Are You “Aging" Yourself at Work? — Age-Telling Habits to Ditch
I read a very disturbing blog last week about how you can tell someone’s age by their typing! The big controversy….one space or two after a punctuation mark. When I read the headline, I said to myself, “Of course you ALWAYS space twice after a period. WRONG! Only old people do that.” After 5 minutes of research, it’s official:
If you are using an actual typewriter, you space twice, otherwise, only one space!
Why? With typewriters, all characters are given the exact amount of space on the page…“i” is given the space as “w.” The extra space between sentences made it easier to read. Word and other programs use proportionally spaced fonts. I learned to type in 1984 on a Smith-Corona Sterling Electric 12 Typewriter (neon blue.) Even if I wanted to, I could never re-train my thumbs to space once.
Are you destined to appear old to your spry millennial employees and co-workers? Here’s what you can do immediately to appear younger at work.
- Ditch dated beauty habits (red acrylic nails, over-plucking brows, tan—fake or not—skin)
- Focus on what he or she brings to the business and celebrate those strengths, eliminate any appearance of positional leadership.
- Really “get” work-life balance and quit expecting a 50 hour in-person work week.
- Re-evaluate office dress code and your early 1990’s definition of “business casual.”
- Ditch dated fashion habits (drug store readers, “mom” jeans on Friday, worn-out bra. etc).
- Be transparent—forget those closed door meetings.
- If all else fails….BOTOX.
