Managing the Multi-Generational Workplace

I knew generational differences were going to be an issue when I made a Caddyshack reference to a girl who worked for me and she just sat there blinking. That’s why I really enjoyed Friday’s AMA Professional Development Special Interest Group on how people of different generations can relate to each other and work well together in the marketing world.

The upshot is that there are more generations in the workplace together now than ever before: two generations of Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y (Millennials). So it’s critical to understand your multigenerational coworkers so you can relate and get the most out of the team.

While all stereotypes are inherently false, some of the generalizations made about each generation of worker ring true for many. As a Gen X guy, I know a lot of the stereotypes are true in my case (micromanagement the worst thing possible, prefer blunt communication, value independence and work-life balance).

Check out these three good articles on the subject:

A Boomer's Guide to Communicating with Gen X and Gen Y (BusinessWeek)

Age Just a Number: Cohesive Office with Different Generations (ABC News)

Aging and Work (Boston College)

Great job to everyone who set up Friday’s event. Speakers included Mark Strong of Valtera (who has dogs named Rocky and MacGuyver), Sally Doffer of ConocoPhillips, Amy Mifflin of Marathon Oil and Kim Wachel of KBR.