Joanna Lumley has said she believes young people do not want to “wait after hours and do the unpaid work”.
The Absolutely Fabulous star spoke about her views on careers and success in an new interview with i News.
In it, Joanna insisted it “wasn’t any easier” for her generation, but expressed her concerns that millennials are encouraged to quit at the first hurdle and are not prepared to do unpaid work.
She said: “I think this is a new thing. People thinking: ‘I couldn’t possibly! Why should I make the tea and coffee? Why should I wait after hours and do the unpaid work?’ I’m afraid the answer is: that’s the way to do it. I’m afraid that’s how it works.
“We’ve got to try to get the young to understand that it’s a tough old world. It’s lovely, but it’s tough. You’ve got to be ready, resilient, brave… and humble. You’ve got to understand that the world can do very well without you. Without any of us!”
Joanna also said people were “brave” in the 60s, suggesting there was “more determination... to just get through”.
“We hung on in there, took some very humble jobs. It was an important part of the journey,” she said.
“Things weren’t any easier then, but we did have a sense that you could have a crack at anything, whereas now we seem to put people into boxes very early on.”
Joanna is currently the subject of a new Channel 5 documentary, which aired this week.
Joanna Lumley: My Best Bits – In My Own Words charts her rise to fame after being cast in The New Avengers in the 70s, through to her defining role as Patsy Stone in in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.