The workplace generation wars aren’t subsiding. According to a new ResumeBuilder.com survey, nearly 75% of managers and business leaders find it more difficult to work with Generation Z employees than workers of other generations. In fact, most respondents said they would rather work with Millennials, the same group that used to be the target of office scorn … at least until Gen Z came along.

Even though Gen Zers grew up in the age of the internet and social media, the managers surveyed claimed these workers lacked technological skills. Other complaints indicated that Gen Z employees were “easily distracted” and “easily offended.” Twenty percent of managers even admitted to firing a Gen Z worker within a week of their start date.

Regardless of these negative perceptions, some businesses may have no choice but to look to this generation for staffing as more and more Gen Zers enter the workforce and more and more baby boomers age out of it. This means managers will need to get more comfortable dealing with a multigenerational workforce. After all, before you know it, Generation Alpha will be in the cubicle next to you.

Not-So-Great Resignation: Was quitting your job a mistake?

LOLeadership: Be careful when being funny with directs.

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The Great Resignation peaked in 2022 when more than 50 million Americans quit their jobs. You know the story: COVID made people reassess their lives and careers; stimulus checks and lockdown savings made for entrepreneurial possibilities; fully remote positions made living anywhere possible; and corporate hiring sprees made salaries higher.

But where are we now?

Even though unemployment is at historic lows across the wider economy — and the national quit rate is still (slightly) higher than it was pre-COVID — every day seems to bring new headlines about thousands of layoffs in tech, media, finance, and other sectors. Inflation is eating into savings, most employees are now expected to show up at the office, and rising interest rates have made starting a business more difficult.

It’s no wonder that 80% of employees who quit during the Great Resignation have come to regret it, according to a Paychex survey.

? DIVE DEEPER:

• Why Are Recent Graduates Struggling to Get Hired?
• Boomerang Employees: Should You Take Your “Ex” Back?
• 12 Reasons Employees Quit (and How to Prevent It)

What to do if you’ve found yourself in this predicament?

It’s possible to ask whether your old job (or a similar one) is still available. A quarter of employers have welcomed former employees back, Paychex found. This is a good reminder to avoid burning bridges when you leave!

But if you were miserable at your previous company — and didn’t simply (perhaps naively) quit to chase a dream — history could repeat itself. Think back to your motivations for exiting, and decide whether it’s best to put yourself back in a toxic situation … or to move forward elsewhere with new skills you’ve learned and new connections you’ve made.

Either way, you can take comfort that one consequence of the Great Resignation seems to have staying power: Companies are trying harder to be awesome places to work. Among Gartner’s 2023 workplace predictions are expanded perks, shorter workweeks, hybrid flexibility, and helping employees “maintain their emotional resilience” rather than offering them post-burnout Band-Aids.

Anthony Klotz, the management professor who coined the term “Great Resignation” in the first place, agrees that its most lasting impact could be healthier workplaces. As he told CNBC, “We can’t discount the fact that millions of jobs are better now than they were three years ago.”

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Dr. Steven Rogelberg is a Chancellor’s Professor at UNC Charlotte and former president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Leader humor is valuable for motivating and engaging one’s team.  However, some jokes can have particularly negative consequences.

An article in the Academy of Management Journal examined humor at work, especially from leaders. The researchers conducted two large global studies involving multiple waves of data from over 1,000 employees, and the results have key implications for each of us.

The study identified two types of humor. The first is a positive one that boosts employee engagement, as measured by statements such as:

• “The leader cracks people up with the things he/she says.”
• “The leader says clever things that amuse others.”

The second type of humor is more aggressive in nature, as measured by these statements:

• “If someone makes a mistake, my leader will often tease them about it.”
• “When telling jokes or saying funny things, my leader usually is not very concerned about how other people are taking it.”

Frequent use of the latter humor style by managers can diminish the positive effects of the former. Of note, occasional slips-up do not trigger the strong negative response. (The key word is occasional.)

As leaders increase their use of aggressive humor, however, there’s a corresponding increase in unethical behavior among employees, such as bullying of others.

Aggressive humor serves to violate key norms around decency and civility; these cracks, in turn, can lead employees to violate other norms, giving rise to deviant behavior. Look for opportunities to express humor as a leader — it’s a good thing — but carefully monitor that the basis of your humor is not experienced as demeaning, insulting, caustic, and unfriendly.

Do you need a wake-up call? Find out how you may be driving employees away and what you can learn from these bad bosses.

• 1916: Ferruccio Lamborghini, the creator of the luxury sports car manufacturer that bears his name, was born.
• 1937: Douglas Leigh introduced the first animated electronic sign in Times Square. It was a precursor to the city’s iconic, 2,000-square-foot LED billboards today. 
• 1937: Pan Am operated the first commercial flight across the Pacific Ocean. 
• 2001: Entrepreneur and engineer Dennis Tito became the first space tourist, paying approximately $20 million for a six-day trip aboard a Russian supply mission.
• 2003: Apple launched the iTunes Store, allowing users to purchase digital music. Today, the app has around 100 million users and billions of songs sold. 

Traditionally brewed by Bavarian monks to coincide with their fasting during Lent — yes, they could still drink beer — the strong lager Maibock is still ideal for the spring season. Munich brewery Hofbräu’s version, available since 1614, remains the gold standard: full-bodied and malty, with a slightly spicy, hoppy finish.

Written by Dan Ketchum, Ali Saleh, and Aaron Goldfarb. Comic by John McNamee.