Navigating the generational gaps as a professional and a parent

On May 10 this year I attended PM*BA World in Toronto and participated in a fantastic symposium given by Bob Prentiss (Bob the BA) titled "Tick…Tick…Boom! Using influence to make generational conflict a thing of the past." The focus of the session was to talk about the "stereotypical" behaviour qualities and value structures of the identified generations from Baby Boomer through Millennial and how to apply that knowledge to successful interactions in our professional worlds. He spoke about statistics that point to the fact that in 2020 we will have 5 generations in the workforce at the same time! It's amazing. However, during the past week or so I've continued to mull over the impacts of these generational gaps in my personal life, in particular in my life as a Gen X parent raising Millennial kids.

As parents my husband and I feel we are constantly reiterating the rules of respect and social etiquette that we grew up with. Not that our children are rude, far from it. However, we do struggle with some of the simple things such as how our children address their elders. As children we addressed the adults that fell into the close family friends category as 'Aunt' and 'Uncle' and all other adults were Ms., Mrs., or Mr.  Even as teens we felt distinctly uncomfortable addressing our elders by their first names unless specifically invited to do so.

Today we try to instil these same guidelines with our boys, with varied results. The 'Aunt' and 'Uncle' labels for family friends seem to flow fairly naturally but more and more often our kids address their friends' parents, neighbours, etc. by their first names, often before being invited to do so. 

Having had our children in our late 30s my spouse and I are usually among the oldest of our parental peers. We are Gen X surrounded by Gen Y and a few very early Millennial parents who don't necessarily share our views on this topic. They expect to be addressed by their first names, on a very familiar basis and their children expect the same when addressing us. We've often make it a point to discuss our preference to be addressed as Mr and Mrs. by their children and if they wish our kids to call them by their first names, then we ask that they specifically invite our kids to do so. The reactions vary from "Oh of course!" to "Really?" using aligning very closely to those gender stereotypes that Bob spoke to in his session. Bob also addressed the fact that not all people fit neatly into their generational bucket. The influences of the generation that raised us plays a big part.

How then does the issue of how my children are raised to address their elders apply to the principles of the workplace? I see an interesting blend of young adults entering the workforce now and through the next decade. It's not as simple as being a Millennial employee but whether that Millennial was raised by a Gen, X, Y, or another Millennial that will reflect in how they interact with their professional peers spanning a minimum of 3 generations.