Generation Integration: Roberta Matuson Unites Boomers, X-ers and Millennials in the Workplace

Silver Lining in this Recession

There is a silver lining in this recession for older workers. According to a recent Business Week article, Employers Avoid Axing Oldies but Goodies, companies continue to recruit Baby Boomers. Their knowledge is in high demand. According to Stephen Wing, director of workforce initiatives at CVS Caremark in Woonsocket, R.I. "When you're in your 50s and 60s, you're in your prime."

This isn't great news for Millennials, who are often the first on the chopping block. But at least many of them can return home. That is if they've even left home yet.

Help Wanted: Tech Wizard

Boy do I wish I worked in an office where I could find a twenty-something year old to tutor me in Photoshop Elements 6.0 for the Mac. This is the software that is supposed to be much easier to use than Photoshop. I'm just thanking my lucky stars that my income doesn't depend on learning either of these programs.

Sometimes I feel like I'm too old to learn this kind of stuff. Then I watch one of those Do It Yourself (DIY) programs and they give me hope. I was watching one of those home shows the other day and they showed how easy it is to create art using your own digital photos. I thought, "Hey, even I could do that." (If only that were true.) So I went to Target, spent $80 on frames and came home ready to go.

I sat down at the Mac and began to figure out how to easily create pop art using my digital photos. Not so easy. You see, I didn't have the right software. Off to Staples I go and spend another $80 or so on Adobe Photoshop Elements thinking all I will need to do is push a button and my photos will turn into wild colors.

It's been three days and my photos look exactly like they did the day I uploaded them to my Mac. It is not as easy as they made it out to be and my children are just a few years shy of being able to tackle this on their own.

If anyone from Adobe is out there listening then I would suggest you hire one of these tech savvy unemployed people to create a software package that us DIY people can actually use.

I'm not giving up! I'll post the results once I figure this out. Be sure to check back here a few years from now!

One Happy Boomer

  

You may be wondering why this man is smiling. You see, he is thrilled that he has just been carded by our local convenience store. Now I know he looks youthful, but don't you think this is taking things a bit too far? Seems like management at the local store doesn't believe their employees are capable of determining when someone should be carded. Instead, they have decided to card all customers. This eliminates the chance that a mistake will be made.

Or perhaps this is really a public relations program in disguise. If it is, it's working. I sent him out the next day to pick up beer for a recipe and he gladly headed back to the same store. It's nice to know that all the generations are being treated the same regardless of appearance.

I Could Have Told You That

It should come as no surprise that Starbuck's cup has runneth over. After all, how many businesses can you name that successfully competes with itself at every corner? Starbucks recent announcement that it is closing 600 of it's US stores is predictable. As many as 12,000 workers will lose their jobs. Most of the stores that are closing have been opened within the last three years.

I personally will not feel the impact of this announcement as I rarely stop in for a latte. I prefer my local coffee place Shelburne Falls. In fact, I have a shipment coming in from Western, Mass. early today so I can brew my own coffee without waiting in line.

I suspect others have caught on as well. You can actually sleep in an extra 30 minutes if you spend five minutes making your own coffee. We won't even discuss the savings.

Lots of Boomers frequent coffee places like Starbucks prior to going into the office. I wonder what type of impact the changing demographics will have on places that rely on business from Boomers. Many Boomers will exit the workplace and will no longer need to power up before starting their day. They may choose to stay home and perhaps even roast their own beans now that they have time on their hands.

The time to analyze these trends in your business is now. If your organization services or sells to a high percentage of Boomers, consider asking your own people what type of adjustments should be made in your business model. This one small step may prevent you from winding up in tomorrow's news announcements of yet another company losing steam.

Gotta run. I can smell that my coffee is ready.