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Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

cnn.com

51–60 of 61 posts

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#51

The author doesn't consider our parents and their parents didn't own a modern house walking distance from dinning and entertainment which is what most people aspire to today. They also married very young, had three kids before 25 and signed up for 30 year loans to pay their cookie cutter suburban homes. You could technically do the same today, it's just that living that type of life would be absolutely terrifying for…

This isn't about modern houses. Houses built in the 70s are also incredibly expensive.

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Competition still applies. It your company has a culture where delivering doesn't matter, you are gonna be taken out by one that does.

Thats why I've enjoyed working for the government for the past couple decades. I'm pretty confident that a good chunk of the code I write will never make it to production.

As an aside, wouldn't you enjoy some degree of pride if you could claim otherwise? Like "every licence plate number in Kentucky is generated by an algorithm I wrote" or some such?

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For real. I’m Gen X and don’t know anyone my age into their career at all, let alone foolish enough to worry about being productive for someone else.

> being productive for someone else. Marxist alienation is in da house.

Don’t have to go that far. I’m productive when doing my own things, but if I’m taking a salary, my productivity is my employers concern, not mine.

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats why I've enjoyed working for the government for the past couple decades. I'm pretty confident that a good chunk of the code I write will never make it to production.

As an aside, wouldn't you enjoy some degree of pride if you could claim otherwise? Like "every licence plate number in Kentucky is generated by an algorithm I wrote" or some such?

But then you would be automating away the comedy of this

https://fox56news.com/news/kentucky/rejected-2022-kentucky-p...

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. But this process can take decades. Even longer than your entire career in some cases.

If you can be confident that you can coast your whole life and be well-off, then I have no argument against it. If you are not confident, or perhaps want to make sure your children have a work ethic that is more likely to give them a good life - then it's a big risk to assume you can chill and all will be fine.

The OP isn't coasting, it's about not maximizing productivity for the sake of it. It's about striking the right balance, avoiding burnout, working smarter not harder. Too often productivity becomes a cargo cult of austere asceticism rather than something that actually enriches one's life. Some days it's okay to work-to-rule.

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For real. I’m Gen X and don’t know anyone my age into their career at all, let alone foolish enough to worry about being productive for someone else.

While I wouldn't go that far myself, as a fellow GenXer I remember it was us in the early 1990s who were viewed as the generation that was uninspired by work or the prospect of a career. Like Linklater's 1990 film "Slacker". Or Smith's 1994 film "Clerks". I think a lot of things that are assigned to "generations" are really just due to age. Younger people aren't that into work, often because the intro-level jobs they…

I also feel like it has something to do with the aging process itself, perhaps biochemical. When I was younger I just wanted to hang around and try to find girls to fuck. The idea that I would enjoy working was crazy to me. Now in my 30s and with a family, work and contributing to society starts to seem more interesting rather than just something I half-ass for the money. I'm not totally sold on it yet but maybe in another 10 years I will be.

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#58

Bare effort mondays? Quiet quitting? It seems like Gen-Z has come up with terms that describe basic human behaviour, and the media is running with it as some shocking new phenomena. Half assing it at your job is not a new thing.

>It seems like Gen-Z has come up with terms

Media propagandists serving the capitalist class invented those terms, not Gen Z. Zoomers are not in power anywhere.

>Half assing it at your job is not a new thing.

It's not "half assing" but rather "acting your wage" aka being aware enough to realize you're not paid enough to put yourself in danger or lose sleep over some bullshit when you're barely paid enough to survive.

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#59

I find it quite ironic that the author cares so much about housing costs and presumably money, but at the same time she chose a profession that has a low average salary. If you are worried about costs, do something that pays better. If everyone picked low-GDP professions like her then in the extreme case you’d have a country like Democratic Republic of Congo with low housing costs but also you’re practically squattin…

>If everyone picked low-GDP professions

If everyone picked high-GDP professions, society would collapse. Imagine a world where everyone is a CEO and nobody knows how to fix a water main or run a cafeteria.

>If you are worried about costs, do something that pays better.

We should start by paying better for the things people already do. Rewarding those who keep the lights on incentivizes keeping the lights on.

Re: Opinion: Gen Z is right to reject the false gospel of productivity

#60

Bare effort mondays? Quiet quitting? It seems like Gen-Z has come up with terms that describe basic human behaviour, and the media is running with it as some shocking new phenomena. Half assing it at your job is not a new thing.

>It seems like Gen-Z has come up with terms Media propagandists serving the capitalist class invented those terms, not Gen Z. Zoomers are not in power anywhere. >Half assing it at your job is not a new thing. It's not "half assing" but rather "acting your wage" aka being aware enough to realize you're not paid enough to put yourself in danger or lose sleep over some bullshit when you're barely paid enough to survive.

You don't have to be "in power" to coin terms. Teenagers on TikTok come up with more cultural commentary and introduce more new verbiage and lingo than the US Senate.
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