I remember being the youngest worker in the office for quite a long time. I’d always liked people older than me, so I didn’t really think too much of it.
After many years of working, I realized one day that I had actually turned into one of the older people on my team, and that felt really strange!
Several bosses have come and gone throughout my career, and most of them have been either older or within a couple of years of my age.
But I started thinking the other day about what it might be like to work for someone that was a lot younger than me.
Where would those age differences show themselves?
Work hours
The hours you work are the hours you work, right? Many older workers have settled into a “9 to 5” or “8 to 5” kind of mentality, and when they are done with work that is it.
Younger workers are more likely to be sending out emails before and after work. They may believe in a more flexible work schedule.
Communications
This is the age of electronics, baby! It’s about instant messaging and texting in many cases rather than face to face conversations with people. And you have to admit that is a lot more efficient.
People that have been working in a place for many years may be used to having conversations in person, and may need to learn to adapt to the less-personal, no-chance-to-read-body-language sort of communication style.
An interesting tidbit from Forbes:
A tip: Young people assume that a missed cellphone call serves the same purpose as a voicemail message asking for a call back. It makes sense. Who wants to sit there forever while a tedious automated voice drones, “Please wait for the tone before recording your message …”
Now, instant messages are great, but i would still not call back someone unless they asked me to… Sounds like I still have some catching up to do!
Willingness to Change
Growing up with technology and all its changes has made “Generation Y” used to things changing quickly, and that doesn’t just apply to tech. They also tend to embrace those changes quickly and easily. People that have gotten comfortable in their position over many years sometimes tend to resist changes.
On the other side of things, just because it is new and shiny doesn’t mean it actually IS a better way to approach how things are done.
Setting expectations
Adaptations are needed on both sides when the Boss is the younger of the two. Share visions and expectations, learn to know each other as people. Celebrate your differences as an opportunity to learn and grow. Treat each other with respect and the difference in the number of years will fade into unimportance.
And remember this: making changes in any area of your life will help you build new neural pathways in your brain, too, so getting a younger boss could very well be good for your head!
