Workers of all ages adapting to change

Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter

Nancy Ogburn owns Chicco Baccello, a comfy deli/coffee shop in downtown Washington that opens and closes early six days a week (except Sunday). She has a staff of about 15, who work various shifts preparing and serving breakfast, lunch, desserts, deli items and coffee drinks.

“We have a great crew of all different ages,” she said. “We close at 2:30 (p.m.), which is convenient for people who have another job or have to pick up kids. That helps us with hiring.”

It also helps that Liam Brewer is on the payroll. He is a 17-year-old from Washington who graduated from PA Cyber Charter School a year-and-a-half ago and plans to attend college when he believes the time is right.

For now, he relishes work. “I love what I do here,” said Brewer, one of only two full-time employees at the shop along South Main Street. He came on board in August and wants to make some money before venturing off to the halls of ivy, perhaps in the fall of 2025. “I’m looking at a bunch of colleges that might provide opportunities. I don’t want to cripple myself with college debt.”

As a late teen, he also is considered a member of Generation Z, a group known as Zoomers who were born, generally, from mid-to-late 1990s to the early 2010s.

Brewer likewise fits into Gen Z’s successor group, the Alpha Generation, which is growing up in a digital era. He also is in an age range – a more extensive age range – that has been criticized for a perceived diminished work initiative.

Since the pandemic gained a foothold in 2020, numerous small-business owners and operators nationwide have complained that they have not been able to attract enough job candidates to enable them to function efficiently.

This has been happening especially in service industries, such as restaurants, groceries, hardware stores and even some big-box businesses, which traditionally hire younger workers at lower pay.

“Now hiring” signs remain prevalent in some areas, and there probably is a level of validity for this discord at the top. A lack of employee motivation is an age-old tradition among a segment of the population.

But at a time when the economy is percolating, unemployment is at historic lows and fewer jobs may be available, local professionals contacted for this story were reluctant to cap down on younger employees, conceding that life and the workaday world are changing.

“The concept that young people don’t want to work is flawed,” said Suzanne Chambliss, general manager of Uniontown Mall. “My experience is you can reach them, but they don’t want the jobs we offer.” The majority of her staff, she added, is 50 and older.

“There has been a mind shift in the workplace. I think anyone who joined the workforce during COVID would have a different perspective. People are working remotely, and we now have jobs that pay more and you don’t have to go into the office.

“Two young men I wanted to hire got full-time jobs because they could work remotely and do not have to go too far.”

Some jobs, she acknowledged, require employees to be at their workplaces virtually 100% of the time and staffing those positions is vital to many businesses. “You’re not going to remotely make a pizza.”

“I do feel the younger generation has gotten a bad rap,” concurred Dr. Patricia Claster, professor and assistant chair of the Work, Sociology and Human Services Department at Pennsylvania Western University.

“You have to look at the big picture. Life and the working world have changed so much and we have to adapt to changes. You search for more of a work/life balance, and I think we’re seeing that.”

She added that “the whole consumer experience has changed with younger generations. They’re more inclined to shop online, and they would rather spend money on experiences like concerts and sports. They’re more materialistic.”

Another change, according to Claster, is “a lot of people used to work jobs while in high school to help the family and get training. That’s not happening like it used to. They don’t have time to flip burgers and make fries, but the big thing is they’re not getting the experience older Americans had earlier in their lives.

“Today, a lot of jobs that you could have taken in high school are taken by older folks.”

Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, works closely with many area businesses and understands the quandaries they may face. The local economy has been strong with low unemployment, resulting in what he calls “a highly competitive job market for employers.”

“However, this environment makes it extremely difficult for small businesses and those operating on tight margins, such as the retail and service industries to compete for available labor,” he said.

“We have heard from many of our members that they have increased wages, offered flexible work schedules or other incentives to attract talent. There is no question this is a tight labor market where quality talent has numerous employment opportunities.”

Dorene Ciletti said she is “fascinated that we’re up to six generations in our workforce.”

Ciletti, an instructor and director of the Marketing and Sales Program at Point Park University, said she “often thinks about things that are based on age.”

“Maybe for Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, we look for efficiency and flexibility. Since COVID, we’ve had to consider how much technology affects job flexibility. Can we be remote? Do we have to be there personally? How do I add value?”

The working world has, indeed, changed and will likely continue to do so.