More boomers now find themselves working for a younger boss. How do you manage someone old enough to be your parent?
The managers are getting younger. It’s one of the big changes that’s been happening in the workplace over the last few years. Years ago, it was flagged in the movie In Good Company where Dennis Quaid plays a guy in his early 50s who suddenly has to deal with a younger boss. The movie was tapping into a trend now gathering force and it all comes down to simple demographics. The reality is that there will be more Generation X and Y employees than boomers who will either retire, head off to do their own thing or die. That means one thing: many 40 plus workers are going to have a younger boss at some stage. Conversely, there will be a lot more managers supervising people old enough to be their parents.
That in itself can create a number of tensions and issues. Some of the complaints about younger bosses are that are that they act like they are entitled, they micromanage, they don't give me enough direction and that they play favourites with younger workers. On the other hand, many of these up and coming managers might find older workers more set in their ways. So how do we deal with it?
Forbes has some basic guidelines to help boomers get their heads around the issue. Suggestions include asking the boss how they want to stay in touch, whether it’s face-to-face, email, instant messaging or some other way. It also advises boomers to learn the nuances of texting and phone etiquette, and to get used to fewer face-to-face meetings. Also, don’t assume you’ll get respect just because you’re old, don’t try to act as a parent or mentor, accept the fact that things are going to be different, respect what you don’t know and accept the fact that younger people have a lot to teach you. Other suggestions from USA Today include constantly updating your skills and not competing.
Peter Cappelli, a professor at US business school Wharton has written extensively on the topic. In this interview, Cappelli says the age difference creates a number of tensions. “If you look at the research on older workers, you see an incredible amount of discrimination against them, bigger than race, bigger than gender. Older workers struggle to get hired. And yet these are individuals who are perfectly suited to what employers say they want - somebody who can hit the ground running, who knows how to handle work-based problems, who is not interested in a long-term commitment from the company, and who is self-motivated and self-managing. All this exactly defines older workers. They are ideally suited for many of these jobs, and yet when push comes to shove, younger supervisors won't hire them."
"The reason they won't hire them is the second problem, which is how to manage the older worker if you are a younger supervisor. The issue is that this seems to invert the natural order. How can I give orders to somebody who is older and more experienced than I am?”
The problem will probably escalate in the coming years because of the skills shortage. Many industries can’t afford to lose their most experienced hands. But how are they going to manage it when these old-timers are getting instructions from young people?
The Employment Digest points out the bleeding obvious: to make it work, all sides have to accommodate and respect each other’s different approaches to work.
Do you work for a younger boss? Or do you have to manage people who are old enough to be your parents? What’s it like? What are some of the issues that come up? What advice would you give?
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