565 Words + Title & Bio
How Technology Has Widened Today’s Generational Gaps
What’s Happening
Most managersknowgenerational issues exist in their organization, but all too often they can’t pinpoint exactly how those differences areaffecting the businessor what to do to fix them. Is the “us vs. them” mentality just a headache, or is it actually impacting performance and profitability?Both!
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, millennials (born 1980-2000) will be the new majority by 2020— outnumbering both boomers (born 1946-1964) and genXers (born 1965-1979) combined in just five short years.The cultural transformationof the workforce and its expectations will be quick, but, as you already know, not painless.
So how are generational differences showing up exactly? In many ways, that are costing companies more money than ever in unnecessary employee turnover. To name a few, Technology, Authority, Balance, Loyalty and Entitlement - the issues on the T.A.B.L.E. For now, let’s just focus on how technology has truly widened today’s generational gaps and see how it’s impacting organizations.
A Musical Timeline
Take a step back in time. How did you listen to your favorite song as a child? Baby boomersstarted with records and had those throughout school and intotheir adulthood. (And manystill have them.)
I’m a millennial. By the timeI was born in 1981, cassetteswere the technology of choice.When I wasten years old, I traded in my Walkman for a Discman andmoved to CDs. As I headed off to college, I asked for an MP3 player for my birthday, and soon after started sharing music online through sites like Napster.
While boomers had one primary technology through their formative years, millennials never had the opportunity to gettoo attached, since new technologies were released much more quickly than in previous generations.We were forced to change as boomboxes got smaller.
Affinity for Change
What does this mean in the office? Our early relationships with technology are reflected in our comfort level regarding change.
On one end of the spectrum, you have the traditional mindset saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” And on the other end of the spectrum you have the millennials, whose mantra is, “but there’s an app for that now!”
Things to Consider
Contrary to popular belief, Millennialsare not driving change. Business is driving change. Technology is driving change. Millennialsknow the shelf-life on technology is getting shorter every year, and that businesses must keep up or get left behind. If there’s a better, faster, cheaper way to do something, we are going to do it, to move our organizations forward and keep our competitors from flying past us.
Millennials’desire for progress can be put to good use by focusing their efforts on areas of your business that needs improvement. Find an inefficient process or an outdated program that could use enhancement and hand it off to one of your young professionals as a special project. Their fresh pair of eyes can be invaluable to an established business.
Understand that longevity is relative. Avoid saying things like, “but we just got new software five years ago.” That’s ancient software in millennials’ minds and in most of today’s rapidly changing business environments.
Are you holding on to the way things have always been done? Or are you honestly open to the change demanded by today’s global, competitivebusiness climate and the evolving expectations of the new workforce?
Cara Silletto is a keynote speaker, author and consultant on understanding the Millennial mindset and making managers more effective in their roles in order to reduce unnecessary employee turnover. She can be reached at .
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