Managing Different
Generations in the Workplace
A YouGotClass on-line course
I need to
Communicate more
effectively
presented by
Kassia Dellabough, PhD
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Emerging Issues at
Work
2
Global Work Environment
The Pew Internet & American Life project
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Generational
Communication
Did you get my e-mail?
What happened to the
work ethic?
Wassup?
Get my text?
I sent a memo
This is a waste of time,
I work better alone
Were you at the meeting?
He called me that he
can’t make it
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Course Agenda
Unit 1 - What makes these
generations different ?
 The transition from the Industrial
Age to the Internet Age
 How Gen X, Boomers, Gen Y differ
 Work values in the 21st Century
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Course Agenda
Unit 2 - How Gen X and Gen Y
perceive time.
 Knowledge work and the value of
time
 Time as key to profitability
 The focus on outcomes
 Meetings the work
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Course Agenda
Unit 3 - What motivates Gen X and
Gen Y at work?
 The reinvention of family
 Work hard and play hard
 Monetary and non-monetary
rewards
 The new career development path
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Course Agenda
Unit 4 - Work styles and technology
 Customizing work styles & process
Peak work time and place
 A new role for technology at work
 Working collaboratively
 And what about the NEXT
Generation?
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YOUR GOALS
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Communication
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Inventions That
Changed the Way We
Communicate
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The car
Telephone
Airplane
Answering machine
Computers
E-mail
Cell phones
Digital cameras
Cloud computing
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Innovations in
Communication
 Ball Point Pen
1945
 Telegraph 1828
 Radio - 1866
 Television 1930’s
 Airplanes - 1903
 Telephone 1870’s
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1980
1990
1995
2000
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
•VOIP
•Podcasts
•Fax
•Wikki / Forums
•YouTube
•Web
•Modem
•Survey Monkey
•MySpace
•Email
•Answering
•Zoomerang
•Web Support
•PowerPoint
Machine
•E-Commerce
•CraigsList
•Voice Mail
•Newsletters
•Skype
•Cell Phone
•Amazon •Blackberry
•Newsletter
•PDA
•Digital
•Instant
•BBS
•RSS Feeds
Signage
Messenger
•Pagers
•Blogs
•Videophone
•Contact
•Ebay
•TeleManagers
•Google
commuting
•Paypal
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Preferred
Communication Tools
 SENIORS: face-to-face, phone (landline), U.S. mail, newspapers, magazines
 BOOMERS: email, phone, face-to-face,
newspapers, magazines, on-line
resources
 GEN X: web sites, email, on-line
newspapers & resources, cell phone
 GEN Y: Facebook (etc.), Text, Cell
Phone, web sites, skype
 GEN NEW - ?
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Cell phone or
Computer?
A long way from DOS…
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Defining the Generations*
Seniors
1920 – 1944
Baby Boomer
1946-1964
Generation X
1965-1980
Generation Y
1981-2000
Generation Next? I, X, G
2000- now
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GENERATIONS:
The Cohort Experience
Members of a generation are
linked by experiences shared
during their formative years.
These shared experiences
contribute to the creation of
shared values, attitudes and
behaviors.
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What Were YOU doing
in High School?
 Favorite music
 Values:
 Work, sexual behavior, drugs, dress
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How did you refer to your teachers?
What did you do after school?
How did you stay in touch with your friends?
What was the political climate?
What were your career goals?
What was the job outlook?
What was the technology of the day?
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Generation Gaps
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Attitudes
Expectations
Perceive Differently
Learn Differently
Teach Differently
Work Differently
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Learning
Working
Marketplace
Behaviors
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Loyal, the
recycling
generation
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Daily Life and Society:
•Prosperity
•Stability
•uniform
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The Baby Boomers
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Born: 1946-1964
McCarthy Hearings
Polio Vaccine
Rosa Parks
Sputnik
First Nuclear Power Plant
JFK
Peace Corps
Cold War
John Glenn
Vietnam
Martin Luther King
Woodstock
Kent State
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Understanding
Generation X
Photo, Courtesy of Grease, Tattoos from Grease, St. Paul Minnesota (http://tattoosfromgrease.com/)
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I AM NOT A BABY BOOMER!
Work “under the radar”
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The Millennial
Gen Y
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Who is Generation Y?
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 78 Million People
 Technology Savvy
 20,000 TV
commercials/year
since birth
 Most media savvy
generation
 Confident
 Optimistic
 Politically active
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The NEXT Generation……
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Course Outcomes
• Find out how your coworkers in other
generations approach work
• discover something new
about yourself and your
generation.
• Get an understanding of
each of the four
generations.
Course Outcomes
• Learn the distinguishing
characteristics of each that
impact their approach to the
workplace.
• Take back practical tips and
techniques for communicating
generationally in the
workplace.
Next Class
April 7 - May 2, 2014
questions? Contact
kassia@uoregon.edu
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