A push for harmony among workers, young and old

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130813/DA8574KO0.html

By MATT SEDENSKY

CHICAGO (AP) - Growing numbers of companies are introducing new training to help overcome differences between baby boomers delaying retirement and younger workers, some the same age as their children or grandchildren.

So-called generational awareness training is designed to help employees of widely different ages work together and communicate more effectively.



This photo taken Aug. 6, 2013 shows Brad Karsh of JB Training Solutions speaking to a group of generation X'ers at the Hu-Friedy Manufacturing Co. in Chicago. There’s a new urgency to the quest for workplace harmony, as baby boomers delay retirement and work side-by-side with people young enough to be their children _ or grandchildren. Put people of widely different ages together, and there are bound to be differences. Baby boomers, for example, are workaholics, while Gen Xers demand more work-life balance. Millennials are masters of technology and have high, high expectations. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)


Employees are taught about the characteristics that define each generation, from their core values to their childhood and adolescent experiences to the type of figures they regard as heroes. Then workshop leaders typically drill down into how those attributes play into the strengths and weaknesses each age group offers on the job.

The goal is that by learning why people of different generations act the way they do, companies can better emphasize their employees' strengths and find ways to overcome challenges.

[Sherman A1]

1. Interesting

and something sorely needed in my opinion. I am sure in most workplaces we are seeing the stress of generational differences and I suspect it often is not very pretty.