Boomer boss baffled as millennial workers refuse promotion, claiming it's not worth the trouble

To succeed in this kaleidoscopic world of corporate, one needs a great deal of commitment and the desire to work round the clock. This relentless work ethic set by boomers turned long hours into an accomplishment and the hustle culture was the only way to win. However, older employees often overlook the joys of life outside the office and make us wonder if success is even worth it. In a recent Reddit post, a millennial employee by the username u/Equivalent-Cup1511 shared about a stirring occurrence at their workplace when millennials collectively decided to not follow the path set by their boomers seniors.

The employee works for a big company in central Europe and the headquarters alone has around 1000 employees. With millennials making up around 30% of the workforce in the company, a new trend emerged among the workers. "A bunch of them (millennial employees) have been rejecting promotions or opportunities to apply for higher ranks in the company ever since Covid," the individual revealed. This sparked curiosity with their boomer boss who wanted to know why the millennial worker didn't come forward to apply for any promotions. The boss didn't offer any promotion but simply enquired as to why they were not interested. 

For a while, the employee and their peers have been discussing the idea of climbing up the corporate ladder and whether it's actually worth it. "My peers and I have spoken about this at length and the consensus is that we just don't want to work like our superiors," the millennial wrote. They noticed that their boomer bosses and executives were "behind their desks 60 hours a week" and even did overtime. "There are dozens of other cons that just don't make it worth the extra income," the individual mentioned. They added in one of the comments, "I was also in a hurry to climb when I started. I saw some things going on and thought if I climbed enough I could change it. I miss being so naïve because at least I had ambition."

The employee and other millennial colleagues were certain that they didn't want to hustle like their seniors. When they explained this to their boss, he couldn't believe his ears and wondered why "a young person" would refuse the promotion. He criticized the younger employees for not being committed enough to ensure the company's progress. "There are a few colleagues our age who have been ruthlessly climbing the ladder and they frankly suck. They vibe with the same outlook as the boomers and I'm concerned that the workplace will never change because once they're in charge, they won't change anything," the millennial concluded.

The millennial worker's outlook resonated with several other employees on the internet. "The promotions internally typically don't come with enough of an increase in compensation to deal with the increased headache and responsibility. They'll likely also hire someone externally for the same position but with 20% more money," said u/Hortos. "And whatever pay increase comes with the 'promotion' doesn’t justify those increased hours and the stress that comes with more responsibilities," remarked u/Boring-Onion. "Your employees aren’t lazy, you didn’t pay enough. I used to think I’ll never work more than 40 hours a week until my employer pulled out that 80K raise," added u/KeeperOfTheChips.