Are Your Coworkers Really Idiots?

If you’ve ever had a job in Desktop Support or repeatedly helped coworkers with easy computer issues, you may, in your frustration, have come to the conclusion that many of them are idiots.

They “accidentally” clicked something and now their words are small (zoom issue), they keep getting this popup that “may be a virus” (java update), their taskbar has magically moved along the right side of the screen instead of the bottom, or they want to make their monitor brighter but have no clue how to do it…..

And when you come to fix the problem you are branded as a hero and told that you are so gifted when in reality its a very basic and elementary problem to fix.

It leaves you wondering, “How did these people even get hired??? It’s 2017 and they don’t have even a basic knowledge of computers!”

I thought like this for a few years. It even became an irritation that people could not perform such basic tasks and that I had to keep putting work on hold so I could help them.

If you are in Desktop Support or work in a non-tech environment, you probably feel, or have felt at one time, the same way.

Yet over time I realized why this was so. It can be summed up in one question:

“What is the age of that person?”

You see, I am 35 and at that age where many families had computers in the home growing up. In addition, the internet for personal use was taking off when I was in high school. If you are younger than me then you probably had a better computer and internet access at a younger age.

We grew up with computers. Many of those who are older than us did not. Many completed their entire education without any exposure to computer training or internet access. As technology advanced, computers were forced onto them and we all assumed they knew how to use them. Some did, but most did not.

Well, lesson learned. Next time you help an older employee at work do a “mundane” task on their computer, consider their age first.