How Not to Act Old (Especially in the Workplace)
My part-time job as a therapist allows me inside the minds of adolescents and young adults. When I gain their trust, I get a peek into their “culture.” As a result, I find I’m less likely to jump on the current “youth-bashing” bandwagon. I’m growing weary of articles lamenting Gen X or Y (or whomever) workers inability to get with the program.
That’s why Pamela Redmond Satran’s new book, “How Not to Act Old” is so refreshing. It shifts the burden of responsibility for keeping up to us older folks. Satran identifies behaviors and beliefs that mark us as old. For instance, we need to stop emailing; younger people are IM-ing, texting and Facebook-ing (it is SO a verb) to communicate. And as she points out, quit using your index fingers to type, it’s all about the thumbs.
I was particularly interested in Satran’s take on “how not to work old.” Some of her suggestions for not skewing into that demographic are:
“Don’t bring the donuts.” You’ll be seen as trying to parent the office. (We have mommies and don’t need them at work.)
“Don’t be a Human Archive.” No one is really interested in what the company was like in 1983.
“It’s not all about the job.” Young people are able to leave work at work and enjoy downtime pursuits.
In a related area, Satran blasts those folks who still think it’s cute to be baffled by technology. She lists Web sites with which we should all be familiar: Digg.com, Technorati.com, Google.com/trends, etc. (Hey, go look them up!)
The book explores many areas, not all work-related and is great fun. I recently caught myself violating “#146: Don’t Count Out Exact Change.” At least I had the decency to say, “OMG, I’m becoming my grandfather!”
Check out more on Satran’s companion Web site: hownottoactold.com.
This is a guest post by Nancy LaFever. You can read more from her at the Centre for Emotional Wellbeing blog.
Andrew G.R.
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Reader Comments (7)
Sometimes, we get set in our ways of doing things and for some newb to come in and try to build a better mousetrap rocks our world. The down-time that comes from dealing with someone else's "new idea" is huge! More often than not, the "new idea" was scrapped in favor of the "old way of doing things" and several days, weeks or months were lost in order to come to this conclusion.
There's a lot to be said for us "old-timers", that experience is worth more than youth...
Still, nice article.
Thanks for your response with very valid points! Funny, I was just thinking I should do a follow-up in praise of us old f****.
Kristen
A young person would never do that. She or he has grown up knowing that phones are a vital organ. In fact, babies are now being born with smart phones attached. They don't have to learn the technology, they just know how to do it. And they're better at it than we are. But just ask them to compile a stack of Fortran punch cards, and you'll get that blank stare you're hoping for.
At the risk of sounding like a human archive, we old-timers ARE worth something. But if your workplace is teeming with young people, it might be best to keep these ideas to yourself. Words like "black and white TV" might scare them or make them ask, "Dude. Really. How old ARE you?".
This is nice article.The book is also good for employees of any age.The suggestions are really good to follow.It will give the fresh air to employees.