The world of work contains several unwritten rules followed for generations — things like pay your dues, don’t go over your boss’ head and stay off the executive elevator.

But Millennials, the generation currently entering the workforce in large numbers, are seriously upsetting those conventions.

“The workforce of the future doesn’t get the unwritten rules of hierarchy,” Seth Mattison, founder of FutureSight Labs, told an audience at the National Apartment Association Education Conference & Exposition in Denver on Thursday.

For them, hierarchy looks more like the nodes of an interconnected network rather than the old chain-of-command charts with the chief executive on top, he said.

Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, were raised in the milieu of “Father Knows Best.” Many rebelled against that authority, but when the time came, they took off the tie-dye and put on the suit and tie.

Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1979, suffered more from high divorce rates and absentee parents, so much so that the term “latchkey kid” was coined for them. Skeptical of authority, they are still willing to work within the hierarchy even if they don’t trust it.

Parents of Millennials — defined as those born from 1980 to 1995 — were more engaged and less authoritarian in their approach to child rearing, and often relied on their kids to help them decipher the latest technology.

“We had a whole generation of youth teaching older generations,” he said, which instilled in them a confidence, deserved or not, they have taken into their jobs.

Mattison offered an anecdote shared by the chief executive of a distribution company with $4 billion a year in sales after a new crop of interns started. He was deluged by a steady stream of 22-year-olds rolling into his office asking to meet for coffee.

“So many leaders have sacrificed for 20 to 30 years to work their way up,” he said, adding that they now see a free-for-all and are resisting.

But what older generations may see as impatience — and even impudence — comes out of a belief they can make a difference and a desire to be connected.

Millennials are the first generation raised as “digital natives” which has shaped their understanding of the larger world. Information is everywhere and accessible at all times and age isn’t a factor in who generates great ideas, which can be recognized much more quickly.

Connectivity and technical competence matter more to them than the title of the office or tenure.

“Power of the people is greater than the people in power,” he said, expressing a sentiment of the Arab Spring when young adults used social media to overturn the established order.

Leaders can harness that generation’s desire to make a difference by giving them meaningful assignments rather than the grunt work.

Mattison also said Millennials in turn need to build small wins to build the credibility needed to earn a seat at the table, just as everyone before them had to do.

Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aldosvaldi