Generations

In Greg Hammill’s article “Mixing and Managing Four Generations of Employees” the importance of being aware of generational differences becomes evident through the many examples explained. The four generations that we are encountering in the workplace are Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen Y, and Gen X. Hammill expresses the importance of having this knowledge, to improve workplace relationships, but the information was also applicable to everyday life relationships. While I think this is definitely significant for young people to keep in mind, I found that this article kind of simplified characteristics of the generation, and did not offer much explanation to his reasoning. I also felt like there was a bias towards Gen Y, but maybe because it was published over ten years ago attributes to this author’s mindset.

Nonetheless, successful workplace relationships are crucial for a teacher’s success. When collaborating with other teachers, administration, parents, or anyone regarding school that comes from a different generation, one should keep an open mind and communicate openly about expectations and norms. I don’t think anyone should walk up to someone from a veteran generation and say “well you only do this because you are from that generation” because I don’t think anyone’s personality or beliefs should be simplified to that extent. Generational differences are a good piece of information to keep in mind in a workplace environment. However, I think that when working with four different generations, the best thing one can do is being open minded and accommodating to others, and always ask before you assume!

http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm