I am not certain that “scared” is the correct way to describe the feeling, as it’s reductive and rather misses the point.

As a Gen Xer who doesn’t know anyone from my own cohort and younger who doesn’t dread the company of Boomer relatives and count the seconds down until we can leave their exhausting presence, (and also wonder why they have always acted as if even now, in our mid/late 40’s they act as if we’re still in diapers and will never reach adulthood like they apparently were when they were when they got married at age 21 and bought a car for $900), I’d be a bit more thoughtful.

They are native users of very rapidly changing technologies, and have massive influence in our attention economy, which influences our actual economy - world economies - and corporations run the world more effectively than governments, as they are more stable and don’t change radically every 4 years by schizophrenic electorates and geopolitical instability. Why not listen to their points rather than pull rank? Integrating them into the conversation rather than relegating them to the kids table because they are supposedly too young to understand the “real world” seems shortsighted, and just because we had to eat shit for years to earn our middle management spots (the first ones cut in layoff BTW) doesn’t mean it was good for us, a fair system, or should continue.

When shitty behavior happens, which it will, recognize that yes, inexperience factors in, but, being the lowest paid one in the pecking order (with the best computer skills) is also not fun, and every there expects you to be their bitch.

It’s the unspoken rule of the office no one warns you about, and they also don’t tell you that they act as if they’re doing you a huge favor, telling you things like “it’s a resume builder” or “job security, amirite?” as they assign you an inappropriate task that has nothing to do with your job. Broadcasting this to the world while their peers snicker HAS emboldened them.