well, "always" is not accurate in my experience. "frequently" is possible depending upon who i was working for at the time. for example: Procter&Gamble favored seniority over competence. Unilever was willing to listen to just about any idea which had potential. as to "why"? they learned it from experience.

Wait until you work at a company for X amount of years, and you will know the feeling about the fresh junior faces who act like they know it all and are very disrespectful. Those senior employees were young and new before; they could not be there for X amount of years if there were slacking, lazy and bad mouthing to their senior or the management. They were working hard for many years, and they are experienced.

Many companies growing has STOPPED. Internal career growth has stopped. . You become "senior" or otherwise expensive, your days are already numbered. You WILL be laid off most likely by most companies these days. What happens is, you are stuck in the same position forever now. Basically what you were hired on to do years ago, you're pigeonholed into that role especially if you're among the best in that role. You know because... People are incapable of learning anything new after college. Some people want to grow into other roles or take a new avenue with the company, the company prevents it from happening. Ive seen this happen way too many times to count.

Managers often think what they do is right, and what they say, the employees should listen to and follow. Many employees complain about some managers are like narcissists, unfair and play favouritism, not to mention discriminating. And of course no manager will ever admit they are or do such things. Older and long time employees complain about the young and new employees are lazy and many of them think they (the younger ones) know it all. The younger and new ones often complain about the senior employees throw their weight around The extroverted employees complain about the introverted ones are uptight. The introverted complain about the extroverted are annoying and arrogant.

Good supervisors will document poor performance regardless of seniority. They’ll first give a warning, then a counseling, and if nothing changes then firing with documentation of past behavior. However, most often the issue is junior employees with an attitude who think they’re smarter than everyone else. I’ve been at my job 20 years and I’ve seen both sides. Junior employees may see a better way of doing things but are frustrated no one will listen. Older employees who e already tried what the junior employee wants to do and knows why it won’t work through experience. Some senior employees are senior due to their brown nose ability (kissing backsides) while others got there through experience and performance. If the one you’re complaining about is buddies with the boss then don’t even try to fight it. If the one you’re complaining about shows knowledge and skills then learn from that person instead of complaining.

There are no such thing as good or bad decisions anymore in a workplace they are all the same, because the ones in charge has the final say.

I've had more of an issue with new employees who come in and think and act like they know everything.

They never said "you" couldn't do what you wanted either... You can do what you want too if you know what you can and can't do... how is that any different? The "I've been here X years" translates into I know the boundaries and know what I can do.

Either do something that'll show them up, or swallow your annoyance.

You can have people who have been employed many years, but kind of coast along and don't become the leader on anything.

I'm dealing with that right now. I supervise two system admins. Both have been there at least 10+ years. One guy is willing to do whatever I need him to do. The other, he thinks he owns the joint. He's constantly complaining about our IT director, he is always in late - sometimes he doesn't get in until after 2pm (our work day starts at 8am btw.) He always thinks he's right about everything. He is a brilliant guy, however, when it comes to attention to detail and database management. He complained about the last guy who held my position - and I don't doubt he is complaining about me behind my back as well. He had applied for my lead position and didn't get it. So, I'm sure he's bitter about that. But, he never comes in on time, completely unreliable, and doesn't really seem to get along with a lot of folks. I don't know how he's been able to hold onto his job. Problem is, I don't have the authority to fire him. I don't even know if my director does as crazy as that sounds!

First, ask if they actually do know something you don't because of how long they've been there. The first question to ask is if you should listen to them. They've been there for a long time for a reason. Second, treat them with respect. They will get away with more than newer people. There are a LOT of bad employees who have been there a long time, and mistakenly think they know a lot simply because bad management has allowed them to stay for a long time. Treat those people with respect from a political point of view, and just work around them. Treat them like auditors - give them only what's required, nothing more, outside of that, ignore them. Don't get annoyed. Learning to succeed in spite of the useless people you work with is what gets you promoted to senior level positions.

In my experience, they didn't have the "I can do what I want" mentality. But having been somewhere for a number of years, they would know more than newcomers about how to do a job or how to adhere to company policies, as well as knowledge of what the policies and job requirements are. When you have spent the years and effort doing a job well at one business, you'll understand. If I were you, I'd recognize what it took for someone to stick to a job for years, and pay attention. They know a thing or two. They haven't been there for years because they were incompetent or didn't get along with people.

How long have you been at your workplace there? There are always crazy things and jealousy in any workplace. There are always hard-working and lazy, arrogant and "sick" employees among long time and new employees. For those who have been there for a long time, I believe at the beginning they must have worked hard and/or done something right therefore they could be there for a long time. And time goes by, eventually many of them feel entitled, many of them get sick more often or cheat, and many others are still healthy, have good work ethics and work hard. Not everyone is the same. For the new and younger employees, there are many willing to listen and learn from the experienced ones. Others think they are smarter than the ones who have been there for a long time, they don't need to listen to anyone. And others again are very lazy, just want to talk more than work, and they are jealous and upset with the ones who have been there for a long time because they are new and they don't get pay as much as the long time employees.

You can choose to find what they have done well, so they could be there for so long, and learn from them, so you could be there for long or jump to somewhere else. It's no good to judge them when you don't know them in the past 20, 30 years.