Musings from a train

I've spent a lot of time (probably too much for my own good) on a train the past two days, heading up to the Wirral. I find train journeys fascinating, giving me the chance to people watch and listen to some amusing conversations. And now, I realise, giving me potential blog fodder!  Last night was a great journey, being offered wine and chocolate by a lovely couple. They’re the kind of fellow passengers I like!

We had an interesting chat about their business and about what I do. They asked me if I thought people who have been in the same job for 30 years or so can ever change their ways at work or indeed, do they want to? Now I have always believed it’s never too late to change but, of course, appreciate some people find it easier to change than others (regardless of how long they’ve been working somewhere). It depends on what’s going on for that individual and the impact of the change on them. But the question made me think about how much I take into account the different generational types when considering communication plans and change strategies. I realise I don’t really factor it in as much as I perhaps should.  

I was recently invited to an eventthat unfortunately I was unable to attend, which focused on the youngest generation – Generation Y. Sally Bibb, the speaker, discussed the fact that Generation Y’s values and approaches to work are very different to those of other generations, which is presenting challenges for organisations.

If you’ve not come across generational types before there are four main categories:

1.        Grey Tigers (also known as the Radio generation and Traditionalists), born from 1900 to 1945

2.        Baby Boomers, born from 1946 to 1964

3.        Generation X born between 1965 to 1980

4.        Generation Y born from 1980 onwards

I’ve been googling the topic and came across this useful article. Quite amusing to be described as an IKEA baby! I consider myself more of an Ebay girl myself (but that’s another story). There are some useful tips in the article about how each of the generations prefers to be treated. It’s inspired me to find out more and I’d be interested to know what stories or experience any of you can share with regards to this topic and whether you’ve applied it in your organisation.

My return journey today was slightly different with two young Generation Ys talking to each other in a language I just couldn’t follow. The generation gap between us was very evident and I felt rather behind the times. Decided I shouldn’t try to keep up so just turned up the Ipod and tried to avoid the sneezes from the very sniffly person sitting next to me. If I catch a cold………

Comments

[Les Potter]

Sally, this is one of my favorite subjects. Thanks for your insights. We now have three generational groups on the job together. As more and more Millennials enter the work force, they must understand their supervisors’ and coworkers’ generational script just as supervisors must understand that of Millennials. It’s obvious that effective employee communication will be more important than ever before as Millennials fill jobs in organizations. And like all strategic communication/PR, relationships are essential.