Most of us are aware of the different age groups currently in play on the job, but how should managers work with various generations and why does it matter?
In some respects, I find it interesting that the conversation now is often geared toward different generations when there have been discussions about diversity for as long as I can remember. The message consistently is that we have different people with different needs, different perspectives, and different learning styles; we should consider how to best incorporate those distinctive styles and needs to help our staff and our companies, be successful.
Managers need to consider the differing perspectives and expectations that do often accompany various age groups. For instance, it’s interesting to me, as someone who’s been out there for a while, to realize that many individuals coming out of school now will not work in an office setting and won’t deal with office politics, dress codes, and other issues in the traditional (or “old”) way that I did. These things still exist, but in a different fashion and we need to recognize the differences.
As managers, we need to understand and appreciate that some people need face to face interactions to truly “hear” things while others do much better with text messages, emails, or videos. We shouldn’t look at different ways of communicating as more work, but rather as better ways to be effective.
We also need to consider how various individuals view their supervisors. Some have the “person in charge” viewpoint while others may see the position (if not the person) as more of a dictator to be avoided or challenged; still others see the position as another co-worker in the company who should be working right along with them, even if it’s in a different aspect, and not as any type of authority figure. Messages can be impacted by the differing outlooks.
Individual perceptions and expectations matter; learning how best to work with them helps us all. Talk with your employees and find out how they learn best. Whether you’re working with differing generations, various cultures, or just multiple unique personalities, we need to do a better job of finding what works for our employees so that we can all thrive.
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