For those looking for a new job, it might do you well to make sure you’re working for a millennial, according to one TikToker who’s gone viral.
In a video that’s been viewed more than 1.8 million times, 28-year-old realtor Kristen Mahon shares an email exchange with her boss, who she estimates is 6 to 7 years older than her.
Mahon begins by saying that in the past, she has worked for “narcissistic, psychotic” bosses who were a boomer and a Gen Xer and that her current boss is a millennial.
“I wrote an email to her very professionally, very courteously, just stating, ‘Hey, while I do appreciate you commenting those things to the clients blah blah blah I do feel that you were undermining me, and it could damage my relationship with these clients,'” Mahon told viewers of a note she sent to her boss following an email incident. Mahon CC-ed her boss on a client email “out of professional courtesy,” but it ended in her boss giving her professional feedback in front of the clients.
@drowningabovewater94 #stitch with @Joshua Turek #millennialboss #bestboss #bossstory #goodboss #communicationiskey #realestate #genxboss #boomerboss #bossstory #thankful ♬ original sound – DrowningAboveWater94
To Mahon’s surprise, her boss responded swiftly — and her response was not at all what she had expected.
“I see your point, and I apologize. I apologize for the way I approached that. I did not mean to undermine you in any way. For future emails that I’m CC-ed in, I won’t reply unless I’m addressed to or asked a direct question,” Mahon read from the reply. “I apologize for the way that I approached that, and I have 100% trust in you in the way that you are handling this file. The clients have been great clients for me, and I may be a little too attached because of it. I definitely need to learn to let go and trust. I also appreciate your email, and I appreciate you writing to address the way you felt right away instead of keeping it inside.”
Related: 6 Things Gen Z Employees Want Their Managers to Know About the Workplace in 2023
Thousands praised Mahon and her boss in the comment section, with many doubling down on the notion that millennial bosses are hard to beat when it comes to positive communication and effective management styles.
“That’s not a boss honey,” one user wrote. “That is a LEADER.”
“Millennials out here DOING THE WORK,” another exclaimed. “Healed people heal people.”
Mahon agreed with the sentiments of viewers, saying that she was “gobsmacked” in a good way at how professionally the situation was handled and respected how well her boss acknowledged her wrongdoing.
“This is a boss. This is how you communicate with your employees. This is how you take accountability,” Mahon said. “This should be the norm. This should be how work communication goes, and it’s not. It’s so f**king refreshing — work for a millennial!”
A Payscale and Millennial Branding survey in 2022 found that a whopping 72% of millennial workers value career advancement opportunities and that the generation is more likely than boomers and Gen Xers to want friendly managers who provide a lot of feedback on their performance at work.
Related: How to Create a Hybrid Work Environment That Works for All Generations
