What generation gap? Most OK with young boss

Age is just a number in the workplace, suggests a new survey from staffing firm OfficeTeam. More than eight in 10 professionals (82%) polled said they would be comfortable reporting to a manager who’s younger than they are; 91% wouldn’t mind supervising employees older than themselves.

But working across generations isn’t always effortless. Respondents identified dissimilar work ethics or values (26%) and leadership or learning styles (22%) as the biggest challenges with having a younger boss. Using technology in different ways (25%) was named the top struggle when managing someone who’s older.

Additional findings:

• Baby boomers are more open-minded. Workers ages 55 and older are the most comfortable having a younger boss (93%) and managing someone older (95%). They were also most likely to state there are no challenges in reporting to a younger supervisor (28%) and managing someone older (37%).

• Millennials are ready to manage up. Nearly nine in 10 professionals ages 18 to 34 (89%) don’t have an issue with overseeing individuals older than they are.

• Tech is a target for younger workers. Those ages 18 to 34 (26%) and 35 to 54 (27%) were more likely to cite technology as a concern in overseeing an older employee.