After 10 years at work, I was fired by a boss born in 1995

Indeed, whether they were born in the 1990s or the mid-1990s, they are a generation with ever more individuality, a generation that pursues the self more.

By Mr. Wang Erduo

Source / Mr. Wang Erduo (ID: huangezishiba)

Some people born in the 1980s suddenly realize that the colleagues around them are all born in the mid-1990s, and some have even been fired by a boss born in the mid-1990s, for lacking team spirit.

Today's mid-1990s generation, when among like-minded people, express their emotions more freely. Unlike the collectivism of "obeying and subordinates submitting to superiors," the mid-1990s generation is redefining Chinese collectivism.

Perhaps those born in the 1980s should integrate into teams of the 1990s and mid-1990s generations, and feel for themselves what is so peculiar about the team as they define it.

1

Suddenly, the colleagues around you are all born in the mid-1990s

There is a question online:

At what moment did you suddenly feel you were starting to get old?

There are many answers below:

After pulling an all-nighter, you sleep for a week and still feel you haven't recovered;

In winter you no longer dare to eat ice pops; in summer you must cover yourself with a quilt to sleep; you can't climb to the fifth floor in one go;

You keep absentmindedly thinking it was still 2007 three or four years ago, and that ten years ago should have been 1997.

But the answer that struck me most was:

"I suddenly realized that the colleagues around me are all born in the mid-1990s";

"They have original views on many things, and on many of their topics I can't get a word in, so I can only pretend to understand."

My friend Zhang Han was playing Honor of Kings with some people last time.

He was disliked by a group of kids born in the mid-1990s, who said he was timid, had no individuality at all, and was even worse than an elementary school student. He was furious.

What does it mean to be old?

It may not just be that your age has grown, but that you begin to fall silent, be disliked, and start to isolate yourself.

2

Years of work experience cannot be treated as capital

At a weekend gathering, a college classmate brought up something.

Their company is an enterprise focused on a vertical niche interest.

There was an employee born in the 1980s who had worked for 10 years and was already a team leader, but last month he was fired by the department head born in the mid-1990s who had just taken office.

Because the department had just taken on an urgent key project, and while the team worked through the night to catch up on progress, he was late for three days in a row without reason.

The reason for firing him was that the department head believed he had no team spirit and had aroused everyone's anger.

He could not understand it. Thinking of how he had already worked at the company for 10 years, he went to the general manager to plead his case.

But the reply he got was: "The company now relies on several energetic people born in the mid-1990s to lead teams in getting things done. These emerging fields are something only they understand. Sometimes,you cannot treat years of work experience as capital, and even less can you slack off on the team because of it. That is unfair to young people."

Exactly. Reality is just that cruel. In today's workplace, staying long does not mean you are highly competitive.

If you are not careful, you may fall behind the team. Just like a frog soaking in warm water, by the time you realize it, you have already been carried away.

3

The team spirit of the mid-1990s generation

The writer Mr. Bo Yang once said:

One Chinese person is a dragon, but three Chinese people together, that is, three dragons together, may become a worm.

Frankly speaking, team spirit is still one of the collective weaknesses of Chinese people.

On this issue, I have seen hope in the mid-1990s generation.

This generation is showing some interesting changes:

The mid-1990s generation has more "freedom of choice" than previous generations. From childhood they no longer felt material scarcity, and with economic development they have had more freedom in job opportunities. Although they are criticized for being too flamboyant and for not respecting traditional values,

the mid-1990s generation has a stronger pursuit of self-realization and more firmly seeks work they truly like, and it is precisely for this reason that they often truly meet like-minded people.

Two years ago, a "specialty Western restaurant" opened at the entrance of the neighborhood. From the owner to the servers, all were born in the 1990s and mid-1990s.

On this not-very-long street, the catering industry is fiercely competitive. Some restaurants before them closed down in less than half a year.

I had thought this shop run by the mid-1990s generation would not last long either, but unexpectedly, they have been open for a full two years, and business gets better by the day.

I never understood how they won out.

Later, I discovered their secret:Unlike other restaurants, they start preparing the day's work every morning.

They complete the next day's work plan starting the night before, and everyone participates, discussing and preparing together.

When it comes to execution, the team links together ring by ring, everyone cooperates with tacit understanding, and there is a fierce spirit of "I did my part well, and if you don't do the rest well, I'll deal with you."

The restaurant work, which does not look "glamorous" enough, is still run impressively thanks to the cohesion of this group of young people.

This group of the mid-1990s generation, when among like-minded people, expresses their emotions more freely.

This instead makes a team more full of flesh and blood.

The young generation of the Chinese women's volleyball team is a team I really like, with members mainly born in the 1990s and even the mid-1990s.

In the past two years, they have swept across every competition venue.

The former spirit of the women's volleyball team was swearing never to admit defeat: they fought tenaciously and never gave up, strong yet reserved.

Compared with their predecessors, today's players born in the mid-1990s show more shouting, hugging, crying and trembling on the court.

More free room for play and the expression of individual emotion have also let this generation create team glory of their own.

The "new standards" by which the mid-1990s generation chooses team partners may let a team go farther:

They will not choose "obedient" people; instead, they choose people with ideas and individuality.

In their view, a team should no longer be managed by "power," but by like-minded "decentralized" management. Only such a team will have a stronger sense of ownership and self-driven strength.

My wife once mentored an intern born in 1994 who, because he insisted on his own ideas, argued with his leader several times.

To us this seemed to violate a "major taboo for newcomers." Later we told him, "Think more about the team. Isn't it better for everyone to be harmonious? Don't always be so stubborn."

But he said, "If you can't convince me, I will do what I think is right. That is what truly thinking about the team means."

Later, he was unexpectedly promoted by his leader beyond the usual rules, and then began recruiting people to build a team.

He said the first rule of his hiring was never to accept yes-men. He only wanted independent thinkers, even if such people are hard to manage, because such a team has a chance to go farther.

Indeed, whether they were born in the 1990s or the mid-1990s, they are a generation with ever more individuality, a generation that pursues the self more.

But precisely because they choose fully, their teams are naturally more like-minded;

because they express themselves fully, their teams are more like a bunch of close buddies;

and because they are full of individuality and not "obedient" enough, their teams are more vibrant.

Unlike the collectivism of "obeying and subordinates submitting to superiors," the mid-1990s generation is redefining Chinese collectivism.

4

"Hold steady, we can win"

No generation lacks team spirit.

But different eras and different cultures cause their understanding of and degree of love for teams to differ as well.

Those born in the 1980s grew up in an era of relatively scarce material goods. The teams they came into contact with from childhood were mostly "top-down" collective management.

There was not much freedom of choice. At times, they could only passively accept arrangements from above.

So in their dictionary, a team sometimes means: obedience, dedication, for the interests of the team.

But the mid-1990s generation is different. From childhood they gained richer life choices than before, and they better understand how to communicate with strangers.

They long to explore and take risks, and from childhood they have had the chance to see a broader world.

For them, a team means having a group of like-minded companions to experience things with on the road of adventure.

A girl I know who was born in the mid-1990s did a university practical project in which several friends went together to Southeast Asia to conduct a research project.

When I asked her whether there was a belief that kept her firmly going when she wavered, she said without hesitation a line from Honor of Kings:

"Hold steady, we can win."

She said this seemingly ordinary sentence reignited her hope again and again.

Compared with what those born in the 1970s and 1980s received, which was mostly top-down baptism in team slogans such as "pursue excellence, challenge yourself, go all out, achieve the goal," "sacrifice the small self to complete the team," "always remember the team's interests,"

the team declarations of the mid-1990s generationare derived from popular culture from the bottom up. They spontaneously pour out and express their feelings and expectations about the team, just like "Hold steady, we can win," which is often heard in daily life.

This is the expression belonging to this generation, with both individuality and team.

So I say the mid-1990s generation actually has a team gene by nature, and this natural gene is in fact more powerful than the "collective consciousness" instilled in those born in the 1970s and 1980s.

5

Finally

Many years ago, I heard a sentence that I still remember:

Anyone born 10 or more years later than me is a hopeless lost generation.

Of course this sentence cannot withstand rebuttal, but I have to say, it exists in many people's hearts.

Perhaps those born in the 1980s should integrate into teams of the 1990s and mid-1990s generations, and feel for themselves what is so peculiar about the team as they define it.

Especially in this era that pursues individuality, thinking clearly about how today's young people differ from yourself is a very valuable thing.

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