"If you set those kinds of standards you minimize resentment because the rules apply to everybody," he says. "You know, I come to work every day in a suit and it drives everyone nuts, because there are guys I work with who come in jeans and T-shirts. That's their thing; if they want to do that I'm not going to beat up on them. If that's their personal preference, then as long as they're not having client meetings or need to be presentable, why not?"

One the other hand, Mason thinks too many organizations, rattled by the alleged skills crisis, are going too far to cater for the desires of the younger generations. "I think a lot of people are dancing around this Gen Y, Gen X thing," he says.

His organization was recently discussing issues around large-scale systems implementations, with some people arguing it was imperative to add instant messaging (IM) capability to the network for fear Xers and Yers might otherwise refuse to work there. Mason begged to differ. "I was saying, hang on, we have a budget, we're not setting up a playground here; we're trying to run a business. At the end of the day, we will provide them with a telephone and a place to work and a cafe downstairs, and they can use their mobile phone at work. We are not just going to put messaging in as a toy for the staff. I'm sorry. There are commercial realities."

In his view accommodating the needs of Gen Xers and Yers matters - but so does remembering they aren't the only stakeholders in the equation. "Remember you're running a business. And the employees are just one of the stakeholders in the business equation," Mason says.

Our anonymous CIO has a different perspective. Well aware that many of his peers are struggling with the issue of providing IM to younger workers, he urges them to remember that the Internet, PCs and even the telephone have caused similar difficulties in the past. During his history in IT he has watched furious debates about the wisdom of giving workers their own telephone (they'd surely spend all day gossiping with family and friends), their own PC (what would stop them spending their day playing games?) and the Internet (they'd spend all day browsing and looking for porn), and yet giving workers access to each of those technologies has led to major productivity improvements.

Although he admits he occasionally has to check his own thoughts when he passes a Gen Xer or Yer having a personal conversation on IM (reminding himself he probably wouldn't object if they were chatting to a friend or relative on the phone) his organization has just decided against cutting off access to IM.

There is no doubt younger managers thrive on non-face-to-face management, he says. Having grown up with technology, messaging and Skype are important tools in their communication armoury. "I cannot use Instant Messenger as well as a Generation X or Y person," he says. "They will have five sessions all open at the same time and be talking on the phone and keying, and I will just never get there."

But technology aside, there are numbers of approaches that can help organizations win the generations war.