There was a time when one’s seniority within an organization was a very real consideration when it came to getting a promotion into a management position. It made sense that length of time we had spent with the company would logically indicate that we understood the goals, we had worked in various positions that provided us with a good general knowledge of many aspects of the operation and we had ‘earned’ it. As a result, those leading the overall charge tended to be of an older generation. And that was then.
Today there is a trend that is markedly different. As Millennials have overtaken the number of Baby Boomers in the workplace, there are more and more situations wherein it is a younger person that is being promoted into positions of management which means there are many older employees now reporting to a younger boss. From where I sit and
although historically the situation has occurred for many years, the growth of working millennials has created a more prevalent problem with which companies are having to deal as the growing ‘norm’.
Jena McGregor of the Washington Post wrote an article relating the impact of a younger boss on job performance in which she addresses this challenge. McGregor points out that the impact of such a reporting hierarchy is multi-faceted. In addition to the negative feelings generated among older workers, they can spread throughout a company. Some older employees see this as their personal failure and lack of progress in that they have failed to keep pace.
In years past, when an older and longer-time employee found themselves reporting to a younger boss they saw themselves as having two choices. One was to recognize that the game had changed and they were flexible enough to accept the reporting structure as okay and the way it was. The second choice if they just couldn’t adapt was to make the decision to leave the organization. Today’s frequency of the potential of older reporting to younger can have real and detrimental impact on a company if this creates a larger scale departure and the resulting revolving door. It makes good sense that companies today recognize this as a problem waiting to happen and take proactive measures to address it … before it is a problem. Although not a simple situation, there are some basic ‘starter’ steps to address this. Doing so will serve to lessen the costly and negative impact of such a dichotomy and actually make it a positive.
- Include awareness and sensitivity training to the one being promoted into management. Having them understand what they will likely encounter and preparing them for the most positive and effective ways to anticipate and respond to it is extremely worthwhile and can avoid so many of the unplanned consequences.
- Make certain that the forthcoming ‘new’ boss sees and understands the value that the older employee adds to their personal success and that of the organizations.
- Educate the ‘Boomer’ as to what they have the ability to contribute that the new boss needs in order to be successful … personally and on behalf of the company … and how this enhances rather than diminishes their value.
- Offer the older employees training sessions on the use of new technology that is second nature to the younger person. It is often the comfort level with advancing technology that has worked to create division between generations at work … and the resentment.
Not too long ago there was a movie entitled “The Intern”. It dealt with just this issue of generational divide in a company. Of course it was Hollywood, yet it showed what can be the result when people can come to value and respect the different viewpoints reflected by generational divides. The sooner an organization accepts this as a real and potential ‘bump’ in what they desire to have in a smooth operating machine, the more likely they are to avoid the unintended negatives that this changing work environment can create.
Mike Dorman
