Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. Winston Churchill
Concord Monitor - Workforce divided by decades
October 23, 2006
Concord Monitor
By Meg Heckman, Monitor staff
It's not your imagination: Your co-workers really are older and younger than ever before.
For the first time, the American workforce spans four generations, meaning the typical office holds people older than 60 and younger than 25. Each age group has its own philosophy about work, which management experts say can lead to an intergenerational clash.
Dress codes, schedules, promotions and technology are viewed differently by each generation. The oldest, who lived through the Depression, consider work a privilege. The youngest, fresh out of college, see it as an opportunity to learn. In the middle are baby boomers, who invented the 60-hour work week, and 30-somethings determined to eat dinner with their families at night.
At companies in Concord, the trend means flextime at law firms that used to be strictly 9 to 5, mentorship programs that match new hires with company veterans, and more opportunities to dress casually or work from home.