Tradies in Australia have become synonymous with getting their hands dirty and working hard, but a whole new generation of workers are changing that very image.
Generation Z have turned up with their workplace boundaries and are changing the industry, leaving their Millennial bosses fed up and exasperated.
Sydney plumber Tommo, 38, has become so exhausted with the lack of effort from young tradies that he doesn’t even bother with apprentices.
“They don’t want to put in the hard yakka,” he told news.com.au.
Tommo thinks it is partly because the Aussie trade industry is struggling to secure talent, so young workers can get away with a lot more than they used to.
“It’s so hard we have to take the s**t ones; we have to hang onto them because we need people in the job,” he explained.
He is not sure why Generation Z isn’t interested in working hard; he thinks maybe it’s a natural “evolution”, but he can’t quite understand their reasons.
“It’s more down to them. They don’t want to work too hard these days,” he said.
The plumber has found that they are generally unreliable and have a relaxed “it’ll be sweet” attitude towards work.
This means they are more likely to fail to get to work on time or be seen as an unreliable team member who isn’t willing to put in 100 per cent effort.
He said one of the worst experiences he had with a Gen Zer was one he literally had to pull out of bed in the mornings.
“You could not get him out of bed and you had to go to his front door and pull him out of bed. It was a daily occurrence,” he said.
Things got so dire that Tommo often had to enlist the guy’s mum to help get him out of the door in the morning.
Tommo believes this is partly because young people end up working in trades not because they want to, but because their helicopter parents are securing apprenticeships on their behalf.
“When I started my apprenticeship it was me that had to find the job, and these days half the stuff is done by parents trying to get their kid a job,” he said.
The result is that plenty of young people working in trades seemingly don’t want to be there.
Tommo said he and his fellow Millennial tradies would often discuss how easy Generation Z has it, but he admitted that’s just part of being the older generation.
“I think we had it a lot harder, but when you speak to older guys, they say they had it a lot harder,” he said.
Plumber Steven, 28, believes that Generation Z is finding it more challenging to put in the hard yards when it comes to working in a trade because of social media.
He said that when young people are constantly being told there are quick and easy ways to make money online, working in manual labour for a living is a harder sell.
“They are probably thinking, ‘why am I working so hard for money’,” he pointed out.
The Sydney-based tradie said that, ultimately, when young people start in the tradie industry they aren’t bringing in the big bucks.
“I think they come into it thinking it’s going to be really good and then they do it and think why am I slugging it out all week not for the best money and conditions when can I just make money from an office,” he said.
Steven said that there were much “easier” ways to make money and plenty of them involved getting to sit in airconditioning.
He is bang on too, because there’s been a 5.3 per cent drop in apprentices in NSW, and more than 18,300 apprentices have withdrawn from their courses.
It isn’t just that young people aren’t prepared to work as hard. They are also far more likely to advocate for themselves and aren’t buying into the Millennial culture of killing themselves over a job.
Steven has observed that they are more likely to go on stress leave or take a mental health day and, while it’s a big change from how the culture was when he started, he thinks it is a positive change.
“I was just brought up to get it done and the work has to be done,” he said.
On the other hand, Generation Z grew up in a culture where work-life balance was expected and normal.
“It has positive impacts and bosses need to understand an employee will never care as much as you, and rightly so, and they should do what they get paid for,” he said.
Newcastle-based builder Nathan Mcilveen, 26, said that the tradie mentality of “toughen up” is rapidly changing.
He said if a young tradie was being put down on site as part of some hazing, it isn’t tolerated.
“People call it out if someone’s doing something to a young bloke on site,” he told news.com.au.
Nathan said that older tradies in their late forties and fifties are often “angry” because they started their careers when things were much more backwards.
“Nowadays, we are more understanding about people if they need a day off or whatever, but older guys can get angry,” he said.
While the younger generation are improving the culture, Nathan still thinks they are “lazy” and he blames social media for telling young people they can make heaps of money with little effort, meaning actually working hard doesn’t appeal to them.
“They’ll do a week with the builder and then say. ‘no way am I doing this’,” he said.
Mr Mcilveen said it was because they think they can make money in an “easier” way and that’s why there’s such a shortage of young talent that are willing to get their hands dirty.
Founder of Western Sydney Youth, Amanda Rose, said that young people don’t need to change but rather the tradie industry needs a makeover.
“We need to provide young people with positive and practical experience in trades starting from the end of year 9,” she said.
“The truth is society isn’t very nice to tradies – young apprentices are expected to work hard but struggle to see the long-term rewards, so we need to work together to change this sentiment.”
In fact, Ms Rose said that we need to provide Generation Z with more support.
“Increasing mentorship of apprentices, providing them with more support through the tough early years, and changing the way we think and speak about budding tradies are all great places to start,” she advised.