Aug 27, 2014

To recap from one of my blog posts many months ago, I briefly explained 4 key generations that we often find within the workplace: 1. The Silent Generation (pre-1945) was born during or before WWII. They are generally stoic and put up with a lot. There are still some in the workforce because they either don’t want to retire because they gain purpose through their work or they need to work for financial reasons. 2. Baby Boomers (1945-1964) were born in the post-war population explosion. The first of three waves has retired, but there are two waves that have not. These people are often in senior management positions or hanging onto their jobs for as long as possible because their retirement funds were decimated in the Global Financial Crisis. 3. Generation X (1965-1980) is strewn across all positions from senior management to average workers. They are often the ones who are asking for strategies to deal with the cohort below them, but also how to engage Baby Boomers who wish to ‘cruise’ until retirement. 4. Gen Y or Millennials, as they are sometimes known, are people born between 1981-2001 (the latter date being 9/11; a point where the world had a definite change). According to numerous newspaper articles and texts, these are the spoilt generation. They have never really had to struggle for anything and they are hard to get focused because their attention is often in social media. Each generation differs in a number of ways, even when it comes down to how they work and communicate. Do you know the favoured communication styles of the various generations in the workplace today? Can you match the preferred communication mediums below with the specific generation? (Hint: there may be more than one per generation.) Communication mediums: 

• Phone, paper, personally
• Possibly favour electronic
• Efficiency and convenience
• Phone, paper, personally
• Most have embraced internet and email
• Fully versed in all
• Everything electronic
• Communications multi-taskers

Once you’re done, click here to download the answers.