Son Admits Watching His Boomer Mom Struggle To Find A Job Is 'Cathartic'
Although it's nice to see her finally understand what he's complained about over the years, he's done with the way she's treating him.
Ground Picture | Shutterstock It’s no secret that the job market is a mess right now. Despite what appear to be countless openings, job seekers are still having a hard time finding work.
To the absolute delight of one man on Reddit, this can happen at any age and at any level of experience. In a recent post, he admitted that watching his boomer mom struggle to find a job has given him a sense of karmic retribution because she now has an inkling of what he's been through.
A son is finding it surprisingly enjoyable to see his mom struggle to find a new job.
Younger generations are used to the challenges presented by the current job market. They are, after all, the ones typically looking for jobs. Often, older generations are well-established in their careers and not looking for something new.
Dianne Gralnick | Canva Pro
One man shared on Reddit that his 63-year-old mother was actually looking for a new job, and he wasn’t nearly as sympathetic as one might expect.
“She’s finding out firsthand what it’s like to job hunt these days, and frankly, it’s cathartic,” he said. “Every single problem I’ve had job hunting in the past, and recently, the ones she told me were just excuses and not enough hustle, she’s experiencing.”
The son said his boomer mom is struggling to understand that job hunting is very different now.
“She won’t accept that you can’t walk into a store for an application, or just talk to the manager and snag yourself a job (like she’s told me to do a million times),” he continued.
Despite the grief this mom has given her son about his apparent inability to find jobs in the past, he is still doing all he can to help her.
“I’ve helped her make a resume, and sign up for a few places (Indeed mainly) and she has absolutely no idea what to do,” he explained. “The job she left, she had for 30 years, and used computers daily.”
Apparently, this knowledge of computers only went so far. “From the time she started working there in the 90s, she’s used computers and the internet,” he said. “She even helped people do the same over the phone, but reading a job posting and clicking apply is too advanced for her.”
Although it’s been nice to see his mom finally understand what he has had to go through, she has not made this easy for him.
“She takes out every bit of frustration on me, and I’m just trying to help,” he stated. “An attempt at trying to explain how something works now compared to then is met with, ‘Don’t talk to me like I’m a child!’ or ‘Why do you treat me like I’m stupid?’ or she starts crying and says I’m making fun of her.”
He continued, “She has no idea how to handle rejection from a job because she was handed one 30 years ago, and stayed there this entire time.”
“She left the job she had because of the stress, and wants a completely different type of job,” he said. “She left her job on a whim, cashed out her 401(k) and spent every single penny.”
Jobs are increasingly hard to come by right now.
This man’s mother is certainly not the only person struggling to find a new job.
According to Forbes, “More than 70% of job seekers believe that the current labor market is not conducive to landing a new employment opportunity.”
While these statistics are startling, it can be even harder for older job candidates who experience ageism when applying.
Indeed pointed out that “employers are responsible for following applicable anti-discrimination laws and continuously critiquing their hiring processes to remove bias.” However, the hiring process does not always work this way, and often biases can work their way in, whether they are intentional or not.
So, this woman is really up against doubly bad conditions in the job hunt. It’s no wonder that she is having a hard time finding anything. It seems like the very least she could do is be nicer to her son while she waits.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.