Working with Multiple Generations: Roundtable

Technology and our professions are evolving at rapid rates, markets continue to tighten, and people are living and working longer. As we continue, we need to establish and maintain a skilled workforce, which is more challenging as more generations need to work together. Each generation provides unique individuals with preferences, skills, and values formed by their life experiences. Varying ideals and styles of communication can cause problems between generations, which has always been somewhat the case—but this baseline discrepancy is heightened by swiftly advancing technology and a continually changing professional landscape. We will examine differences and similarities among the generations in such a way that the dialog will offer strategies to capitalize on the strengths of each group. It is understanding and appreciating the uniqueness of each group that will help establish a successfully collaborative environment in a multigenerational workplace.