Day 14, NaPoWriMo The Black, The White, The Grey

Heard this on the radio on the way home and thought – that’s it. What is going on with this? From Berkshire Employers Focus In On Millennials:

Citing statistics, Lande says millennials want to feel connected and fulfilled in their job while being able to recognize their impact on the business and community they live in. He says younger people also want their co-workers to be their second family. One of the area’s largest employers of millennials is General Dynamics Mission Systems, which creates and maintains products for the armed forces. Deputy Director of Engineering Wayne Marzotto says 530 of roughly 1,200 employees at the Pittsfield site fall into the age range.

“We’re seeing an attrition rate that is kind of unprecedented in our business,” Marzotto said. “Normally we’ve seen attrition rates around two to three percent. We’re seeing attrition rates that range around eight percent. That’s one of the challenges, to not only attract millennials, but actually to retain those type of folks.”
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“Today the workforce, and I say ‘workforce’ because it includes millennials, but it is not only them, they crave a work-life blend,” Lande said. “Or the grey, as we call it.”

You can listen to the whole radio piece here. The grey? seriously?

Meanwhile, here’s the poem du jour. I wrote it tonight, after thinking about the radio piece some more. If you want to read the other earlier poem, it’s here.

The Black, The White, The Grey

“A work-life blend, the grey, as we call it.”
What is black? What is white? Work, home, other.
Who decided that blending the two realms
making it all a smudge of grey is best?
How fuzzy would you like my life to be?
How much do I have to like this or that?
How can I not leave home and shut the door
and feel like I am leaving it behind?
Not just the cats will grudge my time away.
I think of what I’ve done in hours pieced
together from the nights and the days off
nudged towards being finished slow bit by bit
It’s not just home I leave for a commute
I leave home but the door never closes.