Coping With Different Generations In The Workplace

Abstract

There was a time when diversity in the workplace was thought of as different races, religions, ethnic backgrounds and, gender.  An emerging form of workplace diversity is the different generational groups.  The generations in almost any given company ranges from Veterans to Baby Boomers to Gen Xers to Gen Yers.  With such a large age gap and associated attitudinal and behavioral differences, managers are facing a difficult leadership task.  Employees are also facing the difficult task of how to get along with and work with coworkers of different generations.  Employers, managers, and employees must learn how to bridge the gap between the age generations, and capitalize on those differences to enhance organizational effectiveness.