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Former “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe warns the United States is facing a work ethic problem, largely among Gen Z and other young generations, and argues a world without “deadlines” and “consequences” has fueled the potential crisis.
Over the last few years, many critics have questioned the work ethic of members of Gen Z (generally anyone born between 1997 and 2012) and have expressed concern over how this affects young people entering the workforce.
Rowe explained to “The Story” this week that one overriding factor contributing to the decline in work ethic is that younger generations face more lenient deadlines and less “consequences.” When this happens, Rowe said, expectations and standards of workers can become “fungible” quickly.
Many Gen Zers also benefit from having parents who are all-too-willing to financially help them.
“I think that if you live your life on a high wire with a safety net 15 feet below you all of the time, there’s no consequence for falling,” Rowe explained.
The longtime TV host explained that this apparent work-ethic dearth did not just happen, saying that “we’re the clouds from which the snowflakes fell.”
Rowe believes there is a warped understanding of how the employment market works right now. He argued that a tight labor market is allowing for additional accommodations because people are not “lining up” to do the work needed.
“We’ve got a huge labor shortage and the push to get to the AI thing over the finish line. That means data centers. We’ve got to train people to build these data centers,” he said.
Rowe is also the CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, which advocates for skilled trades as valuable and lucrative career paths and offers a Work Ethic Scholarship Program for those pursuing skilled trades.
He highlighted that his scholarship program makes several demands from individuals vying for the scholarship money. The majority of these tasks fail to be completed, Rowe revealed.
“They’re started, but they don’t finish them for the exact reasons we’re talking about. So, yeah, it’s a problem,” he said, saying that it’s an issue he is unsure how to remedy.
“The world is either going to change to accommodate the current generation, or the current generation is going to change to accommodate the world they’re living in,” Rowe lamented..
Rowe said that 2,200 kids in his foundation that have learned to be welders, plumbers, and other trades are making six figures, saying that people are either “inspired” by those people or they are not.
“So there’s enthusiasm for the work. It’s just not in the places you’re looking,” he added.
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