Episode #16: Understanding Millennials: Bridging Communication and Building Thriving Workplace Cultures
Jul 03, 2024
Transforming Culture Consultants
What if understanding millennials could revolutionize your workplace communication? Uncover the profound impact of historical events like 9-11 and the rise of social media on the values and communication habits of millennials, as Sharon Wilson and Cindy LaCom, co-founders of Transforming Culture Consultants, guide you through the intricacies of the millennial mindset. We explore the unique challenges and advantages that come with being the first digital natives and how their experiences as latchkey kids have influenced their work behavior. From texting to cloud-based technology, learn how to bridge the communication gap across generations and debunk common stereotypes that often misrepresent this dynamic group.
Ready to build a thriving workplace culture? Discover invaluable resources and support tailored for HR professionals, executive directors, managers, and supervisors in the second chapter of our episode. Join a vibrant community that shares free tips, resources, and opportunities for virtual gatherings with industry leaders. Find out how you can get on the waiting list for an upcoming workshop and receive a free virtual consultation to tackle your workplace challenges. Connect with Transforming Culture Consultants on LinkedIn and learn how to foster a work environment where employees feel happy, respected, valued, and safe. Listen in and take the first step toward a more inclusive and productive workplace.
What if understanding millennials could revolutionize your workplace communication? Uncover the profound impact of historical events like 9-11 and the rise of social media on the values and communication habits of millennials, as Sharon Wilson and Cindy LaCom, co-founders of Transforming Culture Consultants, guide you through the intricacies of the millennial mindset. We explore the unique challenges and advantages that come with being the first digital natives and how their experiences as latchkey kids have influenced their work behavior. From texting to cloud-based technology, learn how to bridge the communication gap across generations and debunk common stereotypes that often misrepresent this dynamic group.
Ready to build a thriving workplace culture? Discover invaluable resources and support tailored for HR professionals, executive directors, managers, and supervisors in the second chapter of our episode. Join a vibrant community that shares free tips, resources, and opportunities for virtual gatherings with industry leaders. Find out how you can get on the waiting list for an upcoming workshop and receive a free virtual consultation to tackle your workplace challenges. Connect with Transforming Culture Consultants on LinkedIn and learn how to foster a work environment where employees feel happy, respected, valued, and safe. Listen in and take the first step toward a more inclusive and productive workplace.
Welcome everyone to Transformation Talks. The intention of our podcast is to provide tips, strategies and inspiration to transform workplaces, communities and lives. I'm Sharon Wilson and I'm the co-founder and chief mindset and growth officer at Transforming Culture Consultants, and I have with me today our other co-founder, cindy LeCobb, our chief impact and inclusion officer. Today we want to explore some key aspects of elements of the millennials age cohort currently in the workforce and key aspects of their communication behaviors and patterns as part of our series of podcast episodes to support you in creating, sustaining and navigating a more effective multi-generational workforce. In our last episode, we defined what is an age cohort. An age cohort are those whose members are born during the same period in a nation's history and who therefore tend to experience significant events in similar life stages.
Cindy LaCom:
Right now in our workforce, we have four age cohorts and by 2029, when Gen Alpha turns 16, we'll have five age cohorts in the workforce, and that is really fascinating, I have to tell you, sharon, I was talking about this today with someone who is a millennial and I mentioned Gen Alpha and she actually said, oh, they are the weakest generation of all. And I thought, oh my goodness, this person needs to listen to our podcast. Yeah right, let's talk a little bit about millennials. So remember that this age cohort is born between 1980 and 1994. So they're currently between 30 and 44 years old and, as we mentioned in our last episode, generational cohort theory is the idea that individuals born within a particular date range share similar social, cultural, economic, educational and political events in the early stages of their life that tend to shape their values, norms, beliefs, behaviors and attitudes. If you think about the 1999 mass shooting that Columbine that killed 13 people, about the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine that killed 13 people, it toppled a national belief that school is a safe place for our children. It destabilized these cultural notions of childhood and youth innocence and it shocked millennials who were themselves teens when it happened and who really grew up in its shadow. Millennials were the first to grow up with the internet and the world wide web, normalizing computer use and introducing this idea of a world that's at our fingertips. It changed understandings of knowledge, research, but also of horizons and of human capability.
Cindy LaCom:
We mentioned in our last episode that an understanding of generational diversity matters in terms of the big picture, but it also matters in terms of the benefits of creating and supporting a multi-generational workforce. It's quite possible that you're listening and thinking I don't think this is that big of a deal, but data actually tells us that strong and collaborative intergenerational workforces which practice effective communication can reap a number of rewards. Employee retention is stronger when everyone feels included as part of a team, when they feel their ideas are valued. Diverse and inclusive cultures tend to be more productive and innovative. Successful generational workforces have better communication when there are clear and consistent guidelines that reduce misunderstandings or hurt feelings. And finally, nurturing a multi-generational workforce with thoughtfulness, intention, knowledge and support diminishes the potential conflict that can occur if generational tension.
Sharon Wilson:
Well, let's look at some of the events that occurred that really helped shape the beliefs and the patterns, the perception, the communication styles of this age cohort. There was 9-11 in 2001. They were the first digital natives Menti entered the workforce during or after 1981, 1982 economic recession. The rise of social media was another thing that really impacted them. And who could forget the OJ Simpson trial of 1994-1995 and the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. It was very significant. Another very significant event was the Columbine school shooting in 1999. That set off a precedent of these mass shootings. Also, the rise of reality television and programming, and you and I both talked about this. How much reality television and social media have impacted all of us, but especially this age cohort. The real world reality television was debuted in 1992. There was an increased awareness of environmental issues. And how about the MTV generation? That's this cohort.
Sharon Wilson:
And also what I find so interesting. Cindy is the first latchkey kids in mass. Is really in this age cohort Right.
Cindy LaCom:
And that means that many millennials experienced this concept of family in very different ways than generations that preceded them.
Cindy LaCom:
And this review of some of the pivotal events that millennials experienced as children and youth and how it shaped their values, norms, perceptions and communication habits is really interesting.
Cindy LaCom:
I want to pause for a moment and come back to that. So how has it shaped their values, norms, perceptions and communication habits? Well, as you noted, they're the first generation who began to use computer technology in their day-to-day lives. They grew up highly aware of racial issues in our nation, and that probably is due in part to the OJ Simpson trial and its aftermath, and this is a reality that probably influences the fact that almost 55% of millennials support or strongly support Black Lives Matter today. They increasingly lived in the shadow, as you noted, of environmental decline and they tied their activism to this. And, if you remember, Rachel Carson published a profoundly influential book called Silent Spring in 1962, and the first Earth Day celebration was in 1970. The radical group Earth First started in 1980, so this is kind of a context within which millennials are growing up and finally, maybe because of this in part, they tend to get chowered in hierarchies and labels in this increasingly global and diverse community in which they work and live.
Sharon Wilson:
And Cindy. These are some of their shared experiences. They also often are subject to similar stereotypes, a few of them that many of us have heard of that millennials are narcissistic. A Time magazine cover labeled them the me generation, and cynical and directionless. So, like every age cohort, millennials are navigating generation-specific experience and biases. If we bring this back to the workplace and to your point about effective multi-generational communication, cindy, a key question might focus on how millennials tend to communicate. So what are some communication patterns for millennials? They prefer texting, email, zoom and cloud-based technology. They're comfortable with some social media apps, not necessarily all of them. They dislike talking on the phone. These are just a few, but knowing about their preferences and habits can make workplace communication across many age cohorts easier and more productive.
Cindy LaCom:
Absolutely. What's interesting to really realize is that most people in the workplace aren't aware of generational distinction, and this can cause some challenges. So we want to get a little bit more specific and ask you to consider a time when you were frustrated with somebody of a different generation. What happened? How did you interpret that person's behavior or choices? What generational stereotypes, biases or beliefs might have influenced your interpretations of the interchange or the events? This happens to almost all of us, and then we might laugh it off in the moment oh ho ho, they're just being agents, oh, bro-word. Those moments can actually add up and they can end up in annoyance and frustration, and that can negatively affect your workplace culture. So we want to hear from you about some of the challenges you've seen in your multi-generational workforce. What happened, how did you respond or what kinds of support, if any, did you get in that moment?
Sharon Wilson:
Let us know Absolutely, and feel free to email us. You can email me directly at sharon at transformingcultureconsultantscom. We're putting together a free Zoom workshop on creating a successful multi-generational workforce and we'd love to hear your thoughts. We can put you on a waiting list to get more information when that workshop is available, and our intention is to be a support and resource for you to help navigate these unprecedented challenges in our workplace cultures and create thriving cultures that have a ripple effect that impact us all in a positive way. We'd love for you to join our community of HR professionals executive directors, managers, supervisors that are wanting to create and grow more empowered workplaces and organizations.
Sharon Wilson:
You can get free tips, resources and opportunities to attend free virtual gatherings where you can engage with industry leaders and innovators, exchange ideas and strategies and best practices, and when you sign up for that, we'll give you information on that that's coming up, so go to transforming culture consultants dot com slash HR. We're also available to provide you with a free virtual consultation to explore any challenges or opportunities in your workplace culture, and you can apply for that at our website at transformingcultureconsultantscom. Slash free application and you can connect with us on LinkedIn at Transforming Culture Consultants. Our vision is a world where employees feel happy, respected, valued and safe. Thank you for being a part of this vision.
