Is "Over 40" Equivalent to "Over the Hill" in the Digital Age?
This article grabbed my interest ("Former DMN employees sue paper, parent company", Dallas Business Journal, Jaime S. Jordan, Web Editor, October 25). Eighteen former Dallas Morning News employees are suing the paper and its parent company, Belo, alleging they were terminated because of their age—all of them were over 40.
The employees were told their positions were being eliminated, but later they learned those same positions were filled with younger workers. A Belo spokesman said, "We’re aware of the complaint and we believe the complaint is without merit and intend to defend against it vigorously."
Supposedly, many of The News employees over 40 were labeled as unable to adapt to new technology or assume multiple job responsibilities, difficult to work with, and unlikely to accept changes as the paper attempts to morph into a self-proclaimed "Newspaper of the Future."
OK, "over 40 crowd"—give me the straight story. Are there older workers in your office that don’t know the difference between a strawberry and a Blackberry™? Is "podcasting" a fishing technique? Perhaps an MP3 is thought to be a rank within the Military Police, and a "blog" is something to burn to keep warm (put another blog on the fire)? Do some need to be reminded that Nokia isn’t
Spanish for "I don’t have a key." Are there still those who go to your voice mail and hang up without speaking because they "can’t stand talkin’ to them darn machines"? As for Internet terms like Skype, Technorati, HTML, Java Applet, T1 lines, bandwidth, cookies, Ethernet, gigabyte, Linux, ping, proxy server, SEO…I won’t even go there—we don’t have time.
Shifting into the digital age requires an adjustment period for EVERYONE, but especially for older workers accustomed to doing things "the traditional way." But is their attachment to old habits grounds for termination, or could those employees be won over by excellent corporate communication and a quality training program? I suggest the latter.
As a person slightly over 40 myself (don’t ask), I have a learning curve to comprehend all the business and communication opportunities that computers and the Internet provide. And I’ve actually come to enjoy the new tools, as would many "mature" workers, if given the chance and the incentive to supplement their existing skills. Over-40 workers are our veterans, with some mileage and a fair amount of wisdom garnered along the way…don’t toss them aside because the Training Department is unable or unwilling to capture their imagination with the opportunity to explore new frontiers.
What’s been your work experience with the older—or younger—generation?






