Hiring and Attracting Younger Employees

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dude, the 20 somethings you are partying with think you’re weird and creepy. They tolerate you so you will pick up the tab. It’s hilarious you think they will stay for 30-40 years.

100% this!

[Anonymous]

ChatGPT says the OP is probably a native speaker of Russian.

[Anonymous]

I am 68, in great health, and plan to work until I am 80.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to share as too funny. My company in Virginia has a lot of older workers in the range 52-64. We also don’t have maternity leave or paternity leave we only offer the traditional STD and use of sick days for women.

Anyhow talking HR and succession planning with a women I work with and she suggested if we offered maternity leave and paternity leave it might make company more attractive younger people like her.

I almost spit up my coffee as women is 36 has two kids and thinking of having a third. In her mind she is young? Does she not keep track her own age?

One of my prior companies we had same issue and wanted to bring average age down. Most of management around 55.

To lower average age and bring in future leaders we started a formal internship program and brought in 20 interns each around 20 years old. Some took Job upon graduating and did it 3-4 years till we got 20-30 new employees aged 21-24.

Those are young people not her. And add to madness a 38 year old guy added I am getting married soon and yes paternity leave would be a perk to attract people my age. Dude you are 38.

Then to add to final insanity both in prior conversations said they like to retire around 55. The gen x and boomers in charge are like I will work till 65-70.

Do today’s 35-40 year old think they are young?

My first real job my SVPs and EVPs were 35-40, managers 25-34 and staff was 21-24. Yet in 2025 36 is younger.

Or maybe Covid threw their clocks back 5 years.

We’ve seen a COVID impact on our pipeline

[Anonymous]

Thirties is pretty young. Your sense of age is pretty skewed. Back in my parents' day, 50 was old and 65 was retirement age. I had kids in my 40's, was doing Iron Mans in my 50's, and at 60 I am at the top of my field and have no intention of retiring soon. A company full of 20-somethings sounds like a nightmare. And people today aren't having kids in their 20's, they're having them in their 30's, at least the educated ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m 56 and would absolutely love to be 36 and consider that young, or at least younger. You sound like you have some kind of problem or a chip on your shoulder. And what you are missing is that to the 36th and 38-year-old, you are OLD.

Old meaning this. The 36 year old with two kids thinking of a third died to child care, husband, life in general takes full advanced of remote three days a week, Flex Time so comes in early leaves early when in office two days a week. Can’t work one second OT or come in one second early and remote days same thing. all fine.

Trouble is I can’t mentor her, get her better trained, take on extra work properly to get her promoted up as a proper succession plan, other trouble the younger staff who report to her are in my office all the time so I am supervising and training them. I have done interviews new staff, staff lunch, regulator meetings without her all fine. But the old people who are crapping out soon is she the answer?

Guess what I saw her resume and this lady was a go getter from 21-29. My 38 year old guy same thing. Yet both thing they are the type of younger people we need. Guess what I want to hire both of them in their 22 year old version. Get a good 8 years of work out of then perhaps.

What do you think is going to happen to the 21 year olds by the time they reach 36? I'm sure you think it won't be your problem anymore by then, but I can assure you, they either will have found something better, or will be preparing for retirement too after working over a decade in your crappy organization. What has happened is people have realized these companies dont give a crap about people, so they dont see any reason to bend over backwards to devote a whole lifetime to them.

I want a 30-40 year commitment. All my “younger” staff past and present I am still involved their careers and mentor. I will meet for lunch, phone call, video chat, text, give recommendations and job leads.

And my old bosses keep in touch and help me in my career.

The middle aged 36 year old job hoppers are plain stupid. I had one of them last year quit after 9 months for a 20k pay increase some crap firm.

I told him dude I was going to promote you at year end then do another year or two I could promote again. At that point I know people could easily make a call get you 100k raise and perhaps lead to career making 200k to 300k a year more for life.

His high pay crap job govt contractor thing about to do layoffs. He basically said to me well I don’t trust you or company to do right thing so looking out myself.

If you actually wanted a 30-40 year commitment you would realize that includes people's childbearing and parenting years. Mid-30s-40s is when people are having kids and raising young kids, they are in the thick of needing flexibility - but also needing money, because daycare is expensive and saving for college is overwhelming. So yeah, if you don't accomodate those needs, they leave. As they should.

Employers that actually keep people their whole careers see high average productivity from any given person, even though the year-to-year productivity fluctuates as people go through the seasons of their lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m 56 and would absolutely love to be 36 and consider that young, or at least younger. You sound like you have some kind of problem or a chip on your shoulder. And what you are missing is that to the 36th and 38-year-old, you are OLD.

Old meaning this. The 36 year old with two kids thinking of a third died to child care, husband, life in general takes full advanced of remote three days a week, Flex Time so comes in early leaves early when in office two days a week. Can’t work one second OT or come in one second early and remote days same thing. all fine.

Trouble is I can’t mentor her, get her better trained, take on extra work properly to get her promoted up as a proper succession plan, other trouble the younger staff who report to her are in my office all the time so I am supervising and training them. I have done interviews new staff, staff lunch, regulator meetings without her all fine. But the old people who are crapping out soon is she the answer?

Guess what I saw her resume and this lady was a go getter from 21-29. My 38 year old guy same thing. Yet both thing they are the type of younger people we need. Guess what I want to hire both of them in their 22 year old version. Get a good 8 years of work out of then perhaps.

What do you think is going to happen to the 21 year olds by the time they reach 36? I'm sure you think it won't be your problem anymore by then, but I can assure you, they either will have found something better, or will be preparing for retirement too after working over a decade in your crappy organization. What has happened is people have realized these companies dont give a crap about people, so they dont see any reason to bend over backwards to devote a whole lifetime to them.

I want a 30-40 year commitment. All my “younger” staff past and present I am still involved their careers and mentor. I will meet for lunch, phone call, video chat, text, give recommendations and job leads.

And my old bosses keep in touch and help me in my career.

The middle aged 36 year old job hoppers are plain stupid. I had one of them last year quit after 9 months for a 20k pay increase some crap firm.

I told him dude I was going to promote you at year end then do another year or two I could promote again. At that point I know people could easily make a call get you 100k raise and perhaps lead to career making 200k to 300k a year more for life.

His high pay crap job govt contractor thing about to do layoffs. He basically said to me well I don’t trust you or company to do right thing so looking out myself.

If you actually wanted a 30-40 year commitment you would realize that includes people's childbearing and parenting years. Mid-30s-40s is when people are having kids and raising young kids, they are in the thick of needing flexibility - but also needing money, because daycare is expensive and saving for college is overwhelming. So yeah, if you don't accomodate those needs, they leave. As they should.

Employers that actually keep people their whole careers see high average productivity from any given person, even though the year-to-year productivity fluctuates as people go through the seasons of their lives.

Except I want to HIRE YOUNG EMPLOYEEs. I hope they stay and plan to be flexible when kids come etc. Except this women and guy things attracting folks people about to have kids is a a good thing. My company extremely generous materinity leave as we let you use sick days to get full day and sick days dont expire. All our longer term employees who had kids was fully paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:36 is young for your organization, by your own admission.

Spitting out your coffee in shock at the temerity of an employee's request for paid parental leave means you are an old and that person is a young.

Your org is not going to be successful recruiting and retaining the young employees you say you want to have if you just implement your dated view of Who Employees Are and What They Want.

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