Workplace Eavesdropping - "What's a webinar?" - - - "Where's my IPad?"

Understanding the importance of managing workplace differences has grown to be a very important skill for all of us.  Several drivers for this phenomenon include:

• For the first time in modern history, multiple generations are represented in our workforces. 

• There are a significant number of women, minorities and non-traditional workers changing the makeup of the traditional workplace.

• Individuals interested in preserving their heritage are more aware of and supportive of cultural traditions.

• Society encourages businesses to do the right thing for workers, which at the same time should be good for business and customers.

• Legal expectations dictate regulations and compliance

Listening to the workplace today we hear statements such as:

• “I have a new rule, I will not be attending meetings after 4 because I’m in a vanpool”

• “She wants a ‘career map’!   Gee, I don’t even know if there will be a customer relations department this time next year!”

• “He asked me, ‘Do you access email?’ with a tone that shouted – you were born in the Stone Age…. Way before technology!

• “I’ve never heard of that religious holiday – is that for real?”

Whether you are looking for a new job, climbing the ladder at your current employer, improving working relationships within your team, or working with customers to grow your business, understanding the changing climate of differences in the workplace is critical for success.   My experience observing workplaces where awareness and skills are heightened through training and teambuilding demonstrates that workplace performance improves, communications are more open, relationships are stronger, organizations gain a ‘Great Place to Work’ reputation, liability and legal claims are reduced and recruitment and retention of top talent is easier.   About the only thing you could ask for is to have your windows washed…… just kidding.   It’s not a panacea to fix everything, but it certainly makes a difference. 

We all learned in a Communications 101 class way back when, that our perceptions are influenced by many things.   How we perceive what we hear, see, read, etc. can be tied back to factors such as:

• Heritage
• Family history and stories
• The old ‘nature vs nurture’ battle
• Religious and spiritual beliefs
• Values
• Opinions
• Past experiences

As you consider raising your awareness to be better prepared to work in this multi-generational/culture workplace, consider the words of George Orwell, “each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”   Are they really; or is it just a matter of perception?   Did you ever consider testing your perceptions?   Perhaps through an examination of your personal perceptions and biases you can shift your focus and take away the fuzziness around the edges of certain situations by viewing it through another set of lenses?

For example, consider the following events, music and/or heroes that have influenced and shaped generational characteristics.  These along with other factors are discussed in Ron Zemke’s book, Generations at Work.  How can we expect that individuals and co-workers impacted by the diversity of events such as these would view the world the same?   Not very likely.

1930’s/Great Depression
1940’s/Pearl Harbor
1950’s/TV in every home
1960’s/Kennedy elected/Kennedy & Martin Luther King Asassinations
1970’s/Women’s Rights Movement
1980’s/Fall of the Berlin Wall
1990’s/Desert Storm
2000’s/9/11 Attack

Is it any wonder we have different ways of looking at work, relationships, respect, trust, etc?

So what can you do to better prepare yourself to sell to, be interviewed by, or work with someone who operates with a different perception than you?  

• First, raise your awareness to your own perceptions and biases.   Explore where they came from and IF they are still valid.   If they are not still valid, let them go and replace the belief with one that is more appropriate for the world today. 

• Pay attention to your communications – not only to your words, but your tone, manners, words, and channels that you choice to use.   Adjust your style to respect others.  

• When I was growing up, we were taught to respect others like you would like to be respected.   That rule really doesn’t apply anymore.   What’s more appropriate is to respect others as they would like to be respected. 

• Take time to get to know others and what their preferences are.  The only way to respect a person like he/she would like to be respected is to engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue and get to know them as a person.

As the ‘veterans’ retire out of the workplace we’ll have one less generation at the conference table, but even so, diversity in some shape or form is here to stay.   So the sooner you improve your skills for respecting differences at work, the better. 

I’m curious, how do you see this multi-generational and cultural workplace evolving?   Are you getting the information you need from your company to keep up with diversity issues and trends, or do you need to seek information and training on your own?