A friend sent me a funny video this week - she knows me well as a border collie lover! 

It features a beautiful little pup Floss; her farmer owners have decided that as a millennial she has ‘attitude’ problems and won’t be any good as a sheepdog.

Today lots of young people will be either ecstatic, disappointed or perhaps just relieved with their exam results as the A-levels were announced yesterday. In a couple of months’ time many will be starting whole new lives either in further education or in workplaces. There’s bound to be anxiety about how each will fit in, confidences built or depleted by the welcome they receive and the encouragement to learn, develop and succeed.

We hear so much about the generational divide from millennials to Gen Z - are our expectations set based on our beliefs about ‘digital natives’ and do we exaggerate the differences due to overgeneralisation? 

Our belief that today’s young people don’t want to speak to anyone, preferring remote finger tapping ignores the mass expansion of sociability made possible by technology. The common belief that older people prefer face to face communication ignores the growing army of extremely technological savvy retirees who are busily managing their affairs online, with time to innovate.

In the workplace much is made of different expectations of a new generation who want to experience a greater variety of roles and lack the more traditional ambitions of their leaders. Perhaps like the video we are too quick to jump to conclusions – there are lots of Flosses who aren’t sure what’s what but given time and experience will do a great job!