The Flex and Rooms Daily podcast.
We're back Flex and Rooms Podcast edition. It's just as good as the radio version, but not live.
I think people want to go and listen to it live.
Huh.
I think people want to go and listen to our shown lives.
Like a second, make assumptions or assumptions.
All right, let's get to it. Flex Andros Flexa.
We are both Internet girlies, were constantly online. I quite like it, Like I don't really have a negative experience online.
No, I like it.
I think that my perception of it changes based on who's observing my experience online. So when people thought influencers were lame, I was like, is this lame? Then they started making money. Now everyone wants to be like, oh my god.
It's say greatly, you doing so inspiring? Is a big shift.
It's a big shift.
I don't know when you're an influencer and I knew and I didn't know you. I didn't think you were a cringe ebba thank you, but I did think of it was an influencer. But the new breed of influencer, which is actually quite appropriate for what I'm about to tell you, which is, oh, a new era in Internet that we have aged out of and apparently we are part of a thing called millennial pause.
Let me play for you TBD.
When you say we identifies gen Z.
I'm more gend than you. I'm a year younger than you, So okay.
Please sure many of us have seen videos like this and this on our for you.
Pages and just to explain this and this, uh piece to cameras, so people talking to the camera, even.
Saying piece to camera, are you eighty five? Just say recording with the phone and selfie my piece to camera? See gen Z boomer?
Yeah, I'll take boomer. This is a crush generational radio show.
It's called are you sure You're not guilty of the millennial pause?
And the millennial pause.
Is a phrase that was coined by a creator named Lisa and is that split second between when a millennial hits record and when they start talking because they're checking to make sure that their camera actually is recording. I thought this was a super funny observation and also part of a larger trend that I've been seeing, which is basically that millennials are aging.
Out of the Internet.
I don't mean we can't use it anymore, that we don't belong here but that the Internet that we built and used for the past fifteen years is not the Internet that we are on anymore. But millennials are still using a lot of the hallmarks and behavior and ticks
from that old Internet. Michael is one of the creators who makes those millennial parity videos, and he explained it to me like this, The way the quintessential millennial behaves online is basically a bunch of silly little nuances strung together to create a personality that is very giddy and excitable about the normal or mundane zooming in on our faces, talking in a BuzzFeed accent, using Internet speak in real life where it's like doggo or I did a thing.
Those are all millennial Internet issms, and if you use them, you've just immediately added yourself as a millennial longline.
We'll leave it there, And you sure thought it's FLEXI I do recognize that. I thought it was a content creator versus a non content creative thing, because I feel as though when you do this regularly enough, you develop a sense of confidence and easy Like I've pressed it. It's on all you're smart enough to edit out that really awkward gap when.
You're like, oh, I'm checking.
I'm checking it exists.
I've seen it, maybe myself, maybe in others, but yeah, it definitely exists. To call it a millennial pause, I think, you know, it's referring to a very specific type of millennial who publishes on the internet, who is like on the younger end of the spectrum. I don't think it's like a generational thing. I also think it can become a really slippery slope to like pathologize every single human thing to do. Everybody checks before they record a video.
Unless you're doing an Instagram story or a Snapchat, we've already held the button, and holding the button indicates it's recording. I'm a different platform, different vibe.
See, I totally disagree. I feel like it's the older millennials that do it. It's like when a yoga teach comes on to explain their class or whatever, and they like it's a specific thing that they do with their
eyes as well. Obviously they're looking, but it's also like looking at the cameras on looking at themselves out Whereas when you're doing a piece of camera, I think you often need to make sure you're not looking at yourself because it becomes really obvious, but also looking straight down the barrel of the camera is also scary.
The youngest millennials at the moment would be twenty six and the oldest would be forty.
Yeah.
I think it's forty year olds that do it more than twenty six year olds. Yeah. Well, I also like pathologizing things because it's about time that millennials started getting some boomer treatment. And I was also thinking, like gen Z, sure gen zs that we aren't part of because again I consider us CUSP and more gen Z adjacent. There's going to be things that they do that are then
going to become embarrassing. Let me name a few minions minion obsessions doing this yew like, how would you describe that when you put your two point things together?
I do puppy dog guys.
I hate that.
Hey really I love it.
And I will say I have been guilty of doing the millennial pause, but it's only when I started going on TikTok and making tiktoks. Because if you record on Instagram, like I, press the button straight away, it captures pretty much everything that you've said. But sometimes if you press it too quickly and start talking, it.
Misses the first like vowel Yeah, I agree, But on TikTok you have the millennial breath. Though, when you start a sentence you go it's do I absolutely?
What's the opposite?
You're like, this is this is an example? I'll be like, hey, sweetie, is flexing rooms? You'll be like, hey, everyone, is.
That a bad thing? Brooke, I'm talking about producer. Leave Brook out of it.
I like it because it's kind of like HARKing back, harkening back to, you know, the oldie world of broadcasting. I'm just living my dream. And if everyone else doesn't like it, you know, you know what you've done. Just then, now everyone listening to this is gonna wait for.
Flex and frooms right now.
Now we have a bit of a moral dilemma. Listen to this.
Do I tell my coworker that she's going to be laid off soon?
Do you see?
Basically what's happened is that within the last year they've had this sweet and hard working employee on their team. However, despite working hard and putting in an extra effort, she's not able to meet the standards or catch up to the standards of the other coworkers. This person says, believe me, when they say they've had they've had to put more than triple the amount of work that others do just
to get to not even the same point. They're incredibly respectful, helpful, generous, hardworking, and considerate, and they're also quite older with this single income as their sole livelihood.
Do that makes sense? I don't know. Yeah, I get it.
My work environment, however, can be toxic. With our manager practically announcing it to the team that this employee's ours will be cut and eventually terminated. Do I let my coworker know of their eventual fate so they can prepare, or do I continue to say nothing and wait in fear of repercussions. Additionally, I haven't been working for long. Is this naive to consider? Yet hate it? It's a shame because there just the way that work environments are
set up. Even if you are all friendly and chill and comfortable, it does feel a bit like a dog eat dog world, like you're all there for a joint reason. But the stakes are high for different people. So it's a shame that someone you like a lot it's just not meeting standards.
Yeah, but what are you gonna do?
Do you be the one to break the bad news.
I don't know.
See, part of what I'm learning as I get older is that there is a virtue in minding your own business and not like letting your ego decide that you deserve to be the center of someone else's narrative just because you feel bad or feel good or whatever. But then on the other end of the spectrum, I really like considering that we're all responsible for each other. And so if I know this information, why wouldn't I tell her? Like, why wouldn't I share it with her? Why would I
keep her at a loop? It's her business? Why do I know so?
FLEXI This poor woman, let's call her Sandra. Sandra has been working at a new company for quite a while. I think she's a new employee. She's busting her bussy to be a good employee, to try and get work done. But it's taking her three times as long to do a job that is quite easy, and we are trying to decide if it's worth Another employee who is a protagonist in this question, should she let Sandra know that she's about to get cut?
What do you reckon? Like, let's take it out of the context of Sandra and whoever is her name? Sandra?
Yeah, call her hen Creative Liberty.
Let's just imagine we're in a similar scenario. Imagine some of the old work environments you've been in where you can imagine this is happening to someone.
What would you do? I feel like I have seen this happen before, have you sure? In some ways? Yeah? I think so.
You know, when someone's not pulling their weight and everyone knows it but them either they're quite a shy person or they're quite sweet, or I don't know the status quo, they're not gelling in terms of like social interactions in the office. If I was put in this situation, I would make hints to Sandra, but I wouldn't tell her outright.
Just an example for example, I'd.
Be like, Oh, how did you feel about like that interaction? Like I might see someone in the office kind of like blowing them off or them like not really getting the work, Like, oh, how do you feel about that? I'm like, yeah, damn, I've been in that position before, Like do you think it's just not really like? Do you like working here? Kind of put it back on them?
So do you even like this.
A self reflection? Yeah, And like do you want to quit?
Put the seed of doubt in their heads.
So they're questioning because whether or not they know it, you know when things aren't working, like you know, when you're not one hundred percent jelling. I think for the for the most part, you might know it's as dire as you're going about to get fired. Usually have some sort of idea, so I'd warm them up to it. My issue with telling them is that things change. They could have a blow up, and you know, they might get parleyed into a different role in the business and be fantastic at it.
And then what do you look like?
You look like A you were trying to sabotage them, or B you were getting in the way of someone else's business. It's like when you have an issue with a friend of yours and you tell another friend venting, and then they go and tell the friend, not giving you the not giving you the chance to tell your own story and give the reasons why. So let's say this woman is hearing the chatter about Sander and needing
to yeat off. She might not be hearing the whole story, and she probably isn't equipped to tell her that news. She could probably be doing more harm because, believe it or not, I haven't had very good experiences with HR.
But HR is there for a reason. I have never had a proper HR before.
I mean, that's pretty regular given you work in media.
But even yeah, I think it's a media thing. The point you made before, this idea that things change. What the information was when you heard it might not be the outcome of what's gonna happen, and so you intercepting at this very point could be the thing that derails what's happening. But I also feel like this issue with Sandra may she restu.
Viasuring Sandra Bullet in that movie where she's like on a lake.
It reminds me of this myth of meritocracy, this idea if you work really hard, you'll be rewarded fairly and compensated for your efforts, and that your efforts should mean that you're doing well, that you're improving. And it must be a weird thing for Sandra to eventually hear that even though you're working really hard, you're putting in three times the work you're really you know, lovely and charismatic people like you, You're gonna get fined. It's just not good enough.
What kind of messaging is that? I also find that wouldn't this be the kind of employee to invest your time and energy into, because very rarely do you find people who are pleasant to be around and willing to work to do the job with a little bit of direction, could they not turn out to be someone who is
amazing for the team? And this emphasis that this poster made on you know Sandra's a bit older, It's like, okay, so you've set her up Like I've known a bunch of incompetent young people who were just allowed to stay because the value of their presence was assumed to be higher because they're young, and like, you know, young people know how to do stuff, and you know that person's old, they can't learn blah lah lah. Still, in this instance, I say, it's a dog eat dog world. You know,
our situations are never equally yoked. It's unfortunate. But mind your business. Unless you really feel like you're gonna ride for Sandra the full way through, don't do this saviorism thing. We're gonna jump in like I really really bad and I really want to help Sandro. What are you gonna be? What you what are you willing to do Like you're you gonna talk to your higher ups for her. You know you're gonna step in when times get You're going
to vouch for her personally. If you're not really going to do what it takes a shop for her in a way that's going to be conducive to the outcome of her keeping her job.
Stay out of it, babe.
Yeah, I want her to walk away and think, Yeah, but the memories I made I will cherish to ever with these colleagues. Yeah, and make him just blame whoever's higher up than you exactly. That's the goal. Yes, remain innocent.
Yes, give platitudes, vibe out platitudes, cliches. The best thing you can do for Sandra is make the last couple months she has at work the most enjoyable.
Mmm.
Free coffees, yes, yes, laugh a little bit more, tell stories, enjoy you know. See if you know, you know any friends in the Grapevine who can hire her like that would be amazing.
As for this job in Sandra, Mmmm, it's a shame.
This is flex and frooms.
I want to tell you a bit of a fact I read on the internet that I'm very surprised by it did come from a verifiable, reputable sauce world atlist dot com. The logos are glow, so it looks legit to me. They have this tear list of the animals that kill the most people. What do you think is number one?
Bees?
Number two?
Dogs, number three bullants?
Wrong?
Wrong, and wrong.
I'm going to read from the most to the least kills. Number one mosquitos. I didn't know mosquitoes were animals. There were bugs, but beggars. The choosing a serious Yeah, I thought mosquitoes are bugs. Bugs are animals. I don't think so that's a whole other thing. Two humans, humans skill humans are true. Well, then I didn't think we were animals, right, that's what I'm saying, followed by snake, dog, setsy fly, assassin bug, freshwater snail, ascaris, roundworm, tapeworm, and crocodile. Is
that completely nonsense. I'm not sure where are these stats coming from. Don't ask, but I'm happy to go with it.
I'm surprised by the crocodile because one thousand people a year. Yeah, a thousand people are eaten by crocodiles a year. I think, so that's wild. That's my biggest fear no way. Seriously, I have dreams about a crocodile.
A crocodile. Sorry, got something on my brain today. I always have dreams.
About crocodiles grabbing me and spinning me around on the bottom of.
The floor, like the floor of the ocean. Yeah, the river. They're not ocean. Okay, sorry, I'm sorry.
But actually they could be. So don't take my word.
This is flex and Frooms.
It's going to be a full show full of advice because the people need answers and life is really difficult to do alone.
So why not lean on two girls.
From Australia who have no psychology degrees? And I guess some life experience says more limited than other.
Perhaps I'll let you decide.
This person says, am I the asshole for telling my coworker I will cover up my shoulders when he starts wearing shoes off the bat. I'm very confused, but let's just see what where this takes us. So this person says, my workplace doesn't have a dress code, so everyone dresses very casually. Today I was wearing a top with thin straps with long pants, and my shoulders were showing. Sounds chill to me, but I also wear my whole mid
drift out at all times. One of the coworkers, Brian, was giving me angry looks all day, and when I finally asked him what's wrong, he told me that he thought better of me than to dress in barely any clothes to work at that.
Moment, giving Virgin no offense.
At that moment, Brian was wearing pretty short shorts and was barefoot. He dressed like this the whole summer. The office is carpeted. He only puts on his slippers if he's going to the bathroom or the kitchen.
Yuck, tinier.
I told Brian that I will start covering up my shoulders when he starts wearing shoes to the office. If I have to watch his hairy toes at work, he can deal with the sight of my shoulders.
That, of course didn't help.
He put on his headphones and didn't even look in my direction the rest of the workday.
Now I'm wondering if.
I was wrong to say that he's a coworker and I should thrive for good work relationships. But I felt insulted, so I kicked back at him. Am I the asshole? Before you share?
Your thoughts.
I encourage us both just sit into our brains for a second. Think about how we would feel at Cado if somebody said to us verbatim that they thought better of us than to dress in barely any clothes.
Did she take it too far? What do you think?
No, not at all.
I love that she has a little thing to get him on, which is him not wearing shoes. It's the perfect like throw back in the face. Yes, it reminds me in year nine, my friend Rachel, We're at school and we were wearing I think it was like pe so you could see her brass traps under her little top. And this teacher fully was like, you can't show your brass traps to school, And no other teacher did it.
He was a bit odd. Oh yeah, there we go, and he said too much.
Yeah, it was giving, like it was a It was very odd. I remember even thinking it was odd back then. Personally, I am seeing things as you're telling me this story. The guy is giving and no offense to anyone who fits into these stereotypes.
The guy is no offense. That's my new thing.
He is giving Kumbaya ishka energy incense Byron Bay ten years ago, so true Byron Bay, like true neutral Byron Bay. She is giving city girl. She's a city girl, could have been from Bartowance to pray no longer.
Exists, but she per exists, doesn't. Yeah, oh, pardon me, so pray.
Let's say cotton on little Sydney Sweeney Cross race back.
Yeah, I get it.
I mean this is easy. Clearly he's got to stick up his boomba.
This feels like one of those instances. If you're noticing it, it's because you're looking. You should pay attention.
Look at your screen, look at your phone, look at the bathroom, look at the kitchen.
If you're looking at her shoulders so much that they're offending, you stop looking at her. That's all I want to say, because in this instance, I feel like, sure, I think that he should be allowed to go barefoot in this casual office. If that's the vibe they're curating, it seems like it's appropriate. Goes both ways. If I don't like feet, I'm not going to look at his feet. He brought
up the shoulders, she brought up the feet. She's not the asshole, And I think that she needs to stand her ground on this one because she goes back to him and starts apologizing for what isn't an issue. It'll create this weird dynamic where she has to be apologetic about showing up to work comfortably to do her job.
Yeah, it all just sounds like it's a hot climate. And I mean, what would you prefer her very long sleeve top? Maybe she doesn't wear deodorant like maybe that. If it doesn't work out well, I suggest her where a full strength wooly jumper. Yep, don't wear deodorant, don't shower, and then we'll see.
If he prefers her shoulders. Make them suffer easy.
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