Your Career >> Browse Articles >> On The Job/Office Politics
Ask the Gen Y Expert: The Technological Generation Gap
Featured Author:
Lindsey Pollak
Lindsey Pollak | Excelle
Being new to the workforce isn’t easy. Let Excelle help you! We’re delighted to introduce a new weekly column by venerated Generation Y career expert, Lindsey Pollak.
She’ll be taking member questions each week, on topics ranging from finding your first job, to getting a promotion and managing office politics. Submit your question here.
This week, a community member wants to know how to handle an older, less tech-savvy manager.
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
Dear Young & Speedy,
In the “olden days” of 20 to 30 years ago, it was pretty much accepted that the older you were, the more technically skilled you were. (It’s a relatively new phenomenon that grandparents look to their 10-year-old grandkids for technical expertise.) But with technology advancing at warp-speed these days, we now have a generation of workers — Millennials like you — who have grown up with technology from a very young age and are therefore much faster at adapting to it.
I know it can be insanely frustrating to watch an older boss or colleague slowly navigating a web page or struggling to learn a new program. But the fact is that your Baby Boomer colleagues are probably not going to speed up and, as you mentioned, there are younger workers who are going to think you’re slow as molasses someday (probably much sooner than you think).
So, what can you do to ease your frustration today?
grace2U
about 1 month ago
786 comments
Hello
Nice meeting you here, how are you today i will want us to be friends contact me here with my e-mail address (gracewill32@yahoo.com ) because i have a special reason why have contacted you so that i can send you my photos and also tell you more about myself here is my e-mail address( gracewill32@yahoo.com ) you can also drop me your email mail address i am waiting to get a reply from you remember that co-lour, language or age and distance does not matter but understand matters
Yours New Friend
Miss Grace
dwiseman
over 1 year ago
4 comments
I would be one of those baby boomers although I do not fall into the category of being slow in technology. I am a software junkie. The more I learn, the more I want to learn.
Your answer here was right on target. We can all learn from each other regardless of age. The seasoned worker can teach the younger ones about patience and collaboration as well. I do not have a problem working with young people but they are short on patience sometimes and that is just the society they have grown up in.
These are just my thoughts on the subject.
Thank you!
ideaperson
almost 2 years ago
38 comments
I think it is important not to get frustrated and to do something as simple as teaching your coworker how to perform a certain function.