Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to try to tackle three jobs at once, but I tell people I’m a stubborn bastard who doesn’t like quitting. Of course, that’s a load of crap - I’ll give up on a 5K if I’m not in the mood. The truth is I have problems saying “no” to people. And when they’re offering me money… let’s just say that “yes” is a comfortable answer.

Before I continue, I want you to know that I’m not even operating on the pretense that this is about managing Generation Y. It’s a very personal statement about my experiences that I hope can shed a little light on my life - and hopefully teach you a bit about someone you know who is like me.

I never thought I’d find myself working so much as two jobs at once, as I’d always maintained that one job was one too many. But time makes fools of us all.

It all started with graduation. Yes, graduation. That gilded moment when you’re supposed to move from the low-paid world of “student” and into the high paid world of “career man.”  At least that’s what schools tell you when you apply. The reality is that there’s a step between those two stages of life, and it’s more like a staircase when you graduate in the middle of a speculative bust. (On the bright side, sub-prime mortgages sound cooler than tulips.)

When I graduated, I found myself working for the family business. It wasn’t my ideal job, but I had already made peace with the fact that no one was going to pay me ungodly amounts of money to sip drinks from a coconut. About a month after I started there, I was recruited by a friend working at a restaurant. I was a little hesitant to tackle the extra obligations, but I would be working with a good friend, and the looming threat of student loans, debt to mom & dad, car payments, insurance, and the reality that I have to save for retirement all suggested that supplemental income was a good idea.

And soon I was working 50 to 60 hours each week between the two jobs. Sure, they were a bit of a strange mix: Pre-employment evaluations for public safety agencies by day, frying up falafel by night. But what the hell, right? I could make my car payments, and I could afford to go out for beers with the guys. Life was good.

As I soon found, though, working that much is exhausting. I started to forget what feeling well-rested felt like and got used to hammering through, regardless of how tired I was. Ironically, what little R & R time I had was spent engaged in activities that were not particularly restful. When you’re up all night at the bars Friday and Saturday, it’s hard to feel well-rested come Monday.

But I felt it was worth the exhaustion and unusual schedule - I was learning a lot. So, over the next few months as my work situation evolved, I decided to go with the flow. I jettisoned the restaurant job for a job in retail loss prevention. After a year at my dad’s office, I started with Generation Why, where my responsibilities have steadily increased. Earlier this year I began working with a photo company - I shoot photos, do paperwork, and I’ve recently been trying to drum up more sales for the company.

And I thought I was tired before.

Some days I ask if it’s all worth it. I tell myself that I’m developing dozens of different skills in incredibly varied settings. I mean, when you spend your morning telling eight-year-olds how to pose for photos and your evenings telling shoplifters to “gimme my stuff back,” you’re stretching your interpersonal boundaries. Not to mention time management, balancing the needs of different offices, prioritizing, and learning how to say “no.”

But as valuable as developing life skills can be, there are days when I wonder how I’m going to put it all to use. And when I wonder if I’ll ever use it, I inevitably wonder if this is worth it. The long days. The  impact on my social life. The amount of time I spend doing things I don’t want to do versus the small amount of time I spend doing the things I want to do.

I’ve never been this exhausted. And while I know that I’m the most skilled, competent, and motivated that I’ve ever been in my entire life, there are days I’d trade it all for one less time-consuming job that pays a whole lot more.

Your turn:

Ever worked a whole lot? What did it teach you? Was it worth it?

Have you ever wondered why Generation Y thinks it can change all the rules? Look no further than this:

On Friday, YPulse’s meredith reported that an MTV Sticky report on European youth included an exercise in which the researchers asked 100 European teens to “‘challenge, criticize, and collectively re-write the 10 Commandments’ as a way of reflecting generational change.”

Yikes.

I’m a fan of generational change. I think that on the whole we move forward as a society with each generation, and that Generation Y has great things to offer the world. But this particular exercise is not an example of the kind of generational change that can invigorate a team, revolutionize a workplace, or commit to an incredible cause. No, this exercise is a perfect example of the pathetic, self-indulgent bullshit Generation Y was raised on.

Whether you believe in God or not, and wherever you stand on the propriety of displaying the commandments on public property, you have to find this galling. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised that this fires me up as much as it does. I haven’t been to church since I was in high school. I enjoy watching South Park, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and other irreverent comedy almost as much I enjoy making fun of people to their faces.  But for whatever reason, when I read this, I could feel my blood pressure spike.

And it didn’t get any better when I read the new 10 Commandments:

1. Have faith in yourself.
2. Respect your parents.
3. Be honest.
4. Take responsibility for your own life.
5. Live life to the fullest and be passionate.
6. Keep your promises.
7. Work hard to succeed but not to the detriment of others.
8. Be tolerant of others’ differences.
9. Be happy and optimistic, even in adversity.
10. Create, don’t destroy.

None of these seem like terrible advice, but do you notice anything missing from that list?

Rule #1 is now: “Have faith in yourself.” The number one priority on this list is Me. Me, me, me. The list doesn’t acknowledge, or even mention in passing, the concept that there is something greater than one’s self - be it a higher moral order, overarching societal utility, or God. But why would it? It’s the result of a group of young people being asked “If you could make your own rules, how would they look?” So, it’s no surprise that the rules are self-serving.

What is surprising is that people feign shock when young people ask why they have to show up on time. As a growing generation, Generation Y was taught that questioning norms was a good and natural thing to do. We were taught time and again the myriad ways in which our ancestors and elders were morally deficient. And as we grew, new technologies were making it possible to question behaviors that had, up to that time, been considered fundamental to the workplace.

It’s too late to change that fact. It’s too late to raise Generation Y again.

But as business owners, managers, and co-workers, we don’t have to accept the notion that everything is open to revision.

• Yes, technology has revolutionized the way we deal with customers. No, customer service will never cease to be important.
• Yes, the measure of a man is his character. No, people will not trust you if you dress like a bum.
• Yes, previous generations have held beliefs about race, religion, and gender. No, that does not mean that murder or adultery will ever be acceptable.
• Yes, I want you to work with me to find reasonable terms of employment. No, the terms on which I employ you are not negotiable once you’ve agreed to them.

Ask yourself which of your company’s rules are negotiable, and which ones aren’t. Be as flexible and accommodating as you can on the flexible ones.

But don’t give an inch on the others.