10/18/15  

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Genera,onal  Communica,ons  in  the  Workplace  

Kassia  Dellabough,  PhD  

I need to Communicate more

effectively

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Genera,onal  Communica,on  

Wassup?  

Were  you  at  the  mee,ng?  

Did  you  get  my  e-­‐mail?   I  sent  a  memo   This  is  a  waste  of  ,me,    I  have  work  to  do  

He  texted  me  that  he    can’t  make  it  

What  happened  to  the    work  ethic?  

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Communica,on  

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We  Absorb  Informa,on  Differently  

•  Sensory •  Gender •  Generational •  Ethnic & Cultural •  Neurological •  Emotional, etc.

Genera&onal  Data  

•  Gen  Z  =  now  •  Gen  Y  are  people  born  1980  through  1999,  about  82  million.  

•  Gen  X  are  people  born  1965  through  1979,  49  million.  

•  Boomers  are  people  born  1946  through  1964,  now  around  75  million.  

•  Seniors/Tradi,onalists    1920  -­‐  1944  65  and  older  

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GENERATIONS:  The  Cohort  Experience  

Members  of  a  genera,on  are  linked  by  experiences  shared  during  their  forma,ve  years.  These  shared  experiences  contribute  to  the  crea,on  of  shared  values,  a\tudes  and  behaviors.  

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What  Were  YOU  doing  in  High  School?  

•  Favorite  music  •  Values:    

–  Work,  sexual  behavior,  drugs,  dress  

•  How  did  you  refer  to  your  teachers?    •  What  did  you  do  a_er  school?  •  How  did  you  stay  in  touch  with  your  friends?  •  What  was  the  poli,cal  climate?  •  What  were  your  career  goals?  •  What  was  the  job  outlook?  •  What  was  the  technology  of  the  day?  

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Learning   Working  

Marketplace  Behaviors  

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Five  Genera,ons    =  Genera,on  Gaps  

•  A\tudes  &  Expecta,ons  •  Perceive  Differently  •  Learn  Differently  •  Teach  Differently  •  Work  Differently  

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Be  Wary  of  Stereotyping    Although  certain  characteris,cs  may  be  adributed  to  one  genera,on  or  another,  that  doesn't  mean  that  all  people  in  a  par,cular  genera,on  exhibit  each  of  that  genera,on's  common  characteris,cs.    

     Avoid  rigid  stereotyping!  

Cultural,  Geographic  and  Ethnic  background  experience  genera&onal  characteris&cs  differently  

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Inven,ons  That  Changed  the  Way  We  Communicate  

•  Answering  machine  •  Computers  •  E-­‐mail  •  Cell  phones  •  Digital  cameras  •  Internet  

Innova,ons  in  Communica,on  Change  the  Way  We  Transfer  Informa,on  

•  Ball  Point  Pen  1945  •  Telegraph  1828  •  Radio  -­‐  1866  •  Television  -­‐  1930’s  •  Airplanes  -­‐  1903  •  Telephone  1870’s  

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Evolu,on  of    Digital  Communica,on  

1980 1990 1995 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2014

• Fax • Modem • Answering Machine

• Newsletter • BBS • Pagers

• Web • Email • PowerPoint • Voice Mail • Cell Phone

• Instant Messenger • Contact Managers

• VOIP • Wikki / Forums • Survey Monkey • Zoomerang • E-Commerce • Newsletters • Amazon • Blackberry

• PDA • RSS Feeds • Blogs • Ebay • Google • Paypal

• Podcasts • YouTube • MySpace • Web Support • CraigsList • Skype

• Digital Signage • Videophone • Tele-commuting • Face time

EXPONENTIAL  PACE  OF  CHANGE  

Influence  of  Technology  

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Seniors/Tradi,onalists  Yup  They  are  s&ll  Working!  

•  Lindbergh  Flight  •  Stock  Market  Crash  •  Depression  •  FDR  •  The  New  Deal  •  Social  Security  •  Pearl  Harbor  •  Korean  War    

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Daily Life and Society:

• Prosperity • Stability • uniform

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Transi,on  from  Agriculture  to  Industry  

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Loyal, the recycling generation  

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What  Communica,on  Technology  Impacted  Senior  Genera,on?  

•  Newspapers  •  Magazines  

•  Radio  

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The  Baby  Boomers  •  Born:  1946-­‐1964  •  McCarthy  Hearings  •  Polio  Vaccine  •  Rosa  Parks  •  Sputnik  •  First  Nuclear  Power  Plant  •  JFK  •  Peace  Corps  •  Cold  War  •  John  Glenn  •  Vietnam  •  Mar,n  Luther  King  •  Woodstock  •  Kent  State  

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The  Boomer  Personality  

•  Service  Oriented  •  Driven  •  Willing  to  go  the  extra  mile  •  Good  at  rela,onship  •  Want  to  Please  •  Good  team  players  •  Not  budget-­‐minded  

•  Don’t  like  authority  “don’t  trust  anyone  over  30”  

•  Demand  fairness  •  En,tled  •  May  put  process  ahead  of  

result  

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Core  Values  

•  Op,mism  •  Work  •  Team  orienta,on  •  Work  •  Personal  Gra,fica,on  •  Work  •  Health  and  wellness  •  Work  

•  Personal  growth  •  Work  •  Youthfulness  •  Work  

•  Involvement  •  Uniqueness  

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Boomers  at  School  

•  Overcrowded  •  New  Construc,on  •  Progressive  formats  

•  Memoriza,on,  good  handwri,ng,    

•  teacher  focus  on  error  and  mechanics  

•  'promo,on'  to  more  difficult  work  a_er  correct  performance    

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Boomers  •  Want  to  be  special  •  Be  doing  important  work  

•  Enjoy  process  and  connec,on  Have  a  wealth  of  experience  to  tap  

•  Are  passionate  about  what  they  do  (if  they  are  not  burnt  out!)  

Laurie  Anderson   27

Perpetual  Youth  

•  Most  boomers  believe  they  look  and  feel  20  years  younger  than  they  actually  are.  

•  AARP:  from  Modern  Maturity  to  My  Genera.on:  Lauren  Hu2on  declares,  “60  is  the  new  30.”    

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Boomers    =  Ac,ve  Living  Driving  The  Health  Industry  

•  Ginseng,  Garlique  •  Ginkgo  •  Viagra  •  Black  Cohosh  •  Cosme,c  Surgery  

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Genera,onal  Characteris,cs  

•  Boomers  are  busy  and  willing  to  stay  a_er  hours  to  do  the  job  

•  Boomers  aren’t  seniors.  Never,  ever,  make  that  mistake  •  Boomers  like  to  think  they  are  s,ll  “cool”  

•  Experiences  and  something  fun  and  different  are  important  •  Boomers  want  to  create  community  and  make  a  difference  

•  Compete  and  climb  the  corporate  ladder  

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Boomers  Communica,ng  

•  Networking  is  key    •  Value  wri,ng  skills  •  “  Not  all  that  is  new  is  progress”  •  Some,mes  a  face-­‐to-­‐face  conversa,on  is  the  most  effec,ve  way.  

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What  Communica,on  Technology  Impacted  The  Boomers?  

•  Color  television  •  Answering  machines  

•  Faxes  

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Understanding  Genera,on  X  

Photo, Courtesy of Grease, Tattoos from Grease, St. Paul Minnesota (http://tattoosfromgrease.com/) 33

What is Generation X ?

Roughly 50 Million People (Or 60 million or 80 million)

I AM NOT A BABY BOOMER!

Work “under the radar”

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The  Gen  X  Experience  •  Street  Savvy  Survivors    •  Psychedelic  parents,  divorces,  one-­‐parent  families,  step  families,  both  parents  working,  razor  blades  in  their  Halloween  candy,  latchkey  lives,  violence  on  television,  on  the  streets,  and  in  the  schools.    

•  The  toughest  genera,on  since  the  G.  I.  Genera,on.    

Source:  Karen  Ritchie,  Marke.ng  to  Genera.on  X  hdp://chamber.gnofn.org/fishman/xer.html  

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•  Crack  •  AIDS  •  Downsizing  and  layoffs  •  Gangs  •  Urban  Deteriora,on  •  Poli,cal  leaders  without  integrity  

•  The  great  U-­‐turn  of  the  economy  

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Communica,on    

•  Focus  on  Benefits  •  Authen,c  •  Give  it  to          them  straight  

•  Image  is  Nothing  

They  are  wai,ng  for  Boomers  to  RETIRE!  

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Genera,on  X:    Values  and  Characteris,cs  

•  Work  can  happen  anywhere—even  at  home  

•  8-­‐5  is  your  ,me  •  A_er  5  is  my  ,me  •  It  doesn’t  mader  how  you  do  it,  as  

long  as  you  produce  what  is  required  •  Process  not  as  important  as  outcome  •  Never  confuse  having  a  career  with  

having  a  life  

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Genera,on  X  Communica,on  

•  Highly  Visual  •  Easily  bored  •  Relevance  •  Back  to  basics  •  Computers  •  Mul,-­‐tasking  •  Let’s  Get  it  Done!  

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What  Communica,on  Technology  Impacted    Gen  X?  

•  Zines  (pronounced  “zeens”)  •  Computers  

•  Video  Gaming  

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Brace  yourself  for    Gen  Y  –  The  NEXT  in  charge  

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Who  is  Genera,on  Y?  

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•  78  Million  People  •  Technology  Savvy  •  20,000  TV  commercials/year  since  birth  

•  Most  media  savvy  genera,on  

•  Confident  •  Op,mis,c  

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Characteris,cs  of    Genera,on  Y  

•  75%  ,me  was  spent  in  structured  ac,vi,es  

•  Were  pampered  and  indulged  

•  Have  helicopter  parents  •  Used  to  customizing  everything  including  their  bodies  

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Characteris,cs  of  Genera,on  Y  

•  Bigger  than  Baby  Boom  Genera,on  •  3  ,mes  the  size  of  Gen  X  •  Roughly  26%  of  popula,on    •  Diverse  •  Inclusive  •  Powerful  

•  Sources:  American  Demographics,  U.S.  Census  Bureau,  USA  TODAY  research      

•  Weak  on  interpersonal  skills  

•  Cyber  Ac,vists  

•  Support  social  causes  

•  See  themselves  as  peers  and  colleagues  

•     

CEO   45

Communica,ng  with  Gen  Y  

•  Lively  and  varied  •  Visually  similar  to  Xers—

mul,ple  focal  points  •  Ask  for  input  they  have  ideas  

and  have  not  experienced  much  hierarchy  

•  Use  lots  of  humor/anima,on/comics  

•  Don’t  assume  they  are  being  disrespecyul  from  how  they  look  or  talk  

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Communica,ng  with  Gen  Y  

•  Teamwork  and  technology  

•  Technology  is  “as  natural  as  air.”  

•  Want  Mentors  who  know  more  than  they  do  

Source: Training Magazine, Bill Communications, Inc. Minneapolis, MN

•  Big-­‐Picture  Learners  •  Highly  visual  (especially  boys)  

•  Ac,ve  (kine,c)  learners  

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What  Communica,on  Technology  Impacted  Gen  Y?  

•  Cell  Phones  •  Internet  •  On-­‐line  Social  Networks  

What  About  Gen  Z?  

What  About  Gen  Z?  

•  Born  a_er  1990    •  True  Digital  na,ves  –  internet  &  social  media  

•  9/11  is  a  vague  idea  •  Most  impacted  by  2008  recession  

Genera,on  Z   Gen  Z  at  Work  

Knoll  Workplace  Research  

Knoll  Workplace  Research   53

How  can  we  communicate  across  genera,ons?