Intergenerational Diversity: Challenges and Conflicts in the Workplace

Today’s leader is faced with many challenges, and one is the generational divide that exists in the workplace today. With four different generations working together it is clear that each group has their own preference for communication. Throughout the context of this paper I will explore the generational differences, and describe the characteristics of my generation with regard to leadership and communication styles. I will also describe how technology and the information age play a role in how leaders communicate. Finally, I will identify basic communication skills that are needed and used in generational leadership.

For the first time in history there is a possibility that there could be as many as five different generations working together and communicating amongst each other on a daily basis.Coming from all different era’s, and eached raised with different values and thought processes, these different generations each have their own impact on the workplace. Each generation has its pros and cons on how well they will work with the other generations, and the ways they effectively communicate amongst themselves.

First off, retention for all generations starts on day one of employment (Martin, 2006, pg. 118). Beginning in orientation, it is a good idea to ask workers what their ideal career path would be and what can be offered throughout each stage of their career.

As you will learn, an inter-generational workforce provides many opportunities and challenges. While generational differences can and do lead to frustration, conflicts and poor morale, they do not have to. This

Diversity is what makes people different, not just culturally but in human differences. Having a multitude of differences in the workforce gives an organization the ability to use many ideas to reach a common goal. A person could say that a diverse group of people together in one room can accomplish greater achievements than a room filled with the same types of individuals. Managers understand the concept of diversity, and how important diversity is to the success of a company’s ability to implement programs that continue to develop a harmonious and diverse workplace. The recognition that diversity is a reality in the workforce has generated an enormous amount of activity over the years among leaders in business, government, and civil

Attempting to overcome cultural and various differences that occur in a multigenerational workplace will not be simply resolved. Several steps will need to be taken in order to achieve this. A strategic three step system that consist of educating, collaboration, and mentoring will be implemented to help employees overcome such barriers. With educating being the first step of the process this will be done in the form of workshops. The workshops will be designed to

“Research indicates that people communicate based on their generational backgrounds. Each generation has distinct attitudes, behaviors, expectations, habits and motivational buttons” (Hammil, n.d). Once differences are understood better between generations, work can get done together and not apart. The same applies to gender differences and all others. All individuals must be open to cultural differences or the world will continue to be divided. People should take advantage of the knowledge expressed here because it will teach individuals to work together throughout the many differences individuals possess. Leaders can learn a lot by working with the different generations because it presents perceptions outside one’s own. Seeing what has worked for women in their careers, to how individual’s

Older people are not retiring as the traditional age of 65 as they once did. According to a research paper published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) between 1977 and 2007, the number of employed workers over the age of 65 "…increased 101 percent" (BLS). For men 65 or older still at work, the increase (between 1977 and 2007) reflects a 75% rise; as for women, the number of those 65 and older rose by an impressives147 percent in that time frame (BLS). The number of people 75 years of age and older that are employed is relative small (0.8 percent of the American workforce) and yet this age group experienced the most dramatic gain during the period 1977 to 2007 a startling 172 percent (BLS).

Personlly it is always interesting when comparing what different generations have to offer in the workplace. I have a few freinds who graduated a few years ago  and they are still looking for jobs or at least jobs with benefits. However, it is hard searcging for a job with no experijence and the only way to have experience is to get a job. So people who allready have years  of  experiece or baby boomers realistically speaking seem like a better or safer choice. When my parents were younger it seemed as if all you needed was a willingness to learn and you would have a shot at a job. Unfortunately that is not enough anymore. It is funny to me that people have an attitude that millenials don't have a willingness to learn or anything to offer while

How often problems arise due to a multigenerational workplace can vary across different industries. Not all industries would have similar results, but it can be said that at least more than half of the industries have experienced conflicts stemming from multigenerational disagreements. For instance, a study done on organizations with over 500 employees reported that 58% of the managers have experienced conflicts between the diverse generations of workers (Iden, 2016). While another survey done by a career firm found that “60% of organizational leaders reported conflict between employees of different generations”(Patterson, 2014).

Not only am I a member of generation "Y" but I am also a part of the working class so I tend to work with all three generations daily. Though we all work harmoniously together now, that was not the case in the very beginning when my bosses decided to make some pretty monumental changes. When I began working there, I was only fifteen years old. I was working for a manager who was a part of generation "X" and we very often did not see eye to eye because of the way we were both raised to work. When the owners (who are baby boomers), asked me what I thought could be changed or heightened, my manager. at the time was not quick to jump on board. Being a part of generation "Y", I am a worker who always wants to succeed and climb higher in ranks, which was something that my manager was not used to.

SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE “UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE WORK PLACE” ( Cited from Kapoor and Solomon 2011)

The study titled about Generation Gaps: change in the workplace due to Differing Generational Values, so it was conducted by Fredericks Elizabeth, Carbary Kelly and etc. They explained different generation working together in the workplace. The authors discuss how to communicate with different generation, there were different values, goals, idea and ways of getting things done in workplace.

Workplaces in our current era are a mix of different generations with different qualifications, experiences, self-strengths and limitations. These differences lead to positive things like development, and negative such as collision. Generations that call themself co-workers have known as Veterans (Traditionalists), Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y (Millennials). According to Greg Hammill, “This is the first time in American history that we have had four different generations working side-by-side in the workplace.” (Hammill, FDU Magazine). If these generations combined, this can give opinions from their experience that younger generations may not know and that will result a perfect modern organization. Hammill also declared, “Generational differences can affect everything, including recruiting, building teams, dealing with change, motivating, and managing, maintaining and increasing productivity.” Generations has made their own life-expectation, so every generation tend to know every thing that they made through in their lives even if the younger generation are majoring these things. In keeping with Hammill’s article, the sequence of generations with their behaviors and communicating with the others based on the generations that came before them. In my research, I will describe the generations and some of their values and differences when it come to one workplace, comparing each type with the other also is part of this paper.

The so called “generation gap” has been around for probably as long as man but the term was first coined in the 1960s by what we now call the baby boomers. Some experts now are saying that the differences are deeper and more complex making it harder for people of various ages to communicate. According to David Stillman, co-author of “When Generations Collide,” for the first time in history we have four distinct generations on the job. They are Traditionalists (1922-1943), Baby Boomers (1943-1960), Generation Xers (1960-1980) and Millennials (1980-2002). And they all speak a different language. Traditionalists place a high premium on formality and the top-down chain of command. They are more likely to write a memo and be offended by a direct, immediate approach to communication. Respect is very important. Baby boomers work to live and are generally willing to sacrifice for success. They prefer a personable style of communication that builds rapport. Generation X tends to be skeptical and prefer a balance between work and life. When asked to do something they want to know why. They value