Any conversation between two boomers with sons or daughters might sound like this: “And your children? How are they? What do you do?”. “Okay, they’re fine. They all have jobs, thank God. But honestly, I have no idea what they do.”
This was followed by laughter because 22 years into the 21st century, many parents of a certain age seriously have no idea what their sons or daughters do. Almost all boomers—those people who work hard, have pensions and retirement plans—got old-fashioned jobs when they came of age. And most stayed there for decades.
Boomers did everything, of course. They were butchers, doctors, lawyers, truckers, accountants, electricians, plumbers, chefs, firefighters, and yes, even journalists. Everyone knew what these people did for a living, and the lucky ones got rewards for their efforts at the end of the day.
When we were asked when we were little what we wanted to be when we grew up, none of them said: “I want to be an influencer”. In case you don’t know, an influencer is like being famous for being famous. Influencers make money by lending their name and fame to products in the virtual market and on social networks. If you can build a community and get a following, companies that want to sell their products might reward you with sales commissions for making ads.
Jehava Brown is a mom, stay-at-home mom, and full-time influencer on Instagram, where she has 193,000 followers. In a Business Insider interview, he said he charges an average of $5,000 for a single post and $3,000 for an Instagram Story. And to think that I still get emotional when they give me credits for my articles…
Grazie Pozo admits that she was surprised to learn regarding the careers her children chose. Her and her husband, both physicians in Florida, They assumed that they would at least understand what their children did for a living, but they were wrong.
One of his sons, 25, left a consulting job to work for a company through which people can invest in their favorite professional athletes. He told me that he asks his son: “Will you explain it to me once more? Sounds like gambling.” No, she tells him, it’s like the stock market. Well, might be worst.
His other son works for a large consulting firm and “lives the life of a pasha at 22,” he says. “He studies and works with PowerPoints. He’s very busy and works long hours, but I can’t tell you what he does.”
Part of the generation gap around work lies in the language of the new economy. The old jobs still exist, of course, but there are many new jobs and the titles are different. There are “chief evangelists” and “moonshot captains.” Many companies now have “inspirational bosses.” My favorite? “Executive Vice President of Executive Visibility” (I think that’s as a PR manager). Tesla CEO Elon Musk prefers the title technoking.
The digital economy also favors job descriptions that only a robot might understand. For example, I recently read a job posting that said something like “Change Manager Wanted. The change manager will be responsible for change management planning and readiness activities. You will work closely with senior leadership in the PMO Go to Market portfolio (Sales, Service, Customer Support, etc.) and support other portfolios as needed… Another area of responsibility will be establishing a change management practice within the global PMO team with standards, processes, tools, and documentation that all team members can leverage.” Ah, well, they would have said it before.
Ann S., a seasoned attorney from Washington, DC, is a mother of six and says one of her sons, 28, is a government contractor, working in risk management, accounting, and has a lot of Zoom meetings. His other son, 34, is also a government contractor and works with the Navy. “That’s all I know,” he laughs. “My children are going to kill me.”
I think I know what my son does. He has something to do with wellness software and legislation. What I do know is that it meets several millennial job requirements: You work from home, you believe your work contributes to greater social justice, you like your colleagues, you feel valued, and you are optimistic regarding the future.
And he’s happy, and that’s really the only thing that mothers and fathers want for their children. Maybe the next time you’re in a meeting talking to someone, skip the jobs part and ask if their sons or daughters are happy. Everyone understands what it means to be happy.
Por Kathleen Parker (The Washington Post).-
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