When does a generation gap apply?
THE term “generation gap” is applied to situations where there is miscommunication arising from different contexts or points of view between generations, say a baby boomer and a millennial, analog versus digital, old versus young, and very old versus very young.
A couple having dinner and giggling together is usually not worth noting or fussing about if they belong to the same generation, even if the woman has Eskimo eyes from a facelift and the man has no eyebags or liver spots on his hands due to a stem cell treatment. On the other hand, if the couple has a considerable generation gap, whether they are of the same sex or not, then eyebrows are raised to the ceiling. Does one giggle this wantonly with someone related by blood... say a niece? (Well, okay, some nieces can be hilarious.)
There is a rush to judgment when the couple has an obvious generation gap, especially if more than one.
The phrase “Dirty Old Man” (initial in caps) is seldom applied to an elderly male with unkempt hair. It is a social slur attached to a man of advanced age and presumed to have lewd intentions directed at a much younger person. The big age gap between two individuals even in an innocent activity such as dining in public invites both revulsion and envy. Such gaps are also the subject of a movement dealing with generational issues where dining is more private and involves less dishes.
When an elderly man’s attention is solicited via text (do you want me to water your plants?)
the DOM slur should not apply, as this service does not necessarily constitute an inappropriate activity. The old man, this time in lower case, is merely being offered some gardening services. The situation involves helping an individual who cannot properly aim his garden hose at the bushes, wetting his slippers instead.
DOM should be viewed as an ageist slur. In the workplace, such a tag connotes that productivity for one so designated is not workrelated, implying undue attention to the workers more than the work. Whatever happened to the concept of mentoring where an older master guides the career and skills enhancement of a young and fetching ballerina? (Your tutu needs starching, Dear.)
In business, it’s easy to tell organizations that respect age, accepting it as an embodiment of wisdom and grace. Just check out how old the CEO is. Those still actively running a mature business beyond the usual retirement age consider succession plans in the same category as earthquake drills — where’s the earthquake? Still, the transgenerational business model is being given a boost in management consultancy and auditing.
The determination of the appropriate age for leadership positions is reflected in hallway conversations.
When senior management regularly throws around disparaging phrases like old fogies, dinosaurs, and observations like “the notebook was a stationery during his time” or “he keeps repeating his stories,” to draw laughter, rest assured that this is an ageist corporate culture. On the other hand, if the phrases in vogue are: wet behind the ears; he’s just learning to walk; raw and impulsive; jumps before he thinks, and “it’s all about instant gratification,” it’s easy to see who are still in charge, and how old they are.
For local politics, there’s no gap between generations. Like musical chairs, dynastic families just change places for elections. Let the people decide? The political machinery of entrenched incumbents with public money, jobs, and favors makes sure the voters make the right decision
Does the generation-gap model of management work? Can an old man (wizened sage) be put in charge of a young group, lend it gravitas and lead it through a rough patch? This coupling (no pun intended) of age and vitality in a corporate setting need not draw smirks. Even in an age-hospitable climate, the supervising adult needs to prove his added value, and not just by dressing young — the denim jacket is naturally frayed and torn.
As in other May-December pairings, the temporary setup works best, a project setting, with a beginning and end. The old leader and his young team win the pitch, finish the movie, or launch the product, and then it’s back to their own cubicles. Problems don’t linger anyway, as age ties up the loose ends naturally. It’s the circle of life. O
Even in an age-hospitable climate, the supervising adult needs to prove his added value, and not just by dressing young — the denim jacket is naturally frayed and torn.