“How are different generations experiencing technological change in the workplace?”

I think that it’s such a common myth that. And, and it’s important that we like that we hone in on that because there are a lot of published articles that are out there when we’re talking about or framing older generations as struggling to adapt with technology. But in reality. I think that every generation experiences some level of disruption and some level of a learning curve when new tools are being introduced or new systems are being introduced into the workplace. And sometimes older generations wear that. Hmm. And. When I say older, I’m gonna put that in quotations as well. Like, boomers and Gen Xers. Like, they wear that badge of, you know, oh, I don’t know if I should learn this new technology or I’m gonna put it off and push it down the line because everyone says we’re not gonna understand it. And, I think it’s important that we peel back those layers and understand that intergenerational collaboration when it comes to technology is really about learning and transforming together. And understanding, again, like we spoke about cultural competency, just understanding that everyone is capable and everyone is adaptable.

“Should we think of generations when we’re rolling out new tech?”

I think yes and no. So, I think that generational skills should factor into any role out of any new technology with an organization. But, I think it’s also important to have conversations and ensure there’s opportunities across organizations to ensure that there is a way or an avenue for people to train, to learn the technology, to not feel like they’re being left out of any rollout of programs. It’s important for leadership. I really do believe that it starts from the top, right? So if we are constantly using our words to make people feel like, I don’t know if I should do it, X said that, you know, it’s more for the younger staff, right? Like when you hear things like that, yeah. It makes people feel like, oh, that’s not for me then, I’m not a part of that. Right? So, younger generations may be fluent in the idea of digital culture, like social media, texting collaborative platforms when we work on Microsoft teams, et cetera, zoom, et cetera. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re always gonna be comfortable with these professional systems, right? On the flip end of that, I think that it’s important when these articles are publishing information that Gen Zs and millennials are often seen as these digital natives. And they’re so quick on social media, and they’re so quick on their smartphone apps, but they’re also very overwhelmed by corporate platforms when we’re talking about CRMs, databases, et cetera, which people who are considered as boomers or categorized as boomers or Gen Xers, they may have a plethora of experience in that. So, that’s where I think that the other side of that conversation, we’re talking about Gen X and boomers might be slower to adapt to this new app but they often bring this deep understanding of systems thinking and adaptability, right? Like you mentioned it earlier, many of them have transitioned from typewriters to personal computers, right. PCs. And then you talked about the idea of dial up internet and high speed internet, fiber optics, there’s so many things that we can talk about nowadays. And I remember as a young child living in an intergenerational home, my mother had a typewriter in the house, and I remember my sister and I playing with this typewriter, like we thought it was this ancient piece of technology, that it had existed. And, it was fascinating to me that we could type and my mom had brought it to us saying, you know, you all should really learn how to type as fast as you can and try to do it correctly. Yeah, and I thought, fascinating that we could just press these buttons on this typewriter and it would automatically print. Right? Yeah. Because we would put in paper through. And when I was thinking about this idea of intergenerational collaboration, so many different thoughts came through. I was at the cusp of the millennial, categorization where I kind of lived through the transition of dial up internet when you, like, if you wanted to make a call from the landline, you would hear that weird sound because the internet was being used and I remember my father always trying to make sure that myself and my siblings always had access to these new forms of technology, be it floppy disks. Do you remember floppy disks? I sure do. Yep. Yeah, like saving our reports on floppy disks and going into school and going to work on the PCs in the computer lab and printing things out. So I think that is a prime example. It’s a personal example of how technology is so adaptable and how it’s come a long way. And no matter what, every generation is going to adapt, right? Mm-hmm. So technological disruption, it’s not new. Hmm. And it’s definitely not new for boomers or Gen Xers, right? Yeah. They’ve, like you said, they’ve lived through that shift from typewriters and then PCs, and then if we think about fax to email as well, that’s an important piece. Um, and then now I guess the adaption from floppy disk would be saving things on the cloud, right? Yep. And managing all of that. Yeah, absolutely. And I think that we’ve all kind of proven that we can adapt as a society and as organizations roll out new technology.

I know people who are boomers that are amazing with AI right now and I’m learning from them, right? Mm-hmm. And I remember, one of the most productive IT training sessions that I sat in was when I was paired with an older or more seasoned IT professional, that had more seniority within my organization. And, I remember as a younger staff member, I helped that individual navigate a new platform within our organization. And while that same older staffer had helped me understand the long-term goals of why it’s important to use CRMs, and to make sure that we’re saving things onto the cloud and, how important that is to the organization’s long term goal. Something as simple as like, if I’m not well and they have to access something, just having things on my personal phone or work phone with regards to work content or filming content, it’s not feasible. Mm-hmm. And the reason why that use of CRMs or Laserfiche, I remember that back in the day, saving things to that, are important because that’s the database that was being used at the time.