Lady Shares Difficulties Working with Young People in Workplace, Youngsters Fire Back Online

• The South African youth were not too fond of how a lady painted them to be after sharing her experience working with them
• The Managing Director at Youth Development Collaboration Lab, Duduzile Nyumbeka, highlighted the difficulties of working with young people
• Youngsters fired back after the lady expressed herself on a podcast episode that aired in late August

Duduzile Nyumbeka, who is the Managing Director at Youth Development Collaboration Lab board member in the NGO sector, and a passionate youth development advocate, shared her experience with young people in the workplace.

In a Wellness In The Workplace podcast episode with Mbali Mzinyane, Nyumbeka shared some of her observations on how young people show up in the workplace and how traits such as discipline, resilience, and a good work ethic are essential in building next-generation leadership.

Mzinyane shared snippets of the episode on TikTok, and the clip attracted thousands of views. Young people were not too happy with some of the things said about them and fired back in the comments section.

SA youth unhappy with how they are painted to be in the workplace

Duduzile Nyumbeka highlighted that young people in the workplace lack accountability. She explained that the youth prioritise their needs, including mental health, before their work responsibilities:

“It’s the discipline and just taking accountability to say this is work, I may not be at my best, and I’m not saying people must be workhorses.”

Nyumbeka also pointed out that young people tend to be very relaxed and leave work for the last minute. She highlighted it as procrastination and a lack of discipline.

After seeing the snippet, young people were not too happy about the conversation. Most of them thought Nyumbeka was out of line for painting the youth with the same paintbrush and fired back in the comments section.

SA youth unhappy with how they are portrayed in the workplace

Social media users were not pleased by the podcast episode and shared their thoughts:

@Zizi Dlamini sighed:

“OMG, I hate this narrative.”

@Nikki.Tamecka explained:

“Young people are also grossly underpaid and overworked in comparison to previous years’ generations. This is why they are not willing to go above and beyond and risk their mental and physical health. We have to take all things into consideration. It’s not just laziness and lack of accountability, but more so lack of motivation and good leadership.”

@Neo Kobe shared:

“Trust me, if you get a young team, provide them with clear roles, responsibilities, goals, and timelines, and provide them with the necessary training, best believe they’ll do the most. They’ll go above and beyond, especially if you allow them to be creative in the way they approach the work they do.”

@T⚡HEGO pointed out:

“This is the problem with the older generation, they put younger people in the same bracket. Young people are hard workers, pulling weight in many businesses and government departments. Old people are relaxed when they have interns and put responsibility on them. This is one of the reasons why many don't give youth chances, just because of an outdated stereotype.”

@Lebohang suggested:

“This might be a mismatch of priorities, and a training need, not necessarily a lack of discipline. Teach them instead of criticising.”

@brookelogan1234 wrote:

“As a younger professional in a senior role, I’ve observed a troubling pattern: it’s often the older folks who struggle most with accountability, integrity, and basic respect in the workplace. Titles and tenure don’t excuse poor behaviour. If anything, they should model better.”

@Sisanda Gumede commented:

“Who is this lady, and who gave her this platform to speak about young people? Sisi, my mental health will ALWAYS come first! I am replaceable at work, but my family will never have another me. I definitely go over and beyond, but come on, I won’t be dying for a company. I’m sorry if that makes me a person that’s not accountable!”

Watch the TikTok video below:

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Source: Briefly News