Generational Gap In The Workplace

How did you handle a situation where a generational gap in understanding caused either conflict or generalizations to occur?
Early in my professional career, I was a law clerk for a loop law firm. This was a unique situation, because I was a young lady in an office with five males that were between the ages of 60 and 75. Honestly, it was not the most comfortable environment, but we all manage to coexist, and the office was quite productive. I was usually required to handle various errands for the office, which I considered a fringe benefit, because it allowed lots of time for window shopping. Nevertheless, on one occasion the oldest attorney instructed me to take some package to the United State post office. After he finished speaking. I politely informed the attorney that the post office was closed for a Federal holiday. He responds, “What holiday?”! I told him it was a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King and he responded that it was no such holiday and demanded that I go to the post office immediately. Since, I have felt that I didn’t have any support in the office, I proceeded to follow his instruction even though I knew better. As I walked to the elevator, I mentally attached every stereotype about older individuals to

Also, I have made it a practice not to generalize about a person based on age. Furthermore, civic engagement doesn’t resemble the past and Millennials are the ones shaping what our country will look like in the future. So, it’s critical to engage with other generations and to promote social awareness and allow other generation the opportunity to understand how to engage with Millennials. Other generations must attempt to understand their perspective. and “Together, we need to reinvent our assumptions of age: to break stereotypes and develop new models of ageing for the 21st century.”