You walk into your new-hire enrollment meeting to
see a 50-year-old man fumbling with the computer and telling you to take a
seat. It’s a scene you’ve been conditioned to seeing throughout your academic
career. The instructor introduces himself and lets you know it will be six
weeks before you actually start working and he is going to be your guide to
learning the “new computer systems.” You instinctively roll your eyes and get
your phone out. Without a tiniest effort you can find a YouTube video that will
teach you everything this man knows about a “new computer system” in 30
minutes, not 6 weeks.
You take a deep breath as he hovers over the start
button for the full display to come up as he moves over each option before
landing on ‘programs’. Think about how you wanted to start meditating as he
accidentally clicks away onto the screen and is about to have to restart this 5
minute ordeal. What is this guy going to “teach” you next? How to open
Microsoft paint? I’ve been ignoring my middle school teacher for years playing
with that. Maybe he’ll open your eyes to the world of Excel?! You finished your
capstone class in college with advanced pivot tables and if this guy pivots too
hard he’s going to break a hip.
Yes, a changing of the guard is taking place. With all of their fanfare and glory over the
years, baby boomers are reluctantly realizing a new generation has arrived and
we are setting the tone for the workplace of the future. We win, hands down, when it comes to
technology, although we may lose out on those soft skills like actually talking
to each other face-to-face.
Baby boomers have been in the workplace and building
relationships for years. They may have
worked for a Company longer than we’ve been alive. They are accustomed to
making the high five and six-figure incomes and used to running “the show”
their way. You know what I’m talking
about: “It’s my way or the highway!”
attitude.
But now with more than ten thousand boomers turning
65 and becoming eligible for retirement annually, it’s our turn to step up and
take our rightful places in the workforce.
You can read more in the new book: The Baby Boomer/Millennial Guide to Understanding Each Other in the Workplace.
Written by Chris Gure
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