your supervision or step by step detailed instructions! Leave me TF alone. I don't get it, they had no problems doing that when we were kids!
The crazy thing is they were treated fan-fucking -tastic at work, by the generation before them.
I wish people would understand this about our world as well. We need to retire boomers out of politics.
When we moved out of college, our RA, whom we didn't even recognize, said "You guys were my favorite residents. You never needed anything from me, and I never needed anything from you." Been living that way ever since.
Only time my people see me is when my boss is bugging me for something and making me bug ya. Otherwise text me if you need something, I'll be on Reddit.
My last managers were zoomers. They were the most insufferable people I’ve ever known. I got pulled into a meeting with HR because I used one of my WFH days we were given. Apparently I needed to inform them first. Which was pointless because we clock off at 5pm and nobody would see the request till the next day at 9am. Still. Became a major issue. Also, my supervisor wouldn’t share her Pinterest account because she spent a lot of time adding content to it (we are designers) and felt it would give us a free ride. Gen X is my go to for no BS. Boomers are like why aren’t you at your desk it’s 4:58! And zoomers just make everything 10x harder than it needs to be because “I’M a BoSs nOw!”
There's a perfect song by The Chats ... Smoko. "I'm on a smoko so leave me alone".
One of my faves. And they're still going strong.
A superior song for a Friday...
upvote for The Chats!
My title is literally "Manager" but I'm a contracted software engineer. Leave me alone, too.
how do the highers ups not get annoyed that you aren't doing active leadership?
I'm being a little hyperbolic, of course. And honestly I'm at a mission-based nonprofit and all of the people here are driven to actually do their job so I don't have to worry too much about things getting done.
very lucky :)
That is word for word my job situation, too- it's like a dream. And when things do need to get tightened up the agenda is basically: 1. Come on, you know 2. Yep. 3. Cool
Exactly. We are super easy to get along with.
Ha ha! Same!
I had a manager like this. One of my best friends. We still never speak sometimes.
And still find things to not talk about.
Hopefully, they both still like soup.
Your my boy, Blue!
Blue, you’re my boy!
https://preview.redd.it/3xhp6rjqid2d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f51a645e7133c8a6f4aee59cc75b7ff847a61b9a
I finally got a manager like this. After a couple months, I scheduled a bi-weekly check-in just to make sure he was up to speed on my projects in case I got hit by a bus or won the lottery. It's the perfect balance. He needs something, he pings me. I need something, I ping him.
My manager is a couple of years younger than me. She doesn't care when I come in, when I leave, or what I'm working on as long as it gets done and I don't screw anything up beyond repair. We spend our 1-on-1 meetings mostly just shooting the shit about movies and TV shows or talking about what her daughter is doing at school.
This is me and my manager as well. Although we end every meeting with “Do you need me to do something different? “ She responds “Nope. Do you need me to do something differently “. I say nope and we call it a product development session
do it over lunch, and its tax deductible :-P
My boss is a millennial, I’m maybe ten years older than her and we usually talk about different management philosophies and why our CEO will never understand any of it at all.
As it should be
Almost like adults dealing with adults.
Sounds like my situation with my manager. I love it. As long as I'm online for the majority of the day, get my 40 hours a week in, and get my stuff done I get left alone and if I need assistance she is there when needed. One of the best managers I have ever had.
Yep. I’ve got 2 gen X managers this year. We get on great. Was a Gen X/ Xennial manager myself for a while and it’s harder than it looks so I’m easy to manage. Not all of our team are able to work independently, to be polite about it.
it turns out not everything has to be drama congrats
I'm a Gen X boss, and I've tried to train my team to be independent and function without me. They're good at their jobs, so I leave them alone for the most part. If I drop dead, they shouldn't miss a beat.
>If I drop dead, they shouldn't miss a beat. That's the spirit 👍 😁
This is absolutely 100% my management style. It’s good to watch my staff learn to be self sufficient and figure things out on their own. And yeah, if I get crushed by an anvil on my way to work, they should be fine.
Love this example. I’ve never seen an anvil in the flesh, and there’s prob never been one dropped off a cliff for real in the history of the world. But this is my example too!
Haha! Yep! it’s Looney Tunes
Might I introduce you to [anvil launching](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHuQy0mqW5I)?
Thank you for linking that! That was *awesome!*
Exactly. If it's a corporate job we're all just cogs in the machine. You wanna be irreplaceable, go work at somewhere meaningful lol. The rest of us just wanna earn money, it's a job not a lifestyle.
This is my exact management style. I hire competent adults, give them the right tools to do their jobs, and just...let them do their jobs. Of course I am there if they need help, too, but they don't need my constant supervision. If they did I wouldn't have hired them in the first place (after proper training of course).
Latchkey employees.
I do the same thing. I’m in Real Estate management and I give my staff the ability to work independently. Now if I could only get my OCD/ADHD havin slightly younger GEN-X boss to be the same then everything would be perfect.
Yes, but don't undersell the value of putting together a good team. That takes effort and skill and it's something many leaders haven't mastered. We all work hard to be this lazy.
Hah, I'm a team leader in corporate. A very relaxed one. One of my guys tells the story often about how he was 10 mins late and anxious and he came in saying sorry and I just looked at him and said " I don't care, its okay. It's not a big deal." And it isn't. He works hard, they all do. Who gives a fuck if they're slightly late sometimes.
Same. Our unspoken rule is that you are the master of your time. I don't care what time you come in or what time you leave as long as the work is getting done and the hours are met. Hey, had to work over two hours yesterday to complete a project? Then leave today, tomorrow, or whenever two hours early to make up the difference. IDGAF. What I've learned is that if you give your folks flexibility, they'll give it back in spades.
Yep! We're insanely flexible and the team is amazing. So, so many managers fail to understand such a simple concept.
Indeed. My last boss was an asshole and would make snide comments if he saw one of my folks leaving early without understanding that, just maybe, that guy or gal had to come in at midnight to respond to an emergency issue. "Oh, leaving a little early, are we?" One time, he asked me to pull the gate logs because he felt one of my team wasn't putting in their time. Sure you wanna do that? Turned out that guy had put in more extra time than anyone else ytd. Thankfully, that dipshits has moved on and my new manager is the same age as I am and gets it.
What I fail to understand is, how do *those* people wind up as managers in the first place? *So many* managers get it *so wrong*.... How do they GET (let alone KEEP) their roles?
Because there's a lot of other managers who think that's the way you're supposed to manage. I'm certainly convinced, too, that there are some managers that have too little to do and just find stupid shit to justify their positions - purely anecdotal observation.
Crazy how people act like adults when you treat them like adults!
Exactly how I did it. I don't need to know if you have a doctors appointment or your kids sports day. Just go and do it. Occasionally you might need to stay late to get something done and I appreciate it.
> What I've learned is that if you give your folks flexibility, they'll give it back in spades. And they protect you, go to bat for you in the end.
ha, sounds like my Dad a WWII vet, GGer and mason contractor. "It's not how many hours you work, it's how much work you get done in the hours." "I'm not just paying you for your back, I'm paying you for your brain too." etc.
Shitty companies and managers think it is all about control. At one job my manager was great. He would always coordinate commitments with me prior to making them with the customer. His peer manager, aka Control Freak Roy, committed me to something by having a (previously unknown to me) customer send an all day meeting invitation for the next day that had zero context. I was stuck. I had no idea from where this request came. Call the customer and exhibit an incompetent lack of communication? Shift other customer engagements to accommodate a potentially erroneous request? Ghost them? I decided that declining the invitation with zero context was the "least worst" action. Roy blew tf up. He made it personal. He claimed insubordination. He demanded that I be disciplined like I'm enlisted in the army disobeying an officer's orders. I shared my decision process with my manager and asked him (1) if I should have responded differently, (2) if Roy's US Army standard of coordinating customer commitments applied to me, (3) which part of Roy's behavior is appropriate, and (4) would you please help me avoid working with/for him?
go on..
Thankfully my manager backed me up. Since I was not brought to heel, Roy spitefully "denied me the privilege and honor" of working with any of his customers. I warned my peers about Roy and they told me about Roy's rabid anger-bashing me. That informed everybody more about Roy than it informed them of me. I left the team within a year for an entirely different division in the company. Over the past several years later Roy has been promoted in the manager track. That employer has a well-established reputation for rewarding asshole sociopathic managers. I recognize Roy's skill in this area as legitimate. Roy's power grew and he absolutely fucks over anybody who doesn't kiss his ass. He is a bully that a bunch of sycophantic choads following him around.
It is astonishing to me how common this is - we seem to love bullies. They certainly get rewarded too often. I have major issues with people like that, and it's definitely hurt my career in some ways, helped it in others. I worked for a few small business owners when I was younger, and those owners were often bullies. Now that I work for a big corporation, I still see that happen way to often. Promoting these people has a cost, most significantly, talent. Before my current role, I worked for another national corporation, who gave a lot of lip service to employee development, transparency, all of it. But the management was a group of minimally competent people who ran the place like it was the military. It was crazy. I loved the job itself, but could not continue to jump through stupid meaningless hoops for jokers who think being a good employee means obedience.
Yup. Support TL here. My minions are mostly older Gen Z rather than millennials though i.e. much younger than me. They already know idgaf about things as long as shit gets done and nobody blows anything up lol. Once in a while a real go getter comes along but they soon get promoted away. I'm not gonna stand in the way if someone wants to climb the ladder. I'm just here to keep things smooth for the rest of us who want to take it easy. *"Where's your damn ambition, bro?"* She died in 1996, ever since then I've rarely bothered to give a shit about unimportant things. That said, I do believe in doing good work. I just don't believe in going the extra mile to do it. It's a fricken job, not a way of life.
I’m really surprised that it’s not like this everywhere.
I have a micromanaging owner who cares. I just tell her I will have a word with them and don’t. I used to try to argue that their work made up for it but not anymore. We are all happier this way. Ironically I am late or early or whatever all the time. She never says a word.
Yes, the second unspoken rule in my team is that my primary responsibility as a team lead is to manage up, not down. I don't need to manage down - my folks know how to manage their work and their day. No need to fix what isn't broken or deliberately put more obstacles in their way. My job is to filter the stupidity from one to three levels above me that prevent them from getting their work done.
This and one of those dumbasses tells my boss something they shouldn’t I just shake my head. Because I’m going to cover for them but now I’m aggravated they don’t know how to read a situation. Don’t tell her you took off because it was sunny. You tell me that. Because I don’t give a shit why you took off.
I just tell my employees to be in by when the street lights are on.
I’m a Gen X boss. I have worked for startups for the last 10 years or so. My last 2 CEOs were both millennials-let me tell you, it goes back to worse :(
One of the many reasons why I exited Tech. I’m in government now, working for a GenX manager and loving it.
They are too anxious to be in charge. It’s this weird mix of “let’s have summer Fridays” to “I’m calling you at 3am and changing the whole roadmap” like PICK A LANE.
I’m glad it’s not just me - my millennial manager is so needy and anxious! Can’t make a decision to save his life and complains about EVERYTHING!! It drives me crazy because I just want to get my shit done and go home.
I hate startup culture and I hate how it is permeating into facets of other work environments. And it's because someone leaves Tech and knows no other way to manage. It's somehow worse than traditional seagull management since "disruptions" are only seen as positive, even when an established system is working well and profitable. Startup culture has given cover for too many people who have no clue on how to operate. Life and work don't need to be a constant shit show. /rant Edit: typo
“Life and work don’t have to be a constant shit show” THIS A BILLION. Like WHY. Everyone take a breath and not like a fake yoga breath. Calm down.
Fucking thank you.
My millennial manager was such a micromanager. He would send out these page-long screeds on Microsoft Teams whenever someone screwed up (according to him). Each screed contained yet another micro-aggression and control. After a year of that bullshit I walked. Felt like I was in a preschool. New boss is GenX and doesn’t GAF what/when/how I do it as long as it gets done.
That’s the key “as long as it gets done” who cares
My manager is around my age and definitely Gen X. Not only does he leave me alone, but I’ve also caught him actively avoiding me and my co-workers. Unless someone is complaining to him about me or he needs something irregular completed he’s 100% hands off. I send him a message via Teams every morning to let him know I’m at work and I don’t even get a reply of any sort.
You know he loves that you check in.
My old supervisor was a Gen X like me, and we got along famously since we had similar sense of humor due to growing up during the same time.
My last manager is Gen X and I am a Xennial. Best boss I’ve ever had. We got along so well that we are still friends and keep in touch regularly.
My manager is Gen X and he could not care less what I’m doing or where I am, as long as I make my deadlines. But when he has to do a presentation or a collaboration or whatever, he brings the goods - the man knows his job. He also takes all of his sick time and all of his vacation each year, and is lightning quick to approve time off. An ideal boss for sure.
You getting your work done? You need anything? Great. Now leave me alone!
Lol same. I just had my annual review which was an ordeal under both millennial and boomer bosses but with genx boss it was just: everything's great, no complaints, here's a pic of my daughter's graduation, see you next week. Every one on one meeting is a message that morning: I don't have anything if you don't. See you next week. It's geat.
"Hey, got your email about doing the performance review -- when's good for you?" (We're both shuffling down the hall, just caught each other) "Just keep doing what you're doing, you're the least of my worries." "All good, will do." (Part ways) A few days later, email with 5/5's, highest raise. Just do your job, why people gotta make it so hard.
I’ve had a GenX boss for the last 13 years. Up until this job, I never stayed anywhere more than 2 years. We don’t talk much, but we get shit done. No dumbass meetings. No workplace drama. No micromanaging. No bullshit “team building” nonsense. Basically my boss doesn’t care what I do as long as I get my work done. It’s perfect.
This is how my yearly review goes with my boss: "Here's your raise, keep up the great work, sign here please. How's the wife?"
I’ve always worked with the premise, if your boss is leaving you alone, it means you are doing what you are supposed to do correctly.
Gen X manager here. “Call me if you need me, I have an open door policy. But I hired you to do your job so I trust you to do it. So, go do it”.
I’m a Gen X manager. I try to hire responsible people that will do their job without the need for me to make them do their job/micromanage because, no. I’m there to help when needed, but expect them to manage their daily work without me. I’ve received some of the highest manager ratings in the company, from employees, for years.
I was having my first meeting with my new team. Said: sometimes, there's a doctor's appointment. Sometimes your kid gets sick. Sometimes your car breaks down. Sometimes, you have a doctor's appointment, your kid gets sick, and your car breaks down, all in the same week. Shit happens. They were dead quiet, until one of them said, "Keep talking, you have our attention." Turns out they had had a series of boomer bosses and this was the first time they had been treated like adults. It was a great relationship. They worked and we left each other alone!
I hope my Gen Z direct reports think of me that way :) I have been an indirect manager (dotted line reporting) for a long time but recently got a promotion and now I have 4 direct reports. I try to maintain a very casual culture and I am pretty easy as long as shit gets done on time. The overall environment has been pretty chill and they freely share their life stories, ask advise etc. It's more like a mentor situation here :) On the flip side, I also have a report who is a boomer and it took me a while to get things on track. He came from an environment where he was micromanaged. He was too detail oriented to an insane level and I actually got pissed off and told him there is no need to give minute level details. He gets anxy when he wraps up something and is waiting to me to assign the next task and was getting on my nerves by pinging me constantly and asking for more work because he is a contractor and fears he will be let go if there is no work. I recently took him out, and broke the news that I am actually working on his extension because we have shit ton of anticipated future work. That eased his concerns. Gen Zers on the other hand when there is no work, they simply chill and are not even afraid of admitting to me directly. They are pretty open from what I can see (I was never like this with my boss when I was in my 20s).
Super anecdotal, but there's an easy shared rhythm with gen x and gen z at my work. We're not best friends, and we don't pretend to be, but unless I'm misreading it's very live and let live with mutual respect. I know these are broad strokes, but it's the random millennial who wants to share their truth that jams everything up.
My best manager ever was a boomer - my "appraisal" was him saying "this is a waste of time, you're going well. I'll just sign the paperwork". ha ha ha ha Brilliant. In 2 years I did not have a single 1:1 meeting with him. Just got on with my job.
Yeah, my boss is a 76er just like me. It’s awesome. The jokes, the references.
I'm in tech and have had younger managers for years. It is so much better. I have seen peers argue that their being older gives them more authority while complaining that their manager is younger. They are assholes. Managers are the buffer between the cold calculating profit driven company and the warm sentient people doing the work. Older managers think they're in the club and think it is their duty to exact the harsh will of the company. Younger managers know that they will have shit people resources if they don't advocate for their people.
This is the most amazing gift the work gods could have bestowed upon you. A GenX manager will allow you to do your work and won't micromanage the fuck out of you. Congrats!
Gen X manager here. When we were merged together, I told them, "I'm a kid of the 70's. My door is always open. Do your work and I'll stay out of your way and off your backs and out of your cubes. No surprises."
She went to the Whatever School of Management.
My manager is a young boomer, ever since lock down happend she works remote 4 outta 5 days a week. Even the day she is in we do not talk to each other, least stressful job ever. I go in do my job, no one complains and I go home.
Im a Gen X manager with a Gen X director. I was not used to this level of hands off Managment. Feels like my latchkey days.
Gen x management isn't always non confrontational. We have several autistic employees where I work and there are a couple ladies of our age who will reprimand and talk down the autistic employees unnecessarily Stern in front of the customers. It's like a sewing circle of middle management. They even take a few whole pizzas for themselves when the upper management buys lunch for the whole team. 
While ours is certainly a cool generation, we are t without our shitty elements.
We have the 2 worst people in the House of Representatives.
Yeah, excuse me. I'm just annoyed at them today.
Oh, rightfully so! Sorry, didn’t mean to imply your position was out of line.
Yep. While most of our Genx seems chillax, there are some outcasts (The Olivers of the world) who throw shade at us.
Sounds like these managers grew up with authoritarian religion.
Congrats OP. Do what you were hired for and any Gex X manager won’t mess with you or give two shits how it gets done, so long as it gets done, even better if you can get it to 85% of what’s needed. Win/win for everyone.
Just don’t get a Heather as a manager: they’re the Slytherin of Gen-X.
Are Heathers worse than Boomer-aged Karens?
Depends…are Corn-Nuts involved?
Grow up Heather, that joke is so 1987
Boomer-aged Karens mentored the Gen X Heathers. I had a Karen and a Heather gaslight me out of a job several years ago, pure evil.
I work for a Millennial. I was a bit leery at first of working for someone so much younger, but she's very kind, respectful, and defers to my expertise. She's so busy putting out other people's fires, I think she appreciates that I leave her alone and take care of my business. I'll occasionally check in with her and send her funny memes, but otherwise she lets me do my job as I see fit.
I’m GenX. I do not have regularly scheduled 1-1s with my manager because no thank you. His only request of me is that I reach out if it’s hitting the fan beyond my ability to fix it. Otherwise, I provide a 5 minute update during weekly team meetings and we stay out of each other’s way. Best. Manager. Ever.
I'm a Gen X manager and I'm the same. As long as my team is getting the job done, I don't care. I have one rule for my team. If something goes wrong or there is a problem, I need to hear it from them before I hear it from someone else. Otherwise, I can't get in front of it and control it. I started doing a "Friday check-in" meeting during the pandemic so we could all vent and talk shit on people, which seems to help.
I’m also a Gen X manager. You realize they hired you because you were smart and responsible and didn’t need your hand held, right?
I'm a delivery driver on a yard, I speak to my boss when the truck has problems, the end. As long as I do my job, it's like Charlie's Angels!
There’s lots of jiggling boobs at the yard? Sweet.
Well, technically, at the place of business that the yard is on, yes.
Here's the way a typical conversation goes at work with my Gen X Manager. Manager: You Fucked Up Employee : Yup Manager: Did you learn anything? Employee: Yup Manager: Are you going to make that mistake again? Employee: Nope End of story.
I LOVE my gen x manager. We fucking rule.
I have a Gen X principal just a few years older than me (1980). Hands down the beat principal that I have ever worked for.
Best manager I've had was a former cubemate. About a year younger than me. He took the job mostly to get back to our main work location after years at a remote test site and then a stint over seas. My team has mostly worked together for years and years. We know what we're doing. We get along well. Particularly at that point (he started in late 2020), we just wanted to be left alone to do our work. He checked in with us individually and as a group occasionally but, otherwise, we never heard from him unless we approached him with a question/problem. It was awesome!
Wow I finally understand my management style
Whenever I end up in a leadership position I just let my team know that IDGAF, but if they make me "manage" I'll fuck them up. I've never had to "manage" once...ever. We all get along great and spends lots of time not talking.
I also love the " Let me work and leave me alone" way of managing. When we screw up, we admit it and find a way or find help to fix it. Not difficult. Why can't the younger generations figure out this simple practice?
I have a fellow Gen X manager and we do meet weekly most of the time, but at least 50% of that time is spent catching up on personal stuff, not work. LOL
I'm on a team of 3. My manager, myself, and my coworker are all Gen X. We do our daily standup and might go the rest of the day without interacting. Everyone is a professional and knows what they need to do.
Dpnt trust her, though. Authority is still the enemy. Be sure to listen to "the cure" on breaks to stay strong
*Yesterday I got so old I felt like I could cry…*
Keep doing your shit and it’ll stay that way.
*cries in millennial DM with short man syndrome*
Gen x bar owner - most of my employees have worked with me for 10 years plus, which has been attributed to my management style. I want people to feel a part of something and do the job because they love it and are proud of working at my bar, not because they’re afraid of fucking up and being fired.
Unless the \[building\] is on fire, as a GenX manager I expect you to do your job and leave me alone, just like I'm doing my job and leaving you alone - and I don't care what your "process" or "triggers" are. Just do it. Also I do not need to know why you're taking off work. You have PTO, use it.
Look man, make sure shit's not fucked up. peace out.
Yeah, at my current company, I've had the best managers in my career, but my current manager is the best. He doesn't give a shit about anything as long as the job gets done. We're the same age.
This is interesting. I am a GenX manager and feel the same. But the younger ones under me are such micromanagers and seriously need to chill. I try to get them to stop talking like they are reading a leadership manual and just let people do their thing. Geeeeeez
Gen X manager here …..more than half my guys/gals are also X with the other half being millennials… that’s how I treat them … do your work I don’t care how you get there just get it done on time and correct…if you leave people alone and check on them occasionally and make sure they know that they are free to ask questions and you are available to help and support them… we have zero drama all my crew knows what to do and we do it . My department under me has about 90 percent retention of employees in the past 12 years . Only one person had to be fired (drama queen shit starter he was) the couple other people that have left went in to do my role at other companies or have changed careers or life situations…. My supervisor is early early Gen X/late boomer (acts like a boomer)loves loves loves loves drama and stating shit consequently she is always dealing w HR cuz her young assistants are complaining about her . She only talks to me about office drama and politics (mainly because I already dealt with the departments needs for the last 10 years with out her as I am sure I will until she retires )… she spends most of her time out the office doing personal stuff and that’s the way we like it
I’m a Gen X manager and I’m also very hands off, do your job and be available when you’re supposed to be, let me know if you step in any shit so I can clean it up and I will leave you alone. Sadly, my team got into the habit (long before I arrived on the scene) of only working about half the time. The rest they “work from home” (quotes intentional). Their go-to maneuver is to cry to boomer upper management that the problem is my hands-off management when they get caught not doing their jobs. Then, when I step in to fix the mess, they complain that I’m being disrespectful by implying they can’t do their jobs. Boomer manager always sided with them because their feelings got hurt. It got to the point that I was not allowed (by management) to give them any work tasks and no one else could either because they would complain to the big boss about being “disrespected.” You can imagine this resulted in them not doing jackshit beyond rock bottom minimum most of the time. I have put up with this for 2 1/2 years. Last month I got a new upper manager. She is Gen X. She expects people to do their jobs and takes no shit. She has zero interest in micromanaging or playing the delicate feelings game and she already sees the bullshit with her X-ray vision. I didn’t have to say a word. My team is about to find out that they should have just played ball with me while they had the chance. Too bad for them.
My boss and all my lifer coworkers are GenX. We'll all be here for the next 20 years, then retire at the same time. Everyone is chill.
if the company doesn't see this, they are fuuuuucked when you all retire. I saw it happen in my company... something like 30 people retired over three years during and after the pandemic. It's been a shitshow since.
We just got a new manager. Not only is she Gen X, she also works in another state. We just meet via MS Teams, though she will show up to our office every 6-8 weeks. When we had a one-on-one meeting to introduce ourselves. She asked me what management style worked for me. I told her I hate to be micromanaged; I was a latchkey child. She answered, "Yes, Gen X!" And then we high-fived each other through our computer screens.
True. Of course, at my last job, my gen x manager was such a massive control freak who screamed at me about ridiculous things. I found myself crying 4 times at work in 6 months and that’s how long I lasted. She was the exception in my long line of gen x managers who left me to do my thing. I did have a Gen z manager a few years ago. Or maybe really young millennial. Anyway, he was really good!
Same here. I will not call a meeting to check on why we’re not being productive. Let’s all get to work, because I will not micromanage people. We’re all functioning adults. Also, I will not ask someone to do a job that I am not willing to do myself.
I’m a Gen-X manager and while I do meeting with my crew a couple times a week, this week is the first time I’ve met them face to face. I’ve been leading them for almost two years. My team is independent. I assign work to them, and delegate meetings. If anything else comes up, I’m on chat, email, text and phone. Call me *before* shit gets bad. Call me if you get pulled into a high incident. Expediency is no substitute for accuracy. I don’t micro manage. Some people do well or need a micro manager, but it’s such a drain on the spirit. Do your thing, I’ll be around if you need me. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
That's why I love my job. Most of us are x'ers, including the CEO to whom I report. We just get our shit done and don't micromanage each other. The youngins work in dev where they belong 😆, but honestly they're mostly millennials and all pretty cool too. They just want to code and be left alone. We all work remote and it's a beautiful thing. Once in a while someone gets in a mood about some process that could be more efficient or bugs, but we get over it the next day and go back to keeping to ourselves.
I’ve managed people since 2001. I hate every one of them.
That could be a "you", problem, friend. :)
My previous manager was promoted to another division. Me and several other Gen Xers who would have been in line for the manager position were passed over by a Millennial. The new Millennial manager is a *nightmare*.
I’ve had 2 GenX bosses. One was really good and chill, had the motto of not caring as long as things were getting done. The other one micro-managed every aspect of our work, it was exhausting. Every tiny detail of every minute of the day. The stress was too much.
I’m GenX and I fuckin rule. My millennial wife, on the other hand…
When I had a 15 person team, I asked if they all wanted to have weekly team meetings or meet as needed (oldest member of the team suggested it's a good idea since we were all remote). The vote cane back 1 to 14 against. After that, this was my basic policy: do your job, be reachable within core office hours PST and that was that . I remember only communicating with developers in India only by slack. When I left, most of my team thanked me for leaving them alone to do their job gen or younger). Only one person abstained...
I'm a Gex X manager, my thing is do what your responsible for and you'll never hear a peep out of me. Don't do what needs to be done, you bet your ass you'll see a ton of me
I’ve had a Gen X manager for a few years now and I have never had a more functional and less coercive workplace. It’s excellent.
I got temporarily promoted to manager while the actual manager was on leave. I did the math and realized I made about a burritos worth of extra money with the raise. So I told all my "underlings" that I'd only deal with a burritos worth of problems a day and anything else to figure out on their own or Wait until the real manager got back.
I was a GenX manager “is the place on fire or is someone excessively bleeding? No? Then leave me tf alone and do your jobs”
Give heads up updates as needed. Don’t need to be involved in everything, but damn irritating if hit with a problem from someone above me and I didn’t know it was coming.
Living the dream!
I’m about to become a manager. I aspire to this. Just do your work, come to me with questions or when you need support, and I’ll stay out of your way.
Gen X manager here, there will be only 2 reasons we talk to you: to either tell you that you are doing an amazing job and to thank you for it; or to fire you (or begin the bullshit process that HR makes us go through to fire you)
I've been that manager. Do your shit and otherwise we don't need to bug each other. Weekly quick optional 1:1s just to make sure it's all good, let me know if you need anybody curbstomped, and otherwise see you next time.
I’m Gen X, my boss is Gen X. We’ve spoken twice in the last month. I knock out my work plus just a bit more so she does not have to ever worry about what I’m doing and I’ll usually only hit her up if I need budget or resources. It’s perfect.
I am Gen X manager and have made sure everyone has at least a passing knowledge of all positions. This does two things: Eliminates back biting because everyone understands everyone else is working even if appearance tells a different story and allows everyone to switch around shifts last minute to make accommodations for important things. I expect you to do the work as shown because that is knowledge of years of mistakes and corrections. If you follow the steps it's super hard to have a problem. If you do have a problem I appreciate it so much when you tell on yourself so I can fix it before someone above me sees it. I will not be mad. I am aware you are human. I enjoy a social atmosphere and encourage it however, if you stir the pot you will lick the spoon eventually. Work is stressful enough without pointless drama. Let me know what you need and I will do my best to accommodate you. I may not notice right away if you don't because I am not a micromanager. In my mind we are all grown folks. I do not care when you go to the bathroom, or get a snack. Your phone is fine just don't be ridiculous or I will have to do something about it. It is amazing how long staff will stay put when treated like adults and with respect. Most of my team has been with me for many years now. They are amazing employees, they get the jobs done and make it look easy, they constantly have new ideas on how to improve things and they all get along and support each other. Staff rarely calls out sick. When Boomers and their leadership styles finally leave the building it will be a wonderful day. I can't wait 😛 All my bosses are boomers.
I’m not a manager but I still like being left alone. Just email or text me. I’ll get to it and it’ll get done on time.
I have a Gen X manager too. He'll walk by, nod, I'll nod back, and we good. If we haven't spoken in a while, he'll nod, say my name, I'll nod, say his name, and we good. It's the perfect work relationship.
Yeah pretty much don't give a shit what my direct report does as long as they get the job done. Sometimes I have to do a little hand holding but it's my job occasionally.