The iPod - the symbol of generational differences?

It seems whenever a conversation gets started about generational differences, someone from an older generation will bring up the "iPod" dilemma.

We have all heard this. How can kids these days think they can work WHILE wearing an iPod? The younger generations will ask the same question with a slight tweak: How can I, while wearing my iPod, get my work done? And that tweak provides us some insight into the differences.

The first group does not know how an iPod can be justified because it has not been the norm. The second group does not know how wearing an iPod will adversely affect their performance (quite conversely it might do the opposite is their thinking), so they feel justified in wearing it. Actually they don’t think about it that much. An iPod has become part of their life and they are use to getting things done while having it on, so who is to tell them they can’t wear one?

Neither group is wrong or right depending on how you look at it. An iPod may be ok, it may not. But the thinking process should not be centered on the notion that they are not allowed because .... traditionally they have not been allowed!

One thing is for sure, and some will not like this: If you are not going to spend the time to get to know a Generation Y worker, if you are not going to spend the time to show them specifically how wearing an iPod will have an adverse effect on their work, their measurable production, and their success, then why tell them they can’t wear it just because it has not been traditionally allowed? The reasons you could not wear a Sony walkman, 15 years ago, have no bearing on today... you must specifically link it to performance and results. If they perform to your measurable standards, then wearing an iPod while getting there is neither here nor there.