Technological Generation Gap
Theodis White
University of Maryland Global Campus
Technological Generation Gap
Workplaces in the twenty-first century rely on a varied workforce to supply a wide variety of solutions. The labor market in the twenty-first century has people from four generations, which include traditionalists, baby boomers, and generations X and Y. The dynamic economic conditions observed in the modern workforce motivate companies to delay the retirement age, which leads to many people from earlier cohorts returning to the labor market. Every generation of employees brings a unique set of values, traits, and worldviews. The process of unifying the expertise of people from different age brackets presents a challenge to manage and motivate the workers. The generation gap realized in workplaces includes the differences in the outlook, opinions, beliefs, skills, attitudes, and behaviors. The impacts of these factors become transparent in the application of technology in the workplace. Traditionalists and baby boomers tend to have a lower level of competency when it comes to using various forms of Information Technology (IT), automated operations, digitized data, and cold storage, among other developments that influence outcomes in the workplace. Although the technological generation gap lowers the level of performance and increases cases of conflict among the employees, novel management approaches like reverse mentoring and promoting a multiethnic workplace culture provide sustainable solutions that improve productivity.
A Generation
A generation refers to people born and living at about the same time. People from one generation share similar cultural, social, and intellectual abilities (Donna & Virginia, 2014). Individuals from an age group share experiences that influence their behaviors. The environmental factors that influence childhood experience lead to a generation. According to Heng and Yazdanifard (2013), the most significant ages include traditionalist baby boomers and generations X and Y. These generations have distinct features that relate to their workplace perceptions and skills. Such differences remain substantial in the integration of technology, which results in workplace conflicts. Thus, different generations in workplaces have different thoughts regarding the use of technology.
Technological Generation Gap
The four generations available in today’s workplace have diverse thoughts on the application of technology. According to Donna and Virginia (2014), traditionalists disregard the use of technology in promoting performance and consider hard work and paying debts as the crucial factors that institutions must adopt. In this case, most of the senior managers believe that working hard enhances productivity more than technology. Besides, they maintain that taking responsibility in settling debts improves the reputation of an organization and leads to better outcomes. Heng and Yazdanifard (2013) describe baby boomers as people who value performance, promotion, and titles and effective ways to motivate employees. These traits make the baby boomers focus on strategies that can enhance productivity in the workplace. Besides, they tend to support the adoption of innovative methods of production and service delivery. Heng and Yazdanifard (2013) further note that those in generation X and Y consider technology as an essential factor in enhancing performance in the organization. The members of staff in this group may disregard the leadership methods and decisions adopted by the traditionalists and baby boomers. Therefore, the four generations available in today’s workplace have to contradict thoughts about technology, which leads to a knowledge gap.
The technological gap in workplaces exists due to the presence of employees from all four generations, which lowers the level of productivity. Workers from different age groups have different levels of experience with technology (Wang & Feng, 2019). The traditionalists lack adequate knowledge and expertise with technological-based production and management tools when compared to those in generation Y. The situation leads to a knowledge gap between the two groups. According to Wang and Feng, (2019), little exposure to technologies among the traditionalists and baby boomers affects their ability to extend the means of production using state-of-the-art equipment in the daily operations in an organization. The situation leads to a conflict of interest between aging and young employees who consider technology as an effective means that organizations can use to enhance production and performance. Such cases results due to a knowledge gap on the role of technology in improving efficiency in an organization. The energy sector in China presents an excellent example of a generational technology gap. Wang and Feng (2019) feel that most traditionalist and baby boomers tasked to revolutionize the production of energy in China have an output technological gap. This case implies that they lack adequate knowledge to support different means of producing clean energy for the country. The problem leads to loss of financial resources as the sector relies on less effective production means. Therefore, the technological generation gap refers to the difference in knowledge about state-of-the-art communication and production facilities that exist between people in different age groups.
Effect of Technological Generation Gap
The technological generation gap causes social conflict in workplaces, which undermines the overall productivity of the members of staff. Employees from different age groups find it hard to cooperate in the course of their duty (Donna & Virginia, 2014). The problem exists when workers from generation X and Y workers under the supervision of a baby boomer or traditionalist manager. The younger members of staff may feel that their supervisor denies them an opportunity to enhance production through technology. Donna and Virginia (2014) think that a case of conflict occurs when an experienced doctor refuses to embrace the use of digital health records as an effective way to improve service delivery (p. 13). In such a scenario, the nurses from generation X and Y feel outlined in utilizing their extensive knowledge and experience with effective data management technologies. Besides, they may defy orders to capture the patient’s details manually. Donna and Virginia (2014) further note that the nurses from generation Y and X may fail to collaborate with their seniors in finding practical solutions to an existing problem (p. 13). This statement implies workers from different levels of activity fail to cooperate in delivering the necessary services. Social conflicts that result from the technological gap between members of staff from different age groups reduce effectiveness in all operations. Therefore, the technological generation gap minimizes the level of employee productivity due to social conflicts.
While social conflicts lower the overall level of productivity, the existing generational gap undermines the ability to establish different means of production. For instance, traditionalists believe that hard work is the most effective way of enhancing the level of output (Jirasevijinda, 2018). This statement implies that most of the elderly employees in the workforce fail to consider technology as the priority option for enhancing service delivery. The situation affects the ability of the employees to collaborate in improving their workplace conduct. Jirasevijinda (2018) argues that a senior manager nay denies millennial workers an opportunity to use modern means of communication because they are apathetic and disinterested in working. The administrator, who was a baby boomer, considered the use of social media platforms to reach customers as useful. His main argument was that people in generation X supported the use of IT as a way of avoiding hard work to enhance productivity. Therefore, the technological generation gap undermines the ability to establish effective work relations, which undermines the overall level of productivity.
Possible Solution
Reverse mentoring is a viable solution to the challenges that result from the technological generation gap. Organizations should consider pairing younger employees with baby boomers or traditionalists (Donna & Virginia, 2014). The strategy aims at making the members of staff appreciate the skills exhibited by every age group. The workers develop mutual trust and understand that every generation has an essential role in the workplace. Donna and Virginia (2014) maintain that reverse mentoring allows the older members of staff to learn the use of the Internet and other technologies while mentoring the younger workers. The employees from generation X and Y impart unique skills among their seniors while they gain leadership skills. This statement implies that the method ensures that all workers benefit from learning new awareness. Developing policies that allow workers from different generations to collaborate leads to mutual respect (Barrios & Reyes, 2015). This stamen implies that the workers gain the skills to tolerate their colleagues. With time, the strategy reduces cases of social conflict among the employees. Therefore, reverse mentoring can lead to a sustainable solution to challenges that result from the technological generation gap.
Creating a multiethnic working environment is a possible solution to the challenges that result from the technological knowledge gap. An institution that conducts a training session where learners interact and celebrate social diversities reduces cases of social conflict (Brock, 2018). This statement implies that the management allows the workers to learn about the differences that people in different age groups exhibit. Besides, the strategy ensures that the members of staff to realize that generational gaps are inevitable. Brock (2018) maintains that creating awareness in the workplace allows the older employees to appreciate that the millennial colleague exhibits unique values and skills. In this case, most seniors who utilize this method manage to focus on developing the talents among their juniors. Active learning leads to improved human resource management approaches that focus on talent development and retention. Therefore, creating a multiethnic workplace culture leads to sustainable solutions to challenges that result from the technological generation gap.
Conclusion
The technological generation gap refers to the situation where workers from different age groups have different levels of experience with technology. This condition lowers the level of performance and increases cases of conflict among the employees. The four generations that exist in workplaces today are traditionalists, baby boomers, and generation X and Y. The technological gap that exists between these groups causes social conflict in workplaces, which undermines the overall productivity of the members of staff. However, novel management approaches like reverse mentoring and promoting a multiethnic workplace culture provide sustainable solutions that improve productivity. These two strategies foster mutual respect, which leads to a viable solution to challenges that result from the technological generation gap.
References
Barrios, J., & Reyes, K. S. (2015). Bridging the gap: Using technology to capture the old & encourage the new. 2015 IEEE IAS Electrical Safety Workshop. https://sci-hub.tw/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7094941
Brock, S. (2018). Closing the generation gap: Understanding Millennials. Retrieved April 1, 2020, from rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu website: https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/55942/
Donna, R., & Virginia, F. (2014). Bridging nursing’s digital generation gap. Nursing Management, 45(4), 12–14. Retrieved from https://www.nursingcenter.com/journalarticle?Article_ID=2420370&Journal_ID=54013&Issue_ID=2420335
Heng, C. Y., & Yazdanifard, R. (2013). Generation gap: Is there any reliable solution? From the human relation point of view. International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences, 2(10), 837–840.
Jirasevijinda, T. (2018). Bridging the generation gap in the workplace: How I learned to stop worrying and love working with the millennial generation. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 11(2), 83–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2018.1485830
Wang, M., & Feng, C. (2019). Technological gap, scale economy, and China’s industrial energy demand. Journal of Cleaner Production, 236. https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117618