I talk about a lot of things, but one common theme is the habit of unnecessary spending on useless junk we don't need or use, and I often mention buyer's remorse. There are many arguments for and against different kinds of consumer spending, but when we regret what we are buying, that should indicate that in that domain at least, we should be more cautious the next time, around.
In an article I read recently from Australia, a survey showed that impulse spending with regrets totals around 13.5 billion dollars annually. That is significant and amounts to over 500 dollars for every person in the country - working or not. And, the biggest offenders are the Gen Z and Millennial groups - the ones that don't necessarily have their working careers or finances settled yet - I wonder why.
In the linked article, the 31-year old (Millennial) estimated that he was spending around $5000 dollars a year on random crap that he doesn't need and regrets later, which is about 6 weeks of pre-tax average salary in the country - or 8-10 weeks of rent.
But in another article, someone who identifies as a Gen-Xer was talking about how Millennials demands in the workplaces are not because they are lazy and unable to work, but are warranted, because we have taught them to be this way.
I agree - but I suspect that what she has framed as positive in the following quote, is not the actual truth.
As parents, Generation Xers have taught their kids to respect themselves and the environment, treat people with dignity, and to not accept disrespectful behaviour. We’ve reinforced the idea that “you can be whatever you want to be”. article
For example, the "respect yourself" has been translated into selfish behavior, the "respect the environment" is in word only, as they are consuming crap they regret, they do not treat people with respect and do not honor commitments and while they don't accept disrespectful behavior, they reserve the right to be disrespectful without consequence.
What Millennials and Gen Z are asking for is not unreasonable: They want work that is meaningful and flexible. They want to belong and don’t want to be valued by their output alone. And you know what? I want those things and suspect you probably do too. article
Yes, I want and have those things too, but they come at a cost. Flexibility is like buying a changeable flight ticket, it costs more. And "output alone" still means that output is necessary - If you bring nothing but the table except demands and entitlement issues, that isn't going to get you the perks you are after. Perks are for performers.
And then this.
The days of spending your entire career with one company are long gone. Instead, we should celebrate when someone stays put for two years – that’s the new normal. People can mobilise and globalise like never before; get used to it. article
Celebrate? No, this is flexibility - there is a cost. There is no celebration, other than being able to be rid of what is likely an underperformer, because the good companies promote the people who are performing. Considering that any job worth its weight likely has a ramp up period of 6-12 months to fully be integrated, the person who leaves after two years has only put a year of work in, but has also spent the last few months of it looking for another job, likely one that pays better - because they are all about "meaningful" work. No, they are all about work that will allow them to consume more useless shit.
The cost to the leaver is that they are unlikely to build up the social capital inside an organization to effectively build a career. Yes, flexibility of workplace is great and very few want a "job forever" in the same company it seems, but this is also one of the reasons that there are so many crap companies that don't look after their people - why, when they are going to leave soon anyway? How do you build a healthy culture full of employment growth opportunity, when the turnover of staff is so high because people are continually leaving for more money.
A third of those surveyed believed that purchase regret is taking a negative toll on their mental health and they’re worried that they’re too set in their ways to manage their money better. survey article
"Too set in their ways" to manage their money better. Yeah, that is the low-experienced, mentally unstable employee we want working for us! New dogs that can't even learn old tricks.
Of course, all of this rant comes with caveats too numerous to even mention, but these two articles go hand in hand, where younger generations are instant gratifying across the spectrum of their experience. It is a disposable consumer mindset, not an investor mindset, and it spills out across the way they approach personal relationships and professional worklife also. There is no "long time" with anything most of them do and while a young life might have a wide road of potential min front of it, over time, the road narrows and eventually runs out completely.
The only thing that is going to save them in the midterm, is that all of the boomers are dying and the Xers will follow not too far behind. However, while that money will pour into the pockets of Millennials and Gen-Zs, it won't stay their long, because the tiny minority that has learned how to delay gratification and commit to the future, will have built plenty of mechanisms to coax it from their wallets - making the disparity between rich and poor even worse, as there really will be, nothing in between.
Somewhere down the road, I get the sense that many will find themselves trapped with nowhere to go, but they won't realize how they got there, because they "respect themselves too much" to take a look in the mirror at their own behaviors.
I could be wrong. We will know in about 25 years.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]