KIRO NEWSRADIO

Candy: Don’t say ‘Ok Boomer’ at work

Dec 11, 2019, 3:28 PM | Updated: Oct 1, 2024, 11:10 am

boomer...

If you know what this is, you might be a Boomer. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

You should never say “Ok, Boomer” at work.

First, I am a huge proponent of radical candor, but not everyone can handle it and that’s something I have learned over the years of being too blunt.

More and more we are seeing the under 40 set pop off with a casual “Ok, Boomer” when a conversation isn’t going the way they want or it’s used as the ultimate shutdown.

Don’t get why thousands of high school students across our state walked out of class last week in support of climate change –  “Ok, Boomer.”

College debt? I worked my way through college!  “Ok, Boomer.”

Just want to irritate your uncle at Christmas, “Ok, Boomer” beer now exists. You can make it a drinking game. Every time he questions your tattoos, your side hustle or your ethnically diverse boyfriend, take a drink.

Here’s the problem, if you say “Ok, Boomer” at work, a place where you are often conversing with the older generation, you could be fired. You may see it as a funny shutdown, but it’s age discrimination and it’s only a matter of time before we see lawsuits from the elder snowflakes.

Boomers were constantly told they were “disrespectful” based on their parents’ view of the world. Why don’t you cut your hair, put on a suit, and ‘we didn’t stop Hitler so you could listen to that racket’. It wouldn’t take much for an old to feel your use of “Ok, Boomer” is age discrimination. Under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act, discrimination of employees over the age of 40 is just as illegal as discriminating against someone on the basis of sex or discriminating on the basis of race.

“Ok, Boomer” is so problematic that HR departments across the country are now warning companies that if someone directs the phrase at a co-worker on a social account, they should be warned, then fired. Think of it this way, even when you type “OK, BOOMER” it has to be in all caps: one, because your target is probably squinting to read it and two because it’s meant to be aggressive.

You should never say “Ok, Boomer” at work.

Listen to the Candy, Mike and Todd Show weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

President Donald Trump arrives at the White House following a weekend trip to Florida, in Washingto...

Associated Press

The Latest: Trump says his deportation policy ‘might have been too tough’ for voters

President Donald Trump, in his first major interview since his party lost control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, said he thinks his administration was too aggressive on deportations and that he thinks he can work with Democrats in the new Congress on some kind of immigration deal. Trump and his Department […]

44 minutes ago

woodinville house fire...

Jason Sutich

1 dead in Woodinville house fire, another escapes through window

At least one person died in a house fire in Woodinville early Monday morning, and another escaped through a window.

49 minutes ago

mountlake terrace dna skull...

KIRO 7 News Staff

Scientists looking to find relatives based off DNA of partial skull found in Mountlake Terrace

Forensic genetic genealogists have processed the DNA of a partial skull found in a home that was sold in Mountlake Terrace in 2025.

1 hour ago

Aberdeen sex offender...

KIRO 7 News Staff

76-year-old Aberdeen sex offender arrested in Internet Crimes Against Children investigation

A 76-year-old in Aberdeen was one of two people arrested in separate Internet Crimes Against Children investigations in Grays Harbor County this past week.

1 hour ago

Diwali seattle center...

Heather Bosch, KIRO 7 News

Diwali celebrations continue despite disruption at Seattle Center

Lawmakers have condemned a video of a protest that has gone viral, showing two people interrupting a Diwali celebration at Seattle Center.

1 hour ago

Title Austin Leming...

James Lynch

Kent family seeks answers in 2021 disappearance and likely murder of Austin Leming

Nearly five years after Austin Leming disappeared from a Kent apartment complex, his family is still waiting to learn where he is.

1 hour ago

Candy: Don’t say ‘Ok Boomer’ at work