Working generations

In writing about having sympathy and empathy for clients, and recommending that you let your co-workers know that you’re a safe support for them, we’ve been emphasising the importance of creating a relational bond with those who matter to you, either commercially or practically. The interesting thing here is that such bonds-of-care are, by their nature, non-generational, in other words, they’re not paternalistic, it’s not necessarily older people looking after younger, it’s everyone looking out for each other and their customers.

All of which has made a recent study more interesting. In it we’re told that, for the first time in the UK, we might have five distinct generations represented in the workplace. If you’re wondering what these are then here’s how it’s been reckoned:

·?Traditionalists (born between 1928 and 1945)?

·?Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964)?

·?Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980)

·?Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996)

·?Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012)

Whilst one might question how many 78-year-olds are still at work, it’s not beyond the bounds of reason, but the point of the report was to question the language management should use when addressing so many different generational audiences. Of course, the same question will be applicable to marketing agencies and political parties as well. How do you engage with groups of people with such differing demands and needs from life? Baby Boomers, for example, are far less concerned about an employer’s culture than Generation Z and Millennials, and so won’t be influenced by this when deciding to stay in the job or not.

It’s a potential quandary, and there are plenty of HR type companies happy to give you strategies around communications and work practices to help you deal with these generational differences. Our own approach would be one of empathy and authenticity. Communication is usually about listening well and being able to reflect what is being said back to someone so they know they’re being heard. Authenticity is not pretending to be anything other than who and what you are. Used together they will address every generation.

A benefit of having a multigenerational workforce is the experience it brings with it. Again, the most obvious and maybe most natural approach is to always give way to the opinions and mentoring ability of age. Many companies are, however, standing this idea on its head, instead giving youth the lead in mentoring their older colleagues, an approach which, handled well, challenges perceptions, introduces new idea and can encourage positive culture change. It's just another way to put the generations to good use, and, of allows the younger amongst us to believe they have something extra to contribute.