Tuesday, July 5, 2016

THEY JUST DON'T GET IT

Have you ever found yourself saying that about some of the people you work with? If you are of the older generation you have probably, at times, wondered what is going on in the mind of those young kids that you work with. By the same token, if you are a "youngster" you have probably wondered where in the world did that "older" person think that one up? 

Well, dealing with the different generations in our workplace is one of the most important challenges we face today. Every generation has their opinion of the other generations. You are probably working with, 

Traditionalists or better known as the "silent generation"...those born before 1946.

Baby Boomers...those born between 1947 and 1964.

Generation X...those born between 1965 and 1980.

Generation Y...also referred to as generation WHY born between 1981 and 2000.

Generation Z....those born after 2000 and just now beginning to make their splash in the work force. 

 Each of these generations has their own set of values and attitudes and the reality of it is that they differ in many ways. 

Dealing with a 60 year old in the workplace can take an entirely different twist than dealing with a 20 year old. Each has a completely different outlook on the world and the work place. 

Think about it. Today you use a GPS on your phone to find out where you are going. The older generation used something called a map.

Text is something we all do on our phone. To the older generation it meant the verses from the Bible that the minister would use for his Sunday morning sermon. 

The older generation thought a window was something you clean. A program was a TV show. The keyboard was the piano. A cursor was the local school bully. An app was what we give to prospective employees. Meg was Bill's girlfriend. Log on meant to put more wood on the fire. A web was a spider's home. The older generation had the flu when they had a virus, not so today. 

I can go on and on but you get the message and can see how communicating with the different generations in the workplace can really get confusing unless you learn how to effectively do it. It can be an enormous challenge and in today's business environment can be very costly if not handled properly. 

Our company has produced a training DVD entitled "Dealing with Generational and Cultural Differences in the Workplace" that can help with this important work place issue. You can purchase it from our web site at www.consultantsincleaning.com.

The cultural issue is also one that needs to be addressed and is done so in this DVD and we will discuss it in a later blog, but you can get a head start on our blog by ordering the DVD today. Be sure to also look for our book on the site entitled "The Guide to Effective Supervision". We devote an entire lesson in this 12 lesson course to dealing with the cultural and generational differences you encounter every day. It goes into greater detail on the generational differences we discuss at the beginning of this blog. 

The work place is different today. Be sure you know how to interact effectively in it. 

Don't forget our FREE weekly pod cast posted every Monday morning at www.kleancast.com.

Till next time.   




          

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