Richard Roper, president of Marsh People and Investment in Hong Kong and Macau, said he wrote a full sheet of 'daddy tips' for his daughters before they entered the workforce.
Roper spoke at the Fortune Leaders Forum in Macau on Sept. 8. He said the advice came from decades of career experience and focused on fundamentals: 'Being enthusiastic, being polite, being respectful to your bosses… always bringing value to a meeting.'
He said those basics now matter even more in the age of AI. 'Being able to influence, have a story on entering a room, all this kind of stuff, now is really great currency for them,' he said.
The Fortune story says the guidance landed in a labor market where bosses keep complaining that Gen Z workers lack basic people skills. It says employers warn that young hires often struggle to interact with coworkers and clients, work with people who have different opinions, and handle basic office etiquette such as dress code.
The piece also says one in five young candidates even bring their parents to job interviews. Separately, data compiled in 2024 by Harris Poll showed that 65% of Gen Z workers admitted they do not know what to talk about with their coworkers, according to the report.
Roper is not alone in trying to teach workplace habits at home. The story says Grindr CEO George Arison plans to bring his two children to the office to shadow him once they hit 10 years old. Arison said watching him work long days will show them 'grit' and the importance of loving work.
The market has already voted on this kind of advice. In a labor environment where AI can absorb more routine tasks, the edge shifts toward discipline, communication, and reliability. Those are not flashy traits, but they are the traits that still protect earnings.
For employers, the message is simple: free enterprise still rewards workers who show up prepared, speak clearly, and add value. For families, it is a reminder that the hardest-to-automate skills are often the most basic ones.
Capital rewards clear rules, and the oldest rule in work is still the best one: do the small things right, and the market notices.
