The young father who was fired for attending the birth of his first child can tell us a lot about modern employers

At first glance, it’s a depressing indictment of the failure of employers to meet the needs and demands of today’s workforce. But look again and you hear the dying gasps of an era passing over

Lamar and Lindsay Austin resting with their newborn baby, Cainin (GoFundMe)

There can’t be many more frightening experiences for a new father than receiving a message just hours after the birth of your child to inform you that you’ve been fired. But that’s what happened to Lamar Austin, who was in the middle of a 90-day trial period with Salerno Protective Services, a private security group in the US, when his wife went into labour. He was unable to attend his weekend shifts, and later received a text message informing him that his employment “terminated” as a result.

This is neither illegal nor, sadly, particularly unusual business practice in the US. While maternity and paternity rights are protected by law in the UK, there is little legal support for working families across the Atlantic.

What’s really interesting about this story, however, is what happened next. When a local newspaper reported on Austin’s plight, there was overwhelming public support for his choice to be at his wife’s side at this crucial moment in their lives. He and others around him had recognised that the risk of missing the moment his son, Cainin, arrived into the world meant more to him than the risk of losing his work – and America agreed. He was later flooded with job offers from more understanding employers.

This is an interesting case study that shows how employees’ attitudes towards what businesses can offer them has shifted – and more importantly how modern businesses have ultimately failed to keep with the attitudes and work culture of those upon whose talents they rely. And they are fighting a losing battle.

A recent study on how millennials (young people born after the mid-1980s and just now getting into their stride at work) view the workplace, carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, found some common issues right across the world, from the UK to Japan. It interviewed young people under 31 who had graduated between 2008 and 2011. These are the individuals who will shape our businesses in the next two decades.

First, only half of young employees expect to have between two and five employers in their lifetimes. A quarter expect to have six or more. Longevity of employment and loyalty no longer feature in employees’ expectations. And the reverse is true too. Modern young workers don’t expect to have to demonstrate loyalty to any particular employer; they have bigger goals in mind.

Talking of which, work-life balance was considered more important to millennials on the hunt for a job than financial reward. They would be happier with flexible hours than cash bonuses rewarding them for working long hours. Finally, millennials said they felt they were being held back by rigid, outdated working styles, particularly around using technology to achieve flexibility.

Much has been written about the corrosive effect of the Tories’ beloved “gig economy”, whereby self-employed people take on piecemeal work for a range of employers at their own convenience. It’s true that this kind of project-based work can be damaging for some, where certainty of employment and income is eradicated. But for others – a growing percentage – it is liberating.

After all, the PwC report also established that millennials’ hopes about the working world were being dashed. More than a quarter (28 per cent) said their work-life balance was worse than they had expected before joining – and, remember, this is at the start of their careers, even before the pressures of family life are likely to have come into play. Meanwhile, 86 per cent said they would consider leaving an employer whose values did not meet their expectations.

This is not just an affluent, anglophone trend either; from China to Europe, millennials are making the same demands of employers but are repeatedly disappointed. Though the world has moved on from the nine-to-five, our workplace culture has not.

Is it any wonder that self-employment levels are now at a record high? This trend towards a “gig economy” is not only about the downward pressures on employees, but also the resistance of a new generation to the unnecessary rigours of work. They don’t care that it’s always been done that way; it doesn’t work for them, and they are demanding a different way of life. They will, inevitably, prevail.

Which brings us back to the case of Lamar Austin. At first glance, it’s a depressing indictment of the failure of employers to meet the needs and demands of today’s workforce. But look again and you hear the dying gasps of an era passing over. As Austin put it himself: “Sometimes you lose something, and you get something even better.” Work has failed to keep up with the pace of social change and attitudes, including, in this case, issues surrounding paternity. That simply can’t last.