Ian Windsor
Tough love builds resilient young people
I HAVE to be honest, one thing that really gets under my skin is seeing the younger generation sometimes feeling a bit too entitled. I know it sounds harsh, but I also understand where they’re coming from. Life is different now.
When I was younger, respect was everything. You did your chores, you listened to your elders, and when someone told you to get on with something, you did it. That was just how it was. You learned responsibility from a young age, and you learned resilience through experience.
I remember when I was trying to get a job, I wrote letters to every construction company in town. I bounced from one to the next, kept sending letters, kept trying and eventually I got work. It was hard graft, but it taught me perseverance.
These days, I look around at apprentices or young people onsite, and I see a lot of hesitancy. People want pay rises before they’ve even shown what they’re capable of. They don’t want to work overtime, and they often think everything should come easily. It frustrates me, but I also understand they’ve grown up in a different world, one with so many protections, rules and systems that sometimes prevent them from having to face the same challenges we did.
I try not to tarnish everyone with the same brush. There are plenty of young people who are hardworking and motivated. I see it in my own family and I know how much pressure there is on them today. But I do worry that constant comfort and protection can stop people from building resilience. It can make it harder to recover when life inevitably throws obstacles at you.
I don’t have a magic solution for it. The world has gone in a direction where everything is regulated, taxed and controlled, and there’s so much complexity that it can feel impossible to teach resilience in the same way we experienced it. History has shown this cycle before.
Tough times create strong people, strong people create good times, and good times, in turn, can create a generation that struggles with challenge. I can see that pattern unfolding. I hope I can help my own kids navigate it, to show them the value of effort and responsibility, but without being overbearing.
I was over in Scandinavia recently, in Denmark, and it struck me how different things can be. Kids there are given responsibility from a young age. They play outside in the snow or explore on their own, but with a sense of ownership and accountability. They’re allowed to take risks and learn from them. I thought about that a lot, and it made me realise that it’s not just about being hard or strict. It’s about balance. Giving people rights is important, but giving them responsibility, letting them fail and recover, that’s how resilience is built. That’s what I try to do with my own children.
I hear myself getting older and sounding like my grandparents used to, always comparing now with then. But I try to remind myself that every generation faces challenges unique to their time. Sometimes I wish people would toughen up a bit, but I also know it’s not their fault. The systems, the culture, the environment they grow up in shapes them. My worry is that if we go too far in protecting and sheltering, we risk creating a generation less prepared for the realities of life.
So I guess what really grinds my gears is seeing potential being limited, not by ability, but by circumstance, expectation and lack of resilience. I want to see people strong enough to take on the world, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it’s hard. That’s what matters to me, and that’s what I try to instil in my kids.
Life isn’t meant to be easy, and learning that while you’re young is one of the greatest lessons you can have. Scandinavia taught me that giving freedom and responsibility, even with some risk, is a better way to raise people who can stand on their own two feet.
Ian Windsor is managing director, 360 Degree Flooring
