Reporting to a Younger Boss?

Do you feel awkward reporting to a younger boss? A new generation is trying to allay your fears by asking, "What's age got to do with it?

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Innovation apart, fast proliferating startups have another side effect-younger bosses.

This shift in status quo does give rise to a certain anxiety. In a traditionally hierarchy-friendly country, does this tipping of balance change things at the workplace? According to the recent 2015 TimesJobs Leadership Survey, over 60 per cent entry-to-mid level employees say they would like to have young bosses. This, however, is in contrast to 80 per cent senior professionals, who after 20 years of experience, would prefer older bosses. The question of age seems to have left India Inc in a bind, but it is strangely the young entrepreneurs and business managers who themselves are offering a solution.

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

For startups and companies that are concerned with newer technologies, the media and the internet, young bosses often prove to be a huge advantage. At 23, Rega Jha is Editor, Buzzfeed India, and she leads a team of people where almost everyone is older than her. "For an internet company," she says, "there is a premium on being young. We have an inherent advantage because we grew up with this technology. Older people in their 30s and 40s will walk up to my team in office and ask, 'Hey, what do you kids think of this?' So age does not come with any negative connotations at work."