I had to venture into town last week for business. Town as I call it is the city’s central business district, and I hadn’t been there in ages. Times have definitely changed for me because I found it to be very exciting! If my memory serves me correctly, when I was working in town I choked on petrol fumes, was sick of fighting through crowds during lunch breaks … and all that rushing around! Give me serenity….please.

Anyway I had an hour and bit to spare before an appointment so turned my attention to what was going on around me. For starters it was lunchtime so it pretty manic and crowded, man was it crowded! Although it was busy with people walking, rushing and eating on the run, I began to divide the throng into generation categories.  I noticed an abundance of Gen Y’s and X’s, dressed in their immaculate suits, then followed by hurrying Baby Boomers. There weren’t as many Gen Z’s in town at this time but maybe I wasn’t noticing them. Maybe they weren’t in suits and instead in colourful clothing of which there were many.

This had me thinking about the workplace of the lunch-crowd people. Was there a mix of generations in the workplace and did their generational values clash? Did everyone get along and understand each other? A quick Google search for cultural training in Brisbane revealed 246,000 results and generational training revealed 120,000 results. Now this is only my humble opinion but I believe all workplaces should be aware of the values and beliefs of different generations. This is to better understand where individuals (workmates) are coming from and goes a long way toward building rapport.  

The dates of the different generations seem to differ depending on what you read and appears to be open for debate. Having said that I found the following:

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  • Baby Boomers (1946-1964) for example may be more diligent on the job and prefer job stability,
  • Generation Xers (1965-1981) tend to be more independent, self-motivated and self-efficient,
  • Generation Y/Millennials/ Generation Tech (1981-2002) may be described as special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented and achieving. 
  • According to Hugh McKay, a writer, social researcher and psychologist, Baby Boomers (especially 1946–55) are now heavily into nostalgia, seem to think of themselves as stressed, are acutely aware of their anxieties and often ask themselves ‘Why does it all have to be so hard?’.  The next generation knows the reality of multiculturalism, want to protect the environment, live easily with technology and for them, a republic is inevitable.

I’m a baby boomer and in my day once we left home we only ever returned for visits.  These days children seem to have an invisible homing device imbedded in their brains. They leave home, return, leave home, and return. I suggest making it easier for your children by getting rid of your standard front door and instead, install a revolving door - you then won’t have to get up to answer the door.  

Years ago I remember overhearing a couple of older generation people (Traditionalists 1927 - 1945) denigrading the youth of today “The  youth of today…What would they know?!”  What I do know about some of the youth today is that the many I’ve come across have at least two jobs going as well as attend university. In  my mind that’s pretty committed.  In my day I was too busy with one job and having a good time to worry too much about all that ’serious’ stuff…but then that was me.
 
What about ‘in your day’?  What was it like for you?  Who did you work with and do you still work with them?  Do you notice a ‘generation gap’ and does this generation gap create conflict – your values versus theirs or does it somehow create a balanced environment?  Do you notice a generation gap within your social/family system and is there an acceptance of each others’ values and beliefs? 

The sci-fi movie Deep Impact (1998) highlights the generation gap nicely I think. Briefly, there’s an asteriod heading towards Earth and it’s a race against time to save humanity. The space crew selected to save the planet consists of several young, beautiful astronauts as well as an older generation astronaut, played by Robert Duval. Duval was a hero of a time past and was one of the first to land on the moon. He’s a very experienced astronaut with strong leadership ability.  The younger astronauts initially made fun of him behind his back because he wasn’t up to it and decided that all he wanted was publicity.  Just in case you haven’t seen it, it would spoil things for you if I tell you what happens in then so you’ll have to watch the movie. It did become a team effort but guess who lead the mission to success and save the planet?

With each generation there are always exceptions to the norm.  Whilst doing my research I concluded that I was a little bit Traditionalist (work hard and you’ll be noticed), a little bit Baby Boomer (technically challenged – could be an excuse but it’s a good one), a little bit Generation X (personal satisfaction), a little bit Generation Y (need to know my work is meaningful) and a teeny bit like Generation Z (can’t live without my Blackberry…sorry), and a little bit rock and roll.

Imagine having a dinner party with Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, John Howard, Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber. You’d either be having pretty incredible conversations or none at all because no-one would understand the other