Training helps bridge workplace generation gap
CHICAGO — There’s a sense of urgency to the quest for workplace harmony, as baby boomers delay retirement and work side-by-side with people young enough to be their children — or grandchildren.
Put people of widely different ages together and there are bound to be differences. Baby boomers, for example, may be workaholics, while younger workers may demand more of a work-life balance.
The solution for a growing number of companies: generational awareness training to help foster understanding and more effective communication among its workers.
Employees are taught about the characteristics that define each generation, from their core values to their childhood and adolescent experiences to the type of figures they regard as heroes. Then workshop leaders typically drill down into how those attributes play into the strengths and weaknesses each age group offers on the job.
The goal is that by learning why people of different generations act the way they do, companies can better emphasize their employees’ strengths and find ways to overcome challenges
“The Boomers say, ‘Now I understand a little bit more of why they’re always on their phones,”’ said Juergen Deutzer, who leads generational training at San Diegobased Scripps Health for about 200 employees a year. “Gen Y says, ‘Maybe I need to be a little bit more understanding if someone doesn’t get a grasp on technology.”’
Companies play down friction between old and young workers as a reason for training. They say it’s more a matter of helping people of different ages connect.
“There was no animosity, no aggression, none of that,” said Scott Redfearn, the top human resources executive at Protiviti, a global consulting firm based in Menlo Park, Calif., which began offering generational training ear- lier this year. “But you really need the team dynamic to work well because it’s that collective genius of the team with all kinds of people, all kinds of background, all different generations.”
Brad Karsh, of JB Training Solutions, holds roughly 150 sessions a year, half focused on helping younger employees understand older ones, and the other half on helping older employees understand younger ones. A recent Chicago workshop falls in the latter group.
Millennials take a bit of a goodhumoured bruising during the discussion, for a perceived sense of entitlement, a constant desire for explanation and discontent with entry-level tasks. Karsh acknowledged that pointing out the flaws of a younger generation is “a time-honoured tradition.”
He urged participants to see beyond the stereotypes and note that each generation brings a particular skill set to work.