Generations X & Y have been characterized and often criticized for redefining the scope of the Global Business World. In the dawn of the 90's, suits turned to jeans and casual sweaters, punching the clock turned to lap top logging and cutting out of the office for a lunch time martini turned to cutting out for a mid-day work out.....oh, and smoking in the office is pretty much foe paw everywhere.
The one thing more mature generations cling to is a tireless work ethic and motivation without benefits. "In my day....", is a term that was heard by every Thanksgiving fire from Granddad's and Gramma's alike. There was a time when people walked to the office uphill both ways in the snow, punched a clock without breaks, wore uniforms and were not permitted to leave said office until their checklist was complete.
At some point, working hard was replaced with working smart. But in these seemingly unending times of economic challenge the new buzz phrase is "more with less". Strangely enough, a new generation of workers seems to be accepting the challenges of the modern economy not by reverting to presupposed professionalism but by simply working hard. No longer does looking busy seem to be popular so much as holing up in one's apartment over a lap top until the project is complete.
Technology has created three distinctions:
* Endless virtual office hours
* Comfort of work environment
* A free landscape for mind expanding idea generation
This Holiday Season, when your grandfather mutters under his breath as you walk in with full Bon Iver beard, pose three questions to him:
1. Did you ever work a 20 hour day?
2. Was that suit comfortable?
3. How many of your 10,950 days at Widgets Inc did you actually enjoy?
After which he will tell you to pound and send you off for another pint of Old Grandad.
Sure, the Holidays would be no fun without stories of the old glory days. But let's agree on a few points:
* True motivation has nothing to do with ones wardrobe
* Long hours seem shorter when you are genuinely engaged in your organizational cause
* Grandpa and Gramma Rule!
Happy Holidays!
- Dave
References:
http://www.earlyengagement.com/
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