The Inbetweener: All my colleagues are Gen Y and I don't exactly know how to cope

I was faced with many challenges in my early career. One was working in a small office where I was the only woman in sales and was expected to settle minor squabbles among the all-female admin staff.

All were younger than me and each thought I would take their side when it came to office dramas. I dealt with these problems woefully and realised that perhaps management was not my forte. I also swore never to get involved in work politics again, especially when dealing with Gen Y.

More recently, I returned to work after a few tumultuous years of study and unemployment. I reinvented myself, changing my whole career path. But in doing this, I didn't quite factor in one thing: starting from scratch means most of my "peers" are nearly 10 years younger than me.

History repeating?

Although overall I am happy in my new job, I am concerned about how they perceive me, given the age difference. I don't have the energy now to go out every night mingling, yet I don't want to seem standoffish. And I certainly don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past.

However, I simply have more work experience than my new peers, which makes certain aspects of the job easier for me to understand, particularly when it comes to dealing with clients. But try explaining that to a frustrated, inexperienced colleague who, fresh out of university, doesn't get the fact that looking after other people's money is a big deal.

I also understand that staying back late and losing the occasional weekend is just part of the job, unlike my young teammates who frown on such behaviour. So am I the one to blame if putting in some extra hours causes problems in the team?

Why it matters

These young people are now my peers and can make my life unnecessarily difficult, so it's important to manage all of my relationships and create a harmonious working environment. Moreover, as the oldest team member, management expects me to act in the most mature and selfless manner.

In short, I need to balance my relationships with managers who are my age (or younger), and teammates who are up to 10 years my junior.

My situation is fine now but I don't want to make the same mistake twice. Let's just hope being older makes me wiser.

Have you ever made a career change and ended up older than your peers or your managers? How did you successfully nurture and manage these relationships? Or did it all end in disaster?

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of eFinancialCareers. The author works for a financial institution in Australia.