Bosses must be tough but humane on entitled Generation Z

One of the stories that trended on social media last week was about a lady lawyer who talked about an intern taking a taxi from their office in town to another office also in town where the intern was to drop off some documents. I assume she was either going to serve or pick up documents but that is not what I want to discuss.

Many people made noise against the boss for exposing the intern on social media and analysed the cost of the amount spent, which I assume was Sh500, vis-a-vis the profit the case would bring to the firm. As usual, old-school people like me were with the lady boss as we were used to walking all the way.

What we don't understand is that this is Generation Z, which takes advantage of the new technology that has made things easy. A while back, lawyers with offices in town used to be seen walking across Uhuru Park as they headed to the law courts. Nowadays, you will see 80 per cent coming in and leaving in a taxi. Only the older lawyers will walk as they deem it healthy.

Climbing the ladder

I don't support the way interns are treated - what people think should be torture - but I am a believer of old school where every rookie must go up the ladder step by step. Even in the professional league like American Basketball, the rookies will wash shoes, carry bags, etc. It is like an initiation process. One can't be new and start getting privileges that older employers are enjoying.

In the film industry, 90 per cent of newcomers will start from the lowest point and that makes one learn the art. Usually, a good actor is one who comes in as an extra in the crowd scenes without lines (it is the intern version in a job) where they learn discipline in the trade and with more jobs they are introduced to speaking parts.

Some of us who came through the hands of James Falkland, George Mungai or Peter Mudamba who would rarely give you a big speaking part when they directed a stage play, understand this theory. They knew it would damage you because you needed to have discipline before being trusted. Film producers are having discipline problems with Generation Z because due to too few actors, many newbies get leading roles without starting with the small roles.

Discipline

Fame goes into their head and that is why they are having discipline issues. I remember the director Fernando Meirelles who directed me in Constant Gardener and told us the son wanted to be a director but he insisted he (the son) had to start from a set runner. A set runner in the film is the hands and feet of the film. They are like the messengers. His reasoning was that from the set runner, one knows every department of the film production and that way when you become a director, one will learn to respect all the crew.

When I was doing my internship in hospital pharmacies, it was the same thing. During stocktaking, for instance, was an intern's work to count the tablets in a container. Believe me, one had to count each and every one of them and some of the containers had just less than a thousand tablets. Some hospitals like MP Shah treated students well by providing us lunch. I did my manufacturing internship at GlaxoSmithKline which was also a good experience. The workers were disciplined and humane. Those days, we had college transport so there was no need for fare.

I would appeal to employers to please treat Generation Z interns humanely. That does not mean you don't become tough on them, especially on discipline. Let them learn it is only through discipline and hard work that will make them successful.