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A 20-year-old owner of a restaurant in Batu Pahat in Malaysia, recently came under fire by netizens for his rant against workers born after 2000.

He later apologised and posted a job listing offering prospective employees better pay and working conditions.

Poor attitude of Gen Z workers

In a Facebook post dated Feb. 5, the owner said that he had fired three of his younger staff members in three months.

He said he was puzzled about how they were going to find another job with their attitudes, and listed some of the traits he observed in workers born after 2000.

He said he had initially planned to hire those of similar age to himself, to narrow the generation gap, but changed his mind after hiring them.

“All these people are those who quit school before completing their secondary education, then complain about their family and school life.

At first they would say that they are capable of anything, and that when they start working they would be dedicated workers.

However, after getting familiar, their attitudes would change by 360 degrees."

He expressed his exasperation at how the ex-workers would spend 20 minutes in the toilet, take leave without prior notice, or even leave work in the middle of the day to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

The owner was initially sympathetic to the younger workers as he also did not attend university, and thought that everyone would feel the same sense of responsibility.

He ended his post with a relatively sarcastic remark of “I hope you find a boss better than me, a boss that allows workers to be in the toilet for an hour and allows them to take unlimited leave.”

He also said he would continue to hire and fire employees in an "endless loop" and said this could be what "every boss" would need to experience.

As of time of writing, his post has garnered over 5,000 likes and 3,600 shares.

Mixed reactions

The restaurant owner’s post attracted a flood of comments, with many pointing out that he should be more forgiving.

“Currently those born after 2000 are only at most 23 years old, they have insufficient societal and working experience. Furthermore, you hired those who came out to find work without completing their secondary education [...] Who are you to blame them?”

“My three children are born after 2000 but their working attitudes are really good. Every time they work part-time, the bosses always really like them.”

One netizen pointed out that it is barely sufficient to live in Kuala Lumpur with a monthly salary of RM3000 (S$921), and that the restaurant owner should reflect on himself.

He had apparently offered workers a monthly salary of RM1,500 (S$460.58) and had them working for 12 hours a day — though he said there were periods with no customers where staff would be left to do whatever they liked.

Other netizens defended the restaurant owner, saying that they have had similar experiences with attitudes of Gen Z workers.

Improved working conditions

In a subsequent Facebook post dated Feb. 6, the restaurant owner said he did not expect the overwhelming response to his previous post and had reflected on his words.

He maintained that the likes and shares on his post were evidence that the majority of people agreed with him, while saying he understood the feelings of those who disagreed.

He addressed comments about the low pay he offered, and said this was made clear to the former staff during the hiring process.

"If the conditions were truly harsh, and there was really a big problem, why would people join as employees just to be asked to leave?" he said, pointing out that the first person he hired was still working for him.

However, he committed to offering better working conditions for future employees.

Admitting that he was still young and lacking in many areas, he said he would continue to make daring posts as this was his shop's page.

The restaurant owner has since posted a job advertisement on Facebook that offers a monthly pay of RM1800 (S$550) as well as shorter working hours of seven and half hours daily from 4pm to 11:30pm, with one rest day each week.

Other perks include a meal for dinner, work in an air-conditioned environment, and a pay raise for good performance after three months.

Top images via Facebook/MR BORGER 博哥汉堡