Work equals Play equals Purpose

I just watched a terrific video titled “All work and all play” which contrasts attitudes towards work Baby Boomers, Generation X’ers and Millenials have.

I am definitely a Generation X person (at least my roots are there and that is the generation that influenced my ideas about work) and I have two Millenials working for me who have a different approach to work. I love the Millenial approach to work and adapting to that mindset (adopting it, even) is a wonderful challenge. I’d like to think I am not cemented in a Gen X mindset but although I like to think of myself as having an unconventional approach to work, it’s easy to slip back into that mindset as an employer. I suppose it’s a bit like a blankie for Gen X’ers living in a very different work to the one we came to terms with when we were studying in the 80s and 90s for formal qualifications and life-long careers.

I got caught up in time sheets in the last 2 weeks and that is such a traditional lawyer’s firm approach to productivity and not at all how I saw myself before this month. The realisation that I was becoming something I have been working to distinguish myself from as a lawyer jolted me. Well, that and last week was just a weird week. This video is a nice overview of the sorts of attitudes towards work which have influenced me in the past and continue to influence me today.

I wonder if it’s possible to convert to Millenial?