An open letter to my future boss

I know you've seen my resume, especially that glaring part where, yes, I've been job hopping these past few years. But before you reject me, hear me out for a while. ?

I’m part of the younger generation of workers trying to find our place in your world. We are the “Gen Z kids” that those online articles warned you about.??

We’ve been called many names. Soft, selfish, entitled, whiny, too distracted, quitters – Google it, and you’ll find every Gen Z label you need to demean us.??

How can I blame the pundits when I’ve already quit three jobs in a span of two years? I’ve been job-hopping since graduation. Maybe they’re right. Maybe I’m a quitter. Maybe I’m soft.?

I don’t know about you, but I have personal dreams, values, and aspirations, and I am looking for an environment where I can freely express and realize them.?

No, I don’t want a “second family” at work. I want managers who would choose to give proper feedback over publicly scolding me for small mistakes.?

No, I don’t want to just work. I want my work to have meaning. I want to excel in my field and grow beyond my initial role.??

Sure, I want to make money and I want my benefits, but I also want to spend more time with my family and loved ones. I want to enjoy life beyond the four corners of the office. I want balance.?

I would love to work, but I would also appreciate it if your organization would allow me to live. Life, after all, is short, and work is unending.??

Yes, I belong to this generation of workers with lots of demands, but maybe it’s because we know what is right and fair.??

?“In my time, we had worse,” you might say, as someone who comes from the generations before us.?

I know, and I understand, where you’re coming from. You came from a time when the work environment allowed exploitative conditions.??

You despised being overworked and underpaid, and it was your generation that pushed for a better workplace. You paved the way.??

So, I’m writing to you, my future boss, hoping that you will understand. I’m not just an “entitled, job-hopping, fickle-minded Gen Z kid.”??

We’re not as different as they want us to believe. We both want to be treated with respect. We both want to live a full life. We both want to succeed. We both want to make a difference.??

And we can make it happen. We can make our workplace better if we help each other out.??

Sincerely yours,?

Your would-be Gen Z employee?

Disclaimer: This fictional open letter is written hoping to bridge the gap between Gen Z applicants and the much older generation of employers and managers. We believe that a healthy workplace is possible only when the employer, managers, and people understand each other.??

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Emapta is an Australian-owned offshore staffing company operating in the Philippines for over a decade. We create global career opportunities by bridging Filipino professionals to industry-leading businesses around the world without the need to go abroad.??