How to Get Along With Coworkers of Older Generations

How to Get Along With Coworkers of Older Generations Image via freestockphotos.biz However, getting along with older coworkers as a young person doesn’t have to be a struggle. In fact, you’ll probably find that you have more in common with them than you think. 1. Find universal subjects. You may find it difficult to find anything in common with your coworkers of older generations. However, it may just be that you’ve forgotten how exactly to find things in common with someone. Now, when you meet someone young, it’s probably easy to talk about the latest hit on Netflix or the news updates on celebrities, but these topics don’t always resonate with older crowds. Remember, commonality exists all around you. Perhaps a local team is doing really well in their sport or a new company has just moved to town. You could chat about new restaurants that are opening. If you get really desperate, you can always start off with the weather and work towards something else. Of course, talking is just the first step to improving your relationship with anyone which is essential to getting to know your coworkers. 2. Show them something new. They may be older than you, but don’t let that convince you that you don’t have a whole wealth of knowledge that they don’t. If you’re kind about it, they’ll be happy to learn any new thing that you have to show them. If you overhear them talking about a computer problem, you might already know how to create an easy fix for it. Perhaps they’re sick of their standard eating out routine and you could suggest a great new dining spot downtown that they haven’t heard of yet. Being more connected as a young person gives you access to new products all the time. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you may just be able to find something that could work really well for them. 3. Ask them something. You have a wealth of knowledge that they don’t, but bear in mind that they do too. They’ve lived through stories equally interesting to your own. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions about themselves, even really basic questions about where they grew up, where they went to school, their partner, their children, etc. If you show genuine interest in their life, they’re going to feel much happier working with someone who cares about them and hasn’t dismissed them as irrelevant. You may find some surprising similarities even. Maybe you grew up close to each other or went to the same vacation spot. This will create a whole slew of stories and facts to grow closer to one another as coworkers and maybe even as friends. 4. Keep an open mind. If you’re young, especially if you’re fresh out of college, you’re used to being around other young people with similar opinions to your own. Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t care deeply about those opinions, but you will have to recognize that the working world is full of people with opinions completely different than yours. The differences in opinions by no means make one right and the other wrong. You may have to learn to respectfully disagree with someone. A great thing to do is to simply ask questions about an opinion they have. Don’t listen to judge and refute, listen to try and understand the other side. They may have a whole history that has led them to think this way. Learning about others different than you is a great tool to help you respect and work well with anyone, regardless of age and background. stocksnap.io 5. Be patient. All in all, don’t expect to become fast friends overnight. People in older generations likely have a set group of family and friends that they’ve known and cared about for ages. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t be great coworkers. Just because they aren’t dying to hang out all the time, doesn’t mean they don’t like you or appreciate the work you do. Relationships can be slow to grow and develop over time, but don’t fret over becoming best friends with everyone. Take every opinion and personality with an attitude of respect and kindness and you’ll be sure to get along great. As humans, we all crave some sort of connection. As coworkers, having great working connections is necessary to having a happy and successful professional life. With a proper outlook on building great relationships in the workplace, anyone can transcend boundaries of age.