As hard as it is to believe, I actually heard this question within the first year I began working at my first corporate job. I was in our break room warming up my lunch and getting some more tea when a Business Analyst from the other side of the floor walked in and asked just that – ‘Is it take you child to work day?’. I looked at her extremely confused, not really knowing what to say (and honestly not realizing she was referencing me) when asking the question so I stood there awkwardly and said something along the lines of ‘I don’t think so, why do you ask?’ She then went on saying that she thought she saw another kid on the floor and now here I was in the kitchen – ‘just thought that must be it’.
After laughing through the bright red cheeks I was now sporting and telling her I had actually been working with the company for almost a year now but guess we had never crossed paths before, I realized this was one of the most awkward situations I had encountered at work thus far. As I settled back in at my desk, I kept running through my head how embarrassed I was and how I could possibly avoid a situation like this in the future but in all reality, being only 22 in an office where only a handful of employees were under 40 this would absolutely not be the first time my age caused for some uncomfortable situations.
Millennials are one of the more unique generations in that some of them love and embrace the term because they feel it embodies the fresh new mentality they bring to the workforce while others feel like it is almost a curse placed on them to be associated with the generation associated with job jumping, lack of loyalty, and instant gratification. No matter the stance you choose on this term, we in this age group are Millennials in the eyes of the world now and are the largest generation in the workforce.
Millennials:
-Prefer digital (email, text, IM) communication
-Adjust to and expect change
-Multi-taskers
-Tech savvy
-Tendency to always be on the lookout for the next best job
-Want instant gratification
-Individual interests are top priority
Baby Boomers:
-Value in-person communication
-Change is very difficult and often resisted
-Complete work sequentially
-Struggle with new technology
-Loyal to company
-Easily choose delayed gratification for a larger cause
-Team player mentality
In looking at the characteristics of the two groups, it is easy to see why these two groups don’t exactly see eye to eye on a lot of workplace habits. Millennials have always grown up with technology and knowing that things are ever changing so they have come to expect it in all facets of their life – especially the workplace. Boomers on the other hand still remember and reflect on the days where working from home wasn’t even a thought in anyone’s head and in order to get an answer from someone you had to walk to their desk and ask them the question. While this probably feels like you should be forming an opinion about which group produces a better worker bee, a better way to look at this is that we are all working together and need to learn more about our coworkers in order to figure out how to get the most out of them.
Boomers could learn a ton from their millennial coworkers if they would just be willing to accept that they aren’t always as knowledgeable on certain topics like social media and technological advances as the Millennials. On the flip side, Millennials could learn a thing or two from their parental aged coworkers if they didn’t feel like they obtained all the knowledge they need to know about the workplace from their two years of experience in an entry level role. Both groups should be focusing on their strengths but also trying to fill in the gaps that the other group offers to make the entire workplace and organization thrive. That and (if you’re a Millennial) try not to look dumbfounded when a Boomer mentions a show that ended before you were born – you can cause the same reaction from them when mentioning a snapchat filter.
Stephanie Bonnett