Bridging the Generation Gap: How to Get Radio Babies, Boomers, Gen Xers, and Gen Yers to Work Together and Achieve More

Chapter 11

Older Workers, Younger Bosses

Part I: How to work for a younger boss

Linda:

It had to happen at some point. As we spend more years in the workplace, it’s inevitable that you will eventually report to someone younger than yourself. When that time came for my friend John, however, it was a jolt! He was 42 and his new boss was (gasp!) 29. That’s a generation—and a world—apart.

John had been in his position as a mid-level manager at a large manufacturing company for five years and in his field for 20. He believed that he’d been around the block and knew the ropes. The new boss was brought in from the company that acquired his, and he was already at a director level. Ouch.

John had only been working with his new boss for about three ...