Much of the discussions around the future of work have been focused on millennials. But what about the other older generations in the workforce? Just because millennials are expected to be 50% of the workforce by 2020 doesn’t mean that there still aren’t millions of other workers to think about. I specifically wanted to create something for workers who are 50 and over because I feel like they are the most neglected and overlooked. I also find that these older workers feel more obsolete than older workers (or are at least worried about becoming obsolete. So, I put together an ebook that anyone can download called 5 Ways People Over 50 Can Stay Relevant in the Future of Work and I wanted to share some of the insights here. The actual ebook is around 12 pages long with nice visuals and clear actions items. These are the 5 things older workers can do to make sure they don’t become obsolete.
Team up with millennials instead of viewing them as a threat
It’s often human instinct to get territorial when new faces invade your turf. But older workers who give in to that urge are isolating themselves from valuable opportunities, as well as losing out on whatever the Millennials in their workforce could teach them. Come to conversations with younger workers with an open mind, and you may be surprised by the quality of the discussions you can have about technologies, office culture, and other subjects of mutual concern. And, as always, there’s mutual benefit in building a cordial working relationship.
Don’t Resist Change
Listen to new ideas, and be willing to give things a whirl even if you aren’t a hundred percent certain they’re right for you. For example, the annual employee review is a tradition — but it’s one that’s on its way out, and rightly so. Managers can give faster and more actionable feedback in a hundred different ways such as using real-time check-ins, a program that Adobe recently implemented while getting rid of annual reviews. Similarly, for many jobs there’s very little value in the “face time” culture of everyone sitting at a desk in an office for eight to 10 hours a day five days a week. Don’t cling to traditions just because you can’t imagine any other way to work.
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