Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They were my coworkers whose work I was tasked with cleaning up. It was all electronic, so there was no "tone" being set. I made the same corrections and suggestions I had always made, for which employees 20 or 30 years ago were grateful and took gracefully. It's just that today's new hires are apparently offended by and unable to handle any perceived criticism, however well-deserved.
Just be glad their helicopter moms didn't swoop down on you.
How did they even qualify to be hired in the first place?
Someone else wrote their resumes and cover letters, I suspect, if not their papers in college, and no one tests written language skills in the interviewing process.
theiSomeone else wrote their resumes and cover letters, I suspect, if not their papers in college, and no one tests written language skills in the interviewing process.
The bolded is what I was suspecting. I've heard of moms moving to the college town with their kids, and taking an apartment, so they can continue helicoptering, and doing the kids' work for them. That is just bizarre!
Interestingly, it was real life, not college. The people otter was correcting were in their first job after graduating, I gather. It sounds like it was necessary to practically provide remedial grammar and writing lessons on the job (something they should have learned in highschool, but that's not a realistic expectation these days), which otter essentially did in some form, but was chastised for.
The kids weren't comfortable with finding out time and again, that they had far sub-par writing skills. Apparently their professors never told them. The profs should have referred all of them to the college writing lab for help, or to a remedial English course.
How did they even qualify to be hired in the first place?
On some of this we're only hearing one side of the story. Let me give you an example of what I mean.
I hired a vice principal...really good references, good academic record, successful teacher, filled a void in our admin for some diversity, and really nice guy. Much of what he did at our school was good to excellent. But he had one very bad habit that I couldn't break him of. Part of his job, of course, was to evaluate teachers and to give them direction. And every time he would get into a situation where he was in an authority role with a teacher he would start the conversation with, "I'm your boss and...". Instant tension. I kept telling him, "Charlie, they already know that. You don't need to say that. Better to say something like: 'What I need you to do is...' or 'What I need you to work on is...'". But he couldn't break himself of what was, quite clearly, his own insecurity. As a result, he never developed a positive relationship with our teachers, and ultimately he decided to transfer and get a fresh start.
On some of this we're only hearing one side of the story. Let me give you an example of what I mean.
I hired a vice principal...really good references, good academic record, successful teacher, filled a void in our admin for some diversity, and really nice guy. Much of what he did at our school was good to excellent. But he had one very bad habit that I couldn't break him of. Part of his job, of course, was to evaluate teachers and to give them direction. And every time he would get into a situation where he was in an authority role with a teacher he would start the conversation with, "I'm your boss and...". Instant tension. I kept telling him, "Charlie, they already know that. You don't need to say that. Better to say something like: 'What I need you to do is...' or 'What I need you to work on is...'". But he couldn't break himself of what was, quite clearly, his own insecurity. As a result, he never developed a positive relationship with our teachers, and ultimately he decided to transfer and get a fresh start.
Well, OK that takes a leap of assumption as to how otter communicated with new hires. She said, she'd been doing that same through the course of her employment at that location, and it was only in the last couple of years that the newer hires couldn't handle it. There had been no problem before that.
I don't understand how helicoptering, and protecting kids from any possible disappointment, became such a widespread practice. Was there a parenting book someone published back in the 90's or whenever, that advocated this parenting strategy? Does anyone know? On the one hand, there have always been helicopter moms who were over-involved in their kids' school assignments, but they were fairly rare. At some point, though, it became more than just an isolated fringe phenomenon.
Well, OK that takes a leap of assumption as to how otter communicated with new hires. She said, she'd been doing that same through the course of her employment at that location, and it was only in the last couple of years that the newer hires couldn't handle it. There had been no problem before that.
I don't understand how helicoptering, and protecting kids from any possible disappointment, became such a widespread practice. Was there a parenting book someone published back in the 90's or whenever, that advocated this parenting strategy? Does anyone know? On the one hand, there have always been helicopter moms who were over-involved in their kids' school assignments, but they were fairly rare. At some point, though, it became more than just an isolated fringe phenomenon.
1. We're not talking about kids. We're talking about employees.
2. You're taking just one side of the story. We don't know how her attitude may have actually changed over the years. I've certainly seen employees who turn negative and bitter over time.
We're talking about young, just-out-of-college employees.
As I said, I just made the corrections without commentary, as I always had, but posters here can assume what they like.
To answer Ruth (and this thread IS about college kids):
It started with the "high self-esteem/everybody gets a trophy" movement. Watch small kids and parents; the former can't make a move without a "Good job!" "Alright!" or "High five!" from the former. I swear the kids actually get sick of high-fiving.
I noticed this past summer at the pool that instead of yelling, "Walk!" as in generations past, the lifeguards now yell, "Walk, buddy, please!" LOL. I asked one if they were instructed to be nicer about it than they used to be, and he confirmed that they were...
Last edited by otterhere; 10-18-2022 at 12:40 PM..
1. We're not talking about kids. We're talking about employees.
2. You're taking just one side of the story. We don't know how her attitude may have actually changed over the years. I've certainly seen employees who turn negative and bitter over time.
Only my first paragraph was about otter's situation. The second (separated from the first by several lines) was on a different, but related, topic, about nutty child-rearing practices (that lead to helpless, easily-offended adults like the ones otter encountered), and wondering how they gained so many adherents around the turn of the millennium.
So now you're assuming that otter has turned "angry and bitter" over the course of her career? Have you considered a career as a fiction writer? I think you owe otter an apology.
We're talking about young, just-out-of-college employees.
As I said, I just made the corrections without commentary, as I always had, but posters here can assume what they like.
To answer Ruth (and this thread IS about college kids):
It started with the "high self-esteem/everybody gets a trophy" movement. Watch small kids and parents; the former can't make a move without a "Good job!" "Alright!" or "High five!" from the former. I swear the kids actually get sick of high-fiving.
I noticed this past summer at the pool that instead of yelling, "Walk!" as in generations past, the lifeguards now yell, "Walk, buddy, please!" LOL. I asked one if they were instructed to be nicer about it than they used to be, and he confirmed that they were...
I started noticing something similar about 10 or so years ago. New hires out of college were as fragile as can be. I work in a field where historically you had to be mentally & emotionally tough because we heavily criticized each other's work before it went out. Had to be because mistakes have serious consequences. But a lot of these newer grads would melt under the slightest criticism. Which made it very hard to get to the really important stuff because they had melted down and turned off before you got there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
