Why do Gen Z n Y say boomers had it easier?

[JasoRockStar]

I wouldn't say its easier. i can probably work as an accountant well into my 70s if i wanted. Whereas i doubt i could do physical labor that late in life.

But labor is far less stressful, once you clock out and leave the workplace, you are free of any work related anxiety or pressure. No 24 hour workathons trying to reach a deadline. nobody calling you in the middle of night with questions or an impromptu meeting. No concerns about meeting forecasted profit margins etc etc. just go to work, put in your 8 hours and you done.

I guess it all depends on what kind of toll you can tolerate more. Whether it's the physical discomfort or the mental stress, it's a matter of preference.

I was always the guy that never minded cutting grass, pulling weeds, helping folks move and stuff like that. It gave me a sense of accomplishment because I knew that when I was done, I accomplished something. Just keep going and you'll succeed.

In the field I'm in now, I can get that feeling, but there's also failure mixed in with in. Sometimes I feel like I'm just wasting my time.

 

[UpNext]

It is. More women work in the office than do physical labor. That means it’s easier

So what you're saying is, you'd rather just do something harder that pays you less and puts more wear and tear on your body. Got it.

 

[BrothaZay]

So what you're saying is, you'd rather just do something harder that pays you less and puts more wear and tear on your body. Got it.

I don’t think physical labor jobs pay less than sitting behind a computer in your pajamas

 

[spliz]

IJS I've rarely heard people who've done both say the mental work was easier. When you have those days you don't want to work, it's easier to push yourself physically and just go through the motions if your body isn't injured. When you have those days you don't want to work and still have to solve problems tho and gotta mentally sort all that out

I've done both. What u are doing is comparing higher levels of mental labor to lower levels of physical labor. It isn't even fair really.

 

[Wildhundreds]

When I criticize Boomers, I'm only talking about Cacs. Many Black Boomers were the first ones in their families to go to college, be educated in integrated classes, work alongside cacs and navigate their workplace politics. They made mistakes, but I can't blame them. They were sold lies by everyone around them.

Cac Boomers on the other hand have ruined this country.

Thank you. Imagine a black person and a white person agreeing on boomers destroying the country. Then have a conversation about the "black/white wealth gap". Information overload like a mfer.

 

[Originalman]

Nah, Gen Z definitely got it easier when it comes to working/employment.

shyt, they make up positions right now just so they can get their foot in the door.

Other aspects though, I'll definitely say they have it tough.

Also a larger safety net. Many of these government safety net social programs didn't exist in the 50s and early 60s. So if your momma was single or your dad died wasn't no CHIP for your ass as a kid. Since no child health program as a kid you may have had rotten teeth and no food in the home, no glasses, might even had other illnesses cause your single parent couldn't afford or had health care.

Folks forget all these social safety nets didn't exist as they exist now. Yes, things are more expensive but its balanced out with other programs as safety nets.

For example right now if you are low income the state will assist with paying for child care at a qualified daycare center paying up to 70%. Back in the 50s wasn't none of that shyt. You a low income parent you leaving them kids with a neighbor or auntie where they will sit in front of a TV cause the adult watching them is not an early child care teacher.

 

[Luke Cage]

I guess it all depends on what kind of toll you can tolerate more. Whether it's the physical discomfort or the mental stress, it's a matter of preference.

I was always the guy that never minded cutting grass, pulling weeds, helping folks move and stuff like that. It gave me a sense of accomplishment because I knew that when I was done, I accomplished something. Just keep going and you'll succeed.

In the field I'm in now, I can get that feeling, but there's also failure mixed in with in. Sometimes I feel like I'm just wasting my time.

Yeah, i think that's specifically the issue with mental work. Its always ongoing especially in finance. You never get to feel like you completed a job.
In fact if there is nothing to do, thats usually a problem,

 

[Originalman]

Thank you. Image a black person and a white person agreeing on boomers destroying the country. Then have a conversation about the "black/white wealth gap". Information overload like a mfer.

I wouldn't even say white boomers. shyt you can say white greatest generation, white millenials, white zoomers....basically white folks in general.

They should never be grouped in with black folks no matter the generation cause they gonna benefit first and take advantage of the situation no matter the generation.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

Because ONE MAN was able to take care of the whole family. House, Bills, college, and vacation.


They pulled the ladder up on the American Dream

In the black community this has never been true. We always needed more than one income

 

[IIVI]

Also a larger safety net. Many of these government safety net social programs didn't exist in the 50s and early 60s. So if your momma was single or your dad died wasn't no CHIP for your ass as a kid. Since no child health program as a kid you may have had rotten teeth and no food in the home, no glasses, might even had other illnesses cause your single parent couldn't afford or had health care.

Folks forget all these social safety nets didn't exist as they exist now. Yes, things are more expensive but its balanced out with other programs as safety nets.

For example right now if you are low income the state will assist with paying for child care at a qualified daycare center paying up to 70%. Back in the 50s wasn't none of that shyt. You a low income parent you leaving them kids with a neighbor or auntie where they will sit in front of a TV cause the adult watching them is not an early child care teacher.

Exactly.

It follows a general principle some people forget often: as time goes on, human beings try their best to put precautions on things that may have eliminated them in the past. A few smart people invent things that protects a bunch of people from hurting themselves and everyone benefits. We constantly raise the floor.

Like how they have alerts, beeps, and automatic shutoffs for home machinery that may kill someone being un-attentive or damage their property in the past.

That's honestly why a lot of people are around now that wouldn't have survived before.

The same thing applies to the social programs.

There's always going to be a top and bottom, but if you compare what people in the past had to go through, it ain't the same because the present has been made to be more efficient than the past.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

IJS I've rarely heard people who've done both say the mental work was easier. When you have those days you don't want to work, it's easier to push yourself physically and just go through the motions if your body isn't injured. When you have those days you don't want to work and still have to solve problems tho and gotta mentally sort all that out

The main reason my father pushed me to go to college was so I didn’t have to do manual labor and have my body all beat up like him and his friends. My pops is pushing 70 and might need a hip replacement soon

 

[JasoRockStar]

IJS I've rarely heard people who've done both say the mental work was easier. When you have those days you don't want to work, it's easier to push yourself physically and just go through the motions if your body isn't injured. When you have those days you don't want to work and still have to solve problems tho and gotta mentally sort all that out

Exactly. Once you get in a routine, you can reserve the thoughts in your head for problems you facing at home, any kind of side hustles you plan on taking up, etc. I'd have the freedom to play in my mind.

Instead I gotta listen to folks talk constantly, pay attention to their problems, figure out how to address them

The shyt gets annoying from time to time, ngl

 

[Givethanks]

Depends on the job really.


I used to see some of the fattest men on construction sites. These mugs would talk all this shyt about working 10hour days, 6 days a week starting at 5am, but realistically they maybe worked 4 hours or worst they just sweep the floor and do shyt all



And on the other side, I know people who say they work for the "Government" in an office, where they answer email's inquiring on the status of an application... they have a copy and paste template they send, but make it look like they do so much




It's a case by case situation

 

[IIVI]

When it comes to the actual job, I personally think things got easier over time. That's how things go: people try to make improvements.

Even white collar jobs like software: you can pull in external libraries other people have written right into your project so you or your company don't have to write it yourselves. API's nicely documented, shyt some company's write the library directly and all you got to do is import it or inject it as a dependency for seamless integration. Do you know how much vector work you had to do to print colors and shapes on the user interface with Assembly, C++, etc. that is now easily done with C++ that HTML, CSS and Javascript? Not to mention IDE's vs simple text editors with no kind of highlighting. You had to use your eyes, your brain and know your books. Now you got Google and ChatGPT and why people copy and paste bad code all throughout their projects. For the most part engineering work, outside of the innovating work has basically turned into punching numbers into an app/program, no math skills on the job either.

 

[hex]

I personally know boomers that retired 20 years ago (at 60) and didn't even graduate high school. It would be virtually impossible to retire at 60 now, with the same back ground.

Not to mention prior to....I'd say the late 90's nobody was doing back ground checks and all that shyt. You could walk in off the street, get a job, and have little to no history. Nobody cared.

Now you apply at Wal-Mart and motherfukkers act like it's NASA.

The fact of the matter is cost of living went way the fukk out of sync with wages in the late 80's, early 90's, and never realigned.

Couple that with the crack era....boomers had to deal with literally none of that.

Fred.