Generational Communication

Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap

Everybody has their own unique way of communicating. We use our words and actions to let people know how we feel or what we think. The way that we utilize the words and actions lets us express ourselves differently. That being said there are similarities in the way that different generations communicate. The generations that will be included in this paper include: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millenials. The time that we grew up in and how our parents were raised changes gives each generation its own way that they communicate. In this paper I will attempt to clarify these differences, similarities, current trends, and the effects and motivation this has on employees in the workplace. It should be said that not all people fit the mold of their generation. Different childhoods, lifestyles, and many other factors can affect the way people communicate. So, these are all generalizations of the generations and not facts or stereotypes.

All generations have special events or issues that separate them from one another and change their ways of communicating. Now we have four generations with different values and ways of communicating and it is causing some problems in the workplace. In order to fix this problem we need to learn about our co-workers generations. Greg Hammill put it best, “Each generation has its own attitudes, behaviors, expectations, habits, and motivational buttons” (Hammill).

In class we discussed the different values that each generation holds. Traditionalists are hardworking, loyal, reliable and dedicated workers. They also believe in corporate structure and working your way up the ladder in a company (lecture). Baby Boomers tend to be workaholics, optimistic, economic prosperity, and believe leadership should be decided through consensus (lecture). In Generation X’ers we see independence, family first, technology, changing companies, leadership by competence, and tend to be unimpressed...