FUN WITH FASHIONS. Generation Z is getting a reputation for wanting to have fun jobs. There’s a Bible writer who says fun jobs are one of the three most important things in life. Photo by Michael Burrows/Pexels
YOUNG PUPS BORN SINCE 1997 are getting blasted for wanting fun jobs.
Gen Z is what folks call that generation of souls in their mid-20s or younger.
I’m a Boomer and fun was not usually associated with work among the family and friends I knew throughout my life: factory workers, coal miners, JCPenney sales clerks.
Work was hard, sometimes grueling. And doggone inconvenient.
When I worked as an editor at a church headquarters, my boss, a widowed lady, called on some of us to have lunch meetings with her on Sundays, after church.
For heaven’s sake, lady, it’s Sunday. We have kids. Give us a day off. God told you to.
But that was the job.
I transferred to another department.
I had a little Gen Z in me before any baby Gen Z’s came along.
Are they crazy or what?
I’m typing this fresh off watching a news program asking the question “Is Generation Z’s work-life balance brilliant or bonkers?”
Social media response: 58% bonkers.
Maybe it is bonkers. Three out of four bosses say Gen Zers are the hardest to work with and the easiest to fire.
Yet, why should that come as a surprise? Gen Z is least experienced. They’ve got stuff to learn:
- Like don’t badmouth a coworker behind her back while she’s within earshot.
- Don’t text when someone is talking to you.
- And don’t wear pajamas to work unless it’s PJ Day. Even then, make sure “PJ” isn’t the initials of one of your coworkers.
A godly sage for Gen Z
One sage from the Bible says that Gen Z’s desire for a fun career reflects a sense of wisdom, perhaps beyond their youthful years.
I’ve been paraphrasing a Bible book credited to King Solomon, a man God promised to make “wiser than anyone who has ever lived or ever will live” (1 Kings 3:12, Contemporary English Bible).
Solomon, or the writer borrowing his name, wrote about his quest for wisdom in the thoughtful but sometimes pessimistic bummer of a book: Ecclesiastes. By “bummer” I’m referring to him saying that most of what we humans do is a meaningless waste of time. He calls it “chasing the wind.” He’s the one who made that phrase famous.
Yet he was upbeat and dead certain about one thing that should ring a bell for Generation Z. And he says it over and over in his short book:
“Bottom line: The best way to spend a life on this plug of ground is to eat and drink—and to find a job you enjoy. All three, I concluded, are gifts from God.” (2:24, Casual English Bible)
“I do know this. There is nothing better in life than to be happy—to enjoy life as long as we live. Happiness is God’s gift to us. He wants us to enjoy the food we eat and drink along with the work we choose to do.” (3:12-13, Casual English Bible)
“I decided that there’s no better way to spend a lifetime than to enjoy our work. For we’ve got to work if we want to survive. Work is our way of life. That’s because we don’t know what’s waiting for us next season.” (3:22, Casual English Bible)
“It’s wonderful when people enjoy the work they do and the meals they eat. God gives us such a short time here on earth, under the sun. It’s great when we can enjoy the sunshine. The same is true for wealthy people. If they enjoy the work that made them rich, and if they enjoy the benefits of the wealth as well, they should consider this a gift from God. They won’t waste time worrying about their lives. They’ll be too busy enjoying it.” (5:18-20, Casual English Bible)
I took that advice three years before the first Gen Zer was born. I quit my job and began my career as a freelance writer.
I love my work. And I’m fond of food, overly so by about 20 pounds, which all started on a Caribbean cruise.
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