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The Generation Gap at Work
As offices go, the editorial suites at Time Inc. are pretty laid back. T-shirts are fine. Shave if you like. Slides, sneakers or heels - your choice. Yet there's a limit to what passes for acceptable appearance, and I was sure a recent bunch of college interns had breached it spectacularly with their nose rings, tattoos and low-rise pants. These were bright, ambitious kids. Why the blatant show of disrespect?
My younger colleagues wondered too. But they were more amused than aghast, and it occurred to me that there is a widening generation gap when it comes to interpreting casual Fridays. And that's not all: Young folks are putting their stamp on the workplace in ways far more reaching than their wardrobe. And we boomers don't necessarily like it.
We're all part of a new-age experiment: four generations working side by side yet often speaking a different language. Think that's an exaggeration? Go ahead. Try to decipher this twentysomething text message: WU CMIW that was CLM or maybe CS. (What's up? Correct me if I'm wrong. That was a career-limiting move or maybe career suicide.)
Boomers, the older \histories, values and work habits to the job. These gaps have led to stereotypes that hinder our ability to get things done.
Nearly 60 percent of HR managers at large companies say they've observed office conflicts that flow from generational differences, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Tensions typically stem from perceptions of loyalty and respect - as in, we think the kids don't have any. Yet the latest research shows that we may be compatible after all. Debunking some key myths may help you get past the tattoos and belly buttons in your office. Myth No. 1: Young workers love change
It's commonly thought that young people embrace change as enthusiastically as older workers resist it. Not so. In a study of 3,200 workers, only 12 across the generations said they liked change at the office, reports the Center for Creative Leadership.
\Center's Jennifer Deal, author of \Can Find Common Ground.\workers have identical anxieties.
Don't make assumptions based on age, says Deal. Ask your young colleagues how a shift would change their life. If it's for the better, can you blame them for loving it? But it might be as upsetting to them as it is to you - and it could be a bonding moment. Myth No. 2: Gen X- and Y-ers lack a strong work ethic(职业道德)
Not true. But coming of age under very different circumstances has affected our work styles.
Boomers had to scrape and claw for jobs and work long hours to keep them and get ahead because there were so many of us. Competition was keen. Work became central to our identities, and with two-earner households, we did much of our socializing in professional circles.
But Gen X is much smaller and has never known job scarcity. They can demand more or move on. They've seen their parents get downsized, seeming victims of company loyalty, and watched them strain to juggle career and family.
That different history has led to marked differences in how we work. Younger generations are
willing to move every two or three years to get the job experience and work-life balance they want. Ask them to come into the office over the weekend and they are apt to resist.
\doesn't mean they won't get the job done. If they must, they'll work from the beach on their laptop. And they're more apt to come in promptly and eschew the water-cooler chats so popular among boomers. They focus, finish and leave. Boomers need to appreciate these style differences. Look at the results, not the process. Myth No. 3: They disrespect elders
This gets back to the dress issue. When boomers entered the work force, tattoos and body
piercings were for bikers and lowlifes. Yet Gen X and Gen Y see these expressions (in tastefully modest doses) as normal, even alluring - not a way to thumb their nose at authority.
The question of respect goes beyond a dress code. Boomers got ahead by doing what they were told and expect younger workers to similarly fall in line. But with their leverage in the workplace, twenty- and thirtysomethings don't have to take what you say on faith. They want to know why they're being asked to perform a task.
This isn't disrespect. They have more options than you did at that age. But if you are clear in what you expect and explain the reasons behind a particular assignment, they'll respond. Myth No. 4: Younger workers prefer to go it alone
\Generational Studies. \accepting of technology, corresponding via text message and preferring to communicate online instead of in a meeting hardly qualifies as going it alone.
All generations value working with capable colleagues despite age, says Deal of the Center for Creative Leadership. Boomers accustomed to face time may misread young workers' preference for tech time as isolationist（孤立主义者）. It's anything but - if you know how to use the tools. So learn them. And then give the kid a chance. Soon you won't even notice the silver stud in her tongue.
1. this passage is mainly about _____ a. the generation gap in the workplace. b. the dress code in the offices of Time Inc. c. the change young folks are making on the job. d. the disrespect of the young towards the old.
2. What prevents work from getting done in the workplace? a. Inexperience of the younger generation b. Silence on the part of the older generation c. Stereotypes about young workers
d. Inability to understand each other’s language
3. In the eyes of the older generation, young workers ______ a. don’t know how to behave in the office b. don’t know how to get work done c. don’t care about their appearance. d. don’t have any loyalty and respect
4. According to the Center for Creative Leadership, young workers_______
a. welcome change enthusiastically b. do not necessarily love change c. like change more than older ones d. resist changes in the workplace
5. The attitude of employees towards changes in the workplace has much to do with _______ a. their shift b. their age d. the assumptions they make d. the benefits they perceive
6. According to the passage, it is much easier for Generation X- and Y-ers than the boomers to ____
a. get a job and keep it b. cope with career and family c. get laid off in hard times d. lose their identities.
7. According to Gary Westerman, younger generations _______ a. will refuse to work on weekends even when the job is urgent b. have a different work style from the boomers c. care more about their family than the boomers d. will work from the beach rather than in the office.
8. When assigned a task, twenty- and thirty-somethings will expect an explanation of the ________________.
9. According to Robert Wendover, instead of calling a meeting, generation X-ers prefer to _______________.
10. Whether old or young, people like to work with ___________________.
翻译
_______________________（他的优良表现）in recent years has won him good reputation among his peers.
The company __________________________________(采取有力措施来恢复顾客的信心) who are dissatisfied with its service.
__________________________(与玛丽漠不关心的态度相反)， Henry pursued the subjects with genuine curiosity.
Smith _________________________________________(应该懂事而不该当众羞辱她)
选词填空
1. suggests 2. personal 3. relatively 4. attaches 5. satisfaction 6. relates 7. tangible 8. show 9. basic 10. actually 11. culture 12 bear 13. priority 14. seemingly
We live in a culture which continually bombards(轰击)us with advertising messages suggesting that “the good life” is the “the good life”. But such messages ____ a false promise, because recent psychological research has not only made clear that money can’t buy happiness, but has begun to ____ that when people organize their lives around the pursuit of wealth, their happiness can ____ decrease.
Research on how happiness ___ to material wealth by psychologists clearly indicates that people are happier if they live in wealthy rather than poor nations. However, once individuals have enough money to pay for their ____ needs of food, shelter, etc., money does relatively little to improve happiness. Further, increases in either national economic growth or ____ income have much effect on changes in the personal happiness of citizens.
Psychological research goes further than this, however, by showing that people who “buy into” the message of consumer ____ report lower personal well-being. Individuals who say that goals for money, image, and popularity are ____ important to them also report less ____ in life, fewer experiences of pleasant emotions, and more depression and anxiety.
In addition to these problems with personal happiness, research _____ that pursuit of material wealth also hurt social relationships and promote ecologically destructive behavior.
