Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials Managing Generational Differences on July 22, 2010 at 8:36 am
Dear Lindsey,
I’m an engineer at a leading tech company, and for the most part I love my job. At 29, I’m one of the younger people in the office. One of the most frustrating things for me is working with much older people who are a lot slower with new technologies — even my superiors who are in technical roles can’t work as quickly as the younger crew can.
And I don’t blame them — I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up in such a rapidly-changing field when I’m in my 60s. Still, it’s hard to watch (or wait for) them to figure something out that I could have done myself in half the time.
How do I show respect to my older, less tech-savvy coworkers without losing my mind?
Thanks,
Young and Speedy
Read my answer to this question on my new “Ask the Gen Y Expert” column at Excelle.com…
@Leslie – Thanks for the great thoughts!
Lindsey
Dear Young & Speedy:
When those boomers were your age they felt the same way about their elder colleagues. Considering that we now have 4 generations of workers in the workplace, I think it’s important to acknowledge those differences and appreciate the value that each generation brings, based upon everyone’s unique life experiences.
From a business perspective, Boomers generally don’t have the same outlook as Millennial’s do about technology. To them it’s a means to an end; whereas for a Millennial, technology is almost an extension of who you are as a person.
There is much to learn from those slow pokes. They have a wealth of experience and knowledge that goes way beyond a keyboard. Reframe it – move past your frustration of them doing crazy things like not texting using their thumbs. What can you learn from them? How can you establish a mutually beneficial and collaborative relationship between you? Good luck!