The Working Week 77

If you've experienced a clash of ideas or difficulties in communicating with people of a different generation in your work environment, then this week's Working Week is required listening.

To explore the impact and role of generations in the workplace, Wayne is joined by Graeme Codrington. With a CV that includes chartered accountancy at KPMG, IT boom entrepreneur, youth worker, consultant, professional musician, futurist, best-selling author and professional speaker, Graeme is a visiting professor at four business schools, as well as one of the founders of futurist consultancy TomorrowToday.

As Graeme explains, it's too simplistic just to say that they key to understanding generational issues is to say that "people are different". Instead, you need to look at the different value sets that each generation have developed - often shaped by the context and events which occurred during their childhoods.

This also explains why different generations have such different styles of communication – and find it so hard to co-exist in the same meeting, let alone the same office. When Baby Boomers prefer face-to-face meetings whilst Generation Xers prefer to text or email, it's little wonder we have communication breakdowns!

Each new generation entering a new lifestage brings this generational valueset with them, and redefines the lifestage they're entering. All of which has very important implications for how organisations motivate, attract and retain them as staff and business partners.

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