There has been a good deal of debate recently about the impact of the Millennial on the workplace.

These discussions are generally polarised between the people who believe that business practices, as we know them, will be completely and dramatically changed through to the people who believe that the Millennials who encounter the harsh reality of working life will conform to the business culture.

As with all things, it’s not likely that either of these polarised views will be overarching reality, although in some businesses one, or other, of the extremes is likely to prevail. But it’s interesting, to me anyway, to see the influence that this body of individuals is already have on the way that corporate IT people think.

As a starter it’s probably worth understanding the things that make a Millennial tick – 60 minutes put it this way:

They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds. And if you persist in the belief you can, take your job and shove it.

The workplace has become a psychological battlefield and the millennials have the upper hand, because they are tech savvy, with every gadget imaginable almost becoming an extension of their bodies. They multitask, talk, walk, listen and type, and text. And their priorities are simple: they come first.

A recent survey highlighted in CIO magazine defined four key lessons for CIO’s:

1. Millennials expect to use the technology and devices of their choice.

2. They either don’t care about or won’t obey corporate IT policies.

3. They have an entirely different view of privacy than previous generations.

4. They have little use for corporate email as a major collaboration tool.

The basic premise being that organisations need to behave differently if they are to get the desired outcome from this generation of workers. And how do they need to change:

1. Get Millennial employees involved at crucial points whenever key technology use and policy decisions are being

2. Make sure technology-related policies are written in plain language and do not sound overly punitive.

3. View corporate technologies through a Millennial lens.

4. Figure out how to work with Millennials who are not hierarchical in their teaming and collaboration approach.

5. Look closely at collaboration, much of which is technology-enabled.

In other words, Mr. CIO change the way you work or you are out of of synch with the business and ultimately out of a job.

That’s one way of looking at it.

Andrew McAfee writing for the Harvard Business Review reflects the other end of the spectrum in his article Millennials Won’t Change Work; Work Will Change Millennials. I suppose the title says it all, but to underline the point:

I absolutely buy that Millennials have different technology habits and preferences than us older workers. In short, they consider enterprise 2.0 the no-brainer default rather than something scary and weird. But that’s about the biggest difference I see.

I think that today’s workplaces will change Generation Y more than the reverse. I realize that this makes for a less splashy article. Good thing I’m not trying to sell magazines.

My personal view is that we will continue to see significant change in the workplace. Some organisations that are large and productive today will stagnate and die, others will evolve and grow. New business will be started with radically new business models, as well as new businesses doing things the way that they’ve always been done. New types of work will continue to be created, but we’ll still need a mechanic to fix the car. Information and knowledge will continue to be a significant factor in the effectiveness of many businesses, it’s use will be a key differentiator for them, but I’ll still have a window cleaner who puts a hand written note through the letterbox.

In other words – yes we’ll see change, no it won’t be as painful or as radical as some believe.

To pinch an idea from one of the comments on Andrew McAfee’s post – a lot of things that define the Millennials are just a result of being young.

The other thing I wonder about is whether the current downturn will have an effect upon the general mindset and birth a new type of generation? Speaking as someone who’s formative years included the impact of the last downturn I suspect that it will.

No sooner had I entered the water than a pain shot up my neck, exploding at the base of my scull and spreading across the entirety of the back of my head. I knew things were not going to be pleasant because I was on holiday and I hadn’t brought any pain killers with me on the day out, there were some back at the holiday cottage but that was 20 minutes drive away.

I can normally recognise the symptoms that are likely to result in a really bad headache so take anti-inflammatory mediation nice and early and avoid a real headache developing.

It’s hard to describe what happens when I don’t take timely medication. The nearest to a good description is to say that my body goes into shock – I sweat, my heart races, I can’t sit still, sometimes I’m sick, the strangest symptom is that I get a streaming nose and the pain just builds and builds. At these times I would quite happily chop my head off and give it to someone else to look after.

While what happened on holiday was unusual, what followed was even more so. Two nights later the same thing happened all over again, and then again another couple of nights after that. On both of these occasions even the normal dosage of medication didn’t make any difference. On one night I spent 4 hours pacing the floor until eventually I managed to get myself into a fitful sleep and some level of relief.

After the third occasion the pain never really stopped – it was just numbed by the medication.

A few weeks prior to the holidays I had finished a dose of a nightly muscle relaxant (as described in my last post). These had helped but, I’d also experienced some of the side effects of this particular treatment, the main one being an increase in weight that I’m still struggling to shift. So I hadn’t been back to the doctor’s to see about the next steps – I was busy and figured that I’d be fine on holiday. The next step could wait for my return.

Having not been fine on holiday I went back to the doctors and started on a new course of a different muscle relaxant. These hadn’t had chance to build up their effect prior to the third episode, so I went back to the doctor’s again, this time for a strong anti-inflammatory too.

Just to be doubly sure as to the reason for the headaches I’ve also been for an x-ray on my neck.

So where does all that leave me. I’m currently taking anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxant treatments which are both combining to make things a lot better. The results from the x-ray will be through in a few days. Once the x-ray results are in I’ll be back at the doctor’s to talk about the next steps. I’ve also been trying to look after my shoulders and back doing the frequent stretches and exercise.

These headaches have been the worst that I think I have ever experienced, and certainly the most frequent. I don’t think I’ve ever had to take time off work because of these headaches, but I did this time. If I’m honest – I was scared. I’m not scared now, but I am determined to find a more sustainable answer.

Since I posted last time I’ve been amazed by the number of people who have told me about similar symptoms and experiences. Hopefully sharing a bit more will help a few more too.