There has been much criticism towards modern day young adults and teens in regards to work ethic. Some are motivated by lofty goals while others always seem to be looking for shortcuts. Why do you think that the latter is such an issue? I mean…when you get older – you work. You want to buy things – you work. You want be independent – you work.
If work ethic is an issue now, how can that be reversed? What do you think needs to change to have an affect on the young people in today’s society?
© 2026 – SoulSequel
12 responses to “Can you unteach laziness?”
I’m living proof you can!
But I was very stubborn and set in my ways, and it took a real hard-nosed, quasi-drill-sergeant-type boss in a summer camp setting where a lot of things flew under the radar of most people in the “real” world.
He made my life miserable at times; but I credit him with caring enough to do what was necessary to turn a lost kid away from a bad path.
But PC society had already closed and nailed shut the door on this kind of thing!
That’s good that you were given the opportunity, but many people don’t have access to those types of programs. And once you get into adulthood, besides the military, I’m not even sure something like that is an option.
Will we see another generation of the 70’s – with technological efficiency? It worries me at times, our young people have a lot of tenacity to stand up for their beliefs, but it seems like a slower transition into adulthood.
It was less “a program” than just a convergence of a low-paying job, a stubborn lazy young man, and an ornery but somehow caring boss. That’s just how it happened for me. But I’m confidence that “providence” will provide similar situations for anyone who really needs AND wants them enough to stick with them when it manifests.
I can scarcely remember the number of times I said “I don’t need this shit!” and almost left. But for some reason I didn’t. And my staying was a huge part of why I am the kind of person I am today: one who’s boss just cannot understand how he keeps giving and giving and has a hoot doing it!
It’s a far slower transition into adulthood it seems. And some don’t even reach preliminary adulthood before they’re in their senior years! So is “retarding growth”, a good strategy (because that’s what we’re doing, keeping people in a child’s dependency for longer and longer rather than just tossing them in to see if they sink or float).
Only time can tell.
I am not going to knock any of the generations that follow me. Especially now. Younger people are more open-minded than any generation has ever been.
The “lazy” ones will figure out real fast how you are supposed to act in a work environment. ON the other hand, if they can change us to be more like Europe with more vacations, and shorter work days; more power to them.
Maybe it’s not being lazy, but a new and different way to look at work/life balance.
Yes, I agree that young people are more open-minded than ever, and this is a great thing. But I think they also lose tradition in some of their open-mindedness that may be disadvantageous.
In my opinion, I deal with this with my brother. He and so much of his peers are chasing after pipedreams. The explosion of youth success on social media and reality TV further disillusions young people to think that being successful shouldn’t take hard work. It’s sad.
BUT, how do you get someone to apply this if they don’t want to? Many young people of today believe in marching to the beat of their own drum. They don’t want to be mainstream. They don’t want to do what they’re “supposed” to do.
How will our country change this mentality?
A stint in the Marine Corp will motivate young people…most of the kids that go to college would better improve themselves by serving in the strictly structured environment of military service.
Or encourage them to go “Full metal jacket” due to what they see as abuse.
I think laziness is a symptom of boredom and boredom is the domain of boring people.
So yes, I think you can deal with the symptom of laziness by dealing with the root cause. You help a person not be boring by encouraging them to participate in things they love to do anyway.
Sounds actually harder than it might be and it takes a read on a personality type to select tactics that will work on that particular individual. It’s easier to shape that individual while they are young enough to have some malleability, or you may have to go the drill sergeant route for those that are too stubborn to be gently encouraged.
Regarding right now and reversing the declination of the work ethic? Nope. It’s gonna get worse before it gets better. As of right now, artificial intelligence is poised to take over many of the labourious functions that require personal intention to execute.
Basic General Income is going to become a reality where people will receive money to buy necessities just because. There will be a few that will capitalize on those who think getting paid to do nothing is Utopian and the rich will get richer while the poor will get poorer until The Hunger Games begin.
Video games. I am serious. They helped me a ton in my youth. Everything I later mastered, video game work helped tremendously to practice and set up ideas.
Problem is, connect the gaming with the real world, today. I have FOUR millenials…
My oldest is 27, my youngest is 8.
The real problem is attention. So much to do online, so much to watch. And a lack of dreams for many.
Seriously, though, “gaming” is an advanced system for bettering one’s self. You surely saw “Revolver”… that idea was taken from very well proven research and practice.
I use gaming extensively in my successful career and other work.
Trick is to take those gaming subroutines people learn and shift gears to apply to more practical areas.
But… that I even know all this is hyper obscure. So, you won’t see it mainstream, and most will just get stuck in the world of practice….
Old people have always bitched about young people being lazy. From what I see, this usually occurs when someone young won’t do a task for an older person, or won’t do it dancing around like Dick Van Dyke as if it’s their greatest joy. Usually this task is something the older person didn’t want to do either.
I think another factor is an old person looks at a younger person, envious of their youth, & thinks of all the things they could be doing, given that youth. They then blame the kids for not doing those things, but pay little attention to what the kids want to do, & are doing.
A huge overlooked factor: You don’t notice the hardest working people in general, because they’re off working,… and the hardest work is usually done in work places cut off from public view.
It’s like an old man that just pulls weeds and trims his lawn all day thinking the kid down the block is lazy, because his lawn needs a mow and there’s dandelions or some other square heresy happening, but the kid’s working double-shifts…..
It’s all too common in this society for people to dismiss anything that strays from their own path. It causes a tunnel vision and a homogenized definition of what a good person is, resulting in lives led that only get to enjoy a narrow wavelength of what life has to offer. Most of all, for this topic, It’s Mental Laziness.