Clash of Generations at the Workplace

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The generational gap is getting much bigger nowadays especially at the workplace. Younger generations want rapid change and more opportunities to show their personal brand while older generations generally prefer to keep the status quo or prefer a slower change after making sure that all of the risks are mitigated.

Technology is changing much faster these days compared to thirty-forty years ago. As a result, everything around us is changing and our needs and wants are changing. However, some corporations cannot keep up with the pace of this change and this reflects on their sales as well as on their profits. The number one reason why corporations fail to change rapidly is the mindset of people working in that organization. Some of you may blame the corporate bureaucracy but don’t forget that it is up to the people in that organization to create or eliminate the bureaucracy.

Usually if the organization employs younger generations like Gen Y or younger members of Gen X, then that organization is much more courageous and more eager to change. However, if the organization mainly employs baby boomers and elder members of Gen X, then the change can come much slower. If the organization employs all of the three generations, then there is usually a big clash among the members of this organization. In order to avoid these conflicts and to be able to work in harmony, all of the three generations should respect each others’ opinions and try to understand each others’ perspectives.  Older generations should understand that change is necessary and everything cannot always stay the same. For example; the computers that we had in 1980s are much different than the computers we have today. Similar to computers, corporations cannot stay the same as well and they need constant change in order to adapt to the rest of the world. Also, older generations should respect the fresh ideas of younger generations to old ways of doing things and should not put these ideas aside immediately. On the other hand, younger generations should keep in mind that older generations are more experienced and they can analyze some of the problems better. Moreover, they usually have the know-how due to their experience and this can reduce costs plus improve the process.

Both generations have advantages and disadvantages they bring to the table. The key is to find the advantages of each generation over each other and use them effectively in the right place at the right time.

Picture of Ceren Cubukcu

Ceren Cubukcu

Ceren Cubukcu is a top 5 bestselling author of Make Your American Dream A Reality: How to Find a Job as an International Student in the United States. She recently founded her consulting business to help more international students find jobs in the US in addition to her self-service digital event ticketing platform, Etkinlik Fabrikam (My Event Factory), to offer her webinars. 

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