Why is it baby boomers dont accept change in business and production?

I run a family business where we provide products to major customers . It is a factory with machines and production lines.

The situation we are dealing with at the moment is a financial one and something we must do for the future of the company. All of our competitors are installing robots on machines thus replacing the human operator with the robot. However this does not mean the human no longer has work but is moved to another production area as that is where the work is. So having said that here is my problem........

The robot picks the part up from the machine and places it on a conveyor belt which leads to an assembly line of workers. The issue is all the younger people have and are adjusting to this change and are performing in a team. They anticipate problems that lie ahead as that is what i have trained them to do.

Of all the people that work on this line there is one baby boomer. This older generation person refuses to participate in the team environment and when they do they fight over what jobs need to be done and who should do it.

When i take the older generation person off the line and leave the younger ones on there the line runs smoothly and without problems.

From what i have seen it is not the jobs that is the problem but rather the baby boomer who is resisting change and resisting the team environment. Thus putting a brake on the project at hand.

So my question in all this , is how do you try and convince a stubborn baby boomer that this is the future of the company and the direction it has to go. If they dont listen and continue to create problems how can i deal with it.

The situation is this baby boomer is a good worker when they work alone. Once you add another person to her , thats when she starts causing problems.

It is not possible for the baby boomer to work alone as it has to be done in the team environment to get the part made.

An easy way out is to terminate her employment as she has displayed a pattern of behaviour not suitable to the company policies. I however think this is not how to manage people. Just because a person is who they are and is a good worker alone does not meet my standards on grounds to terminate. Its just trying to get across that robotics and a team environment on the production line is a must. Furthermore on discussion with other managers i have found noone wants her working in their section as they dont want to deal with her problems as she has created a reputation for herself for manipulation.

Putting someone out of work is always a last resort as i have always thought management of people is the ideal way to fix a situation. What one person does for a certain teeam leader they may not for another. Its the way life is.

Younger generations except change baby boomers are not so quick to do so.

Also i have employed this persons husband and children (when they are not at school) and find it as a sign of disrespect for her wrongdoings. I put that aside though as i dont get personal in managment of people.Why is it baby boomers dont accept change in business and production?
They are creatures of habit. Tradition. It is enough to drive one crazy!!!!



They lack the energy or the motivation to try something new. Nor, are they open to different ways of thinking. Specifically speaking, parenting comes to mind.



For example, I have 3 kids and the way they talk to them sometimes is just unreal. I get a real glimpse of what my childhood was like! My kids will throw a tantrum (very NORMAL, right?) But they get annoyed and pretty much punitive with their comments. They can be very rude to kids who are under 10 years old!!! They just don't get it, either. They think my husband and I should lock them in a room or something!!!!



The other side of the coin is that they are working grandparents, which was not typical 10 years ago. SO, they are shorter on patience....just crabby sometimes.



I sincerely don't think there's much you can do. It's in their nature, especially as they grow older and have less energy (naturally). Part of it as that the other people have to learn to work with people of various personalities-like this person's, whether they like it or not. So, really the %26quot;ball is in their court.%26quot; Part of that is maturity on their part.



Another problem with your situation, like you said, is that you cannot really fire someone based on the grounds that they are not well liked. They may have lots of money issues (for example) that you, as an employer, are unaware of. Or, perhaps they have had a bad marriage. Maybe they just aren't happy.



If I were you, I might pull them into my office. Find something-anything-to pull them in to generate conversation. Maybe all this person needs is to know that they go to a work envronment that they have ONE person that understands them or at least tries to.



ONE THING ABOUT MY PARENTS, WHO ARE BABY BOOMERS. Even though I am their daughter, they like to be listened to. Validated. Whatever. They would never come out and say it, but that is a big issue for them.Why is it baby boomers dont accept change in business and production?
one of your first problems seems to be a fallacy of logic called 'guilt by association', in which you have grouped an entire set of people together based on some set of rules you have concocted, 'baby boomers' and decided they're all the same, when it seems your experience is limited to one person.

second, it seems it sounds as if you're not really qualified to be in any sort of management as you dont seem to have the temperment and you seem to ramble on and on about some narrow minded aspect of your difficulties.