The current job market entails individuals from different generations working together. These people often have different communication styles, coping mechanisms, and cultural differences. As such, working together has its advantages and challenges. Organisations often have to create strategies to ensure the intergenerational teams are productive and work well together. One of the most common challenges is in the different communication styles between the younger and older generations. The younger generation, especially the Generation Y, prefers communication through texts and instant messages (Taylor, 2014). The baby boomers prefer using emails and phone calls. Also, the younger generation mostly uses abbreviations and colloquialisms that may not be known to the older generation. It is also challenging to overcome the existing challenges of the people of different generations. Baby boomers may perceive people of Generation Y as entitled, lazy, and technology obsessed. On the other hand, baby boomers are perceived as hard to train and stubborn. Despite these challenges, intergenerational teams also have their advantages. A combination of people from different generations makes the team more creative and their decisions strong since they are made by people with multiple perspectives (Murphy, 2007). Also, they can easily gain a greater market share since the members are of a multigenerational market.
For an intergenerational team to be productive, it is important to value the differences of each member. Organisations commonly have cases of intergenerational conflicts. To manage these conflicts, it is best to accommodate the intergenerational differences and to maintain the respect of all generations. The strengths of different generations should be leveraged and the work environment should also value the differences (Freifeld, 2013). To support the diversity in the teams, it is important to personalise interactions with members of different generations. In addition, members should be encouraged to embrace their differences instead of attempting to blend in with others. Finally, the perspective of each member of the team should be valued since their experience and difference can be used to make the organisation more productive (Murphy, 2007).
References
Freifeld, L. (2013, July 16). Intergenerational Communication: Some Quick Tips on Managing Boomers to Linksters. Training. Retrieved from https://trainingmag.com/content/intergenerational-communication
Murphy, S. A. (2007). Leading a Multigenerational Workforce. Washington, DC: AARP. Retrieved from http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/cs/misc/leading_a_multigenerational_workforce.pdf
Taylor, N. F. (2014, June 16). Tackling the Challenges of the Multigenerational Workforce. Business News Daily. Retrieved from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6609-multigenerational-workforce-challenges.html
