Seniority plus Age = Not Being Held Accountable?

Nope. Sorry no support for you on this one (from M.). They have earned the right and paved/paid the way for you young folk who rarely say thanks or who have a sense of entitlement.

In fact, I am more irritated when the boss is young enough to be my child and has no respect for their elders' experience in the workplace.

I have worked in a state institution for many years and yeah, there is LOTS of that going around. Sometimes the antiquated methods are even dictated down from other higher level offices and not a result of simple refusal to adapt on the employees part... though there is plenty of that too.

How did I deal with it? I knew my place. That was J. it. I was hired to do the work I did and part of that work included dealing with these antiquated systems and cleaning up after other employees (quality control).
You were hired to clean up after and check on other employees work. That's your job.
You and others have brought up your concerns and suggestions to solve the issues and were not supported by management, or managers would have made their staff show up at your workshops.
You will be much happier if you stop trying to fight windmills.
And last but not least, if this is too stressful or frustrating for you then find something else - I eventually did (not only for this reason but it was a contributing factor).

J. part of working your way up in the company. I've had superiors with wild proposals that get approved and have had to waste time trying to implement ideas that never amount to anything. Running in circles. I did it because it was what was expected. I was the one working 60+ hour work weeks while senior staff headed home.

It's J. part of paying your dues. When you're at the more senior level, you won't want to invest time in training, either. No doubt, they've already spent hundreds of hours of their lives in training already as they worked their way up in the company.

I guess I'm sort of in between on this one. I have been in that situation for sure, and I'm of the mind-set that people who are older and have earned their seniority do deserve some slack. I don't think that a 70-year-old woman who has been there for 30 years should have to learn completely new ways of doing things, as long as they are being productive, and the company has room for someone else to take up their slack. In a faster-paced environment there may be no room for such things. My mother taught M. to always respect older people, and I do, even when it's annoying and it's not in my job description. How would you feel if a generation of people young enough to be your kids came in and told you you were doing it wrong? Doesn't seem fair to M.. So I give them every right-of-way that is in my power to do so.

That siad, I can understand and sympathize with your vent. Especially when you're the one taking up their slack, I can imagine it would be irritating.

Have a great day!

If I'm interpreting your question correctly, you want to know if it's somehow wrong for an employee to be held accountable for their work/job duties, even if that particular employee has been there for many years.

In a nutshell, no. ALL employees, regardless of age or seniority, needs to be held accountable for their job duties. No matter how long you have been employed somewhere, or how old you are, you are being paid to do a job, and you should do it in the manner that is correct and necessary for others to do their jobs, if applicable.

Long-term employees often get comfortable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when comfort=refusal to learn/adapt, then it becomes a problem.

I think a few responders are viewing your question as an age vs. youth issue, and it's not. It's unfair to say that J. because someone has worked somewhere for 20+ years they should be able to do things however they want, and the newer employees should be grateful to have their jobs and should J. shut up and cover for them.

In your case, it sounds as though this is a numbers/monetary concern, not J. a "I would rather hand write the report than type it" or "I don't read my email, can you J. call and tell M. about it" problem. In this instance, I would document, document, document. If your boss is on board with these concerns, maybe this will be a way for he/she to show how detrimental the lack of adapting/adjusting is to the overall goal of the business, particularly if an audit would result in fines or other sanctions because of the lack of checks and balances.

One more thing....this type of behavior/attitude is not always seen in J. older or the most senior employees. There are many people who have been somewhere for most of their working life but are still relatively young who refuse to do things in a new, more productive or traceable way. I'm not in management or at the executive level, but my mom is, and I often hear from her how difficult people of all ages and employment levels can be when they need to learn a different way of doing things or to change the way an activity is done. Change is hard, but when it comes to your professional life, you need to do it, whether you are 25 or 65, have been employed for 30 days or 30 years.

Age and seniority do not give you a free pass to collect a paycheck without doing the work that your position requires you to do. Perhaps the way you've always done it isn't necessarily wrong, but it's no longer the acceptable practice. Things change, we all need to adjust.

I would say stop rescuing them and allow them to turn their papers in incorrect. If the owners are not seeing how bad it is all they see is good work turned in a job well done. Stop saving them from themselves.

Yes. Par for the course in my experience.

It would seem like they should have to keep up with technologies, I am expected to in sales.

It's called "retired in place" around here if they do nothing.

One of the things you can do as an employee who needs them to do work is to 1. discuss this with your boss. "Boss, I'm having a difficult time with x because I need y report from ABC Department." Or "Boss, I've set up x spreadsheet for y data, but I find that the spreadsheet isn't being filled in properly. I'm at a loss but I feel that it needs to be corrected because people are paying improper fees on accounts due to this data not being automated and the auditors could nail us for it."

You can also J. do your job and make your concerns known and keep notes to cover your own butt. When I had a job where I was a contractor and technically not supposed to access the POs but couldn't do my job when the corporate guy wouldn't do it, I got my manager's permission and was super, super, super careful and documented everything so that if it came back on us, it was all there. The problem with that guy was that he was untouchable. We're pretty sure he ran a side business out of the office. Our corporate manager didn't want to talk to him because he was union and his technical manager (who rarely saw him since he worked in our office) didn't want to talk to him because he filed EEO complaints at the drop of a hat. So documentation it was and then I got the heck out when the contract changed hands.

M, meet my boss! :p There are people in this office older than her that have learned all new technology, not her.

I am wonder how high the stack of papers she thinks I am going to file will get before she gets the point I won't. She completely relies on my spreadsheets and data but for some reason wants paper back up. Not happening, I J. don't have the time. Okayyyy I have the time, I don't have the want or desire. That and I love trees, why must she hurt the trees?

If management is backing the old duffers there is nothing you can do but accept it.
When my old company modernized their systems, they fired entire departments and off-shored the jobs.
No training.
No hand holding.
No arguments.
No disciplinary action or dealing with HR.
Problem solved as far as management was concerned.