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Managing Generational Differences Of The Workplace Essay

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Managing Generational Differences

Introduction

Workforces are diverse, not only with respect to gender, racio-ethnicity, culture and work styles, but also with respect to age. Workplaces have always had numerous generations working together. There 's the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed younger generation of newcomers, the established middle generation that holds most of the management roles and the older generation of senior executives who are 30 or 40 years of valuable experience. Each of these distinct age groups comes with their own set generational differences, which can cause some friction among colleagues and superiors. These differences exist throughout organisations, from entry to executive level.

The Differences
Today’s workplace is no different than those of past years, with Traditionals, Generation X and baby boomers all coexisting in the same office. But as more boomers work past retirement age, and tech-savvy millennials continue to graduate and enter the workforce, the stark differences in the values, communication styles and work habits of each generation are becoming more and more pronounced.
Generational differences can have an effect on everything in the workplace, including recruiting, building teams, dealing with change, motivating, managing, and maintaining and increasing productivity. Research indicates that people communicate based on their generational backgrounds. Each generation has distinct attitudes, behaviours, expectations, habits and

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