As someone who earns a living by helping people “work and play well with others”, I have been spending more time lately helping members of the different generations learn how to work together.
I remember when I finished college I would hear my parents and their friends talk about “the generation gap”. These parents (aka “Traditionals”), who were born just as World War I ended, finished school during the Great Depression, and became young adults during World War II, just could not understand their long haired, hippie, “make love not war” children – who came to be known as the Baby Boomers. The difference now is that there are four generations in the workplace: Traditionals, Boomers, Gen Xer’s and the Millennials, Gen Y or Twenty-somethings. So the diversity tension among the generations is amped up.
The purpose of www.workingwithtwentysomethings.com (and yes, I know it is a l-o-n-g URL) is to create a community dialogue for and about this newest generation in the workplace.
Let’s start with what this site is not about. This blog is not a repository for complaints, diatribes, and rants about any generation.
Instead, this blog will focus on four areas:
First, in my humble opinion the education system in the United States – particularly the public education system with its “you can only give positive feedback” philosophy, has done a great disservice to the Millennials in preparing them for the world of work. So the first emphasis of this blog will be to offer a kind of “things nobody taught you in school” mentoring.
Second, there is an emerging body of research and surveys about the twentysomethings – some of it is thorough and some of it is scandalous. There are also a lot of online resources. All of it needs critical analysis and that will happen here – using a straightforward, no nonsense approach. So look to this blog for reviews.
Third, in the tradition of its sister site www.workingwithothers.com this blog will offer commentary on generational issues in the workplace – usually from a humorous or lighter side perspective.
Finally, it is my wish that this blog serves as a vehicle to create a conversation – more appropriately a community dialogue – where many – especially twentysomethings share their views and insights about the changing world of work and what it means to them. From time to time I will posed a question that I trust will encourage such a conversation.
Thanks for checking out this blog. I invite your participation.
Welcome to workingwithtwentysomethings.com
As someone who earns a living by helping people “work and play well with others”, I have been spending more time lately helping members of the different generations learn how to work together.
I remember when I finished college I would hear my parents and their friends talk about “the generation gap”. These parents (aka “Traditionals”), who were born just as World War I ended, finished school during the Great Depression, and became young adults during World War II, just could not understand their long haired, hippie, “make love not war” children – who came to be known as the Baby Boomers. The difference now is that there are four generations in the workplace: Traditionals, Boomers, Gen Xer’s and the Millennials, Gen Y or Twenty-somethings. So the diversity tension among the generations is amped up.
The purpose of www.workingwithtwentysomethings.com (and yes, I know it is a l-o-n-g URL) is to create a community dialogue for and about this newest generation in the workplace.
Let’s start with what this site is not about. This blog is not a repository for complaints, diatribes, and rants about any generation.
Instead, this blog will focus on four areas:
First, in my humble opinion the education system in the United States – particularly the public education system with its “you can only give positive feedback” philosophy, has done a great disservice to the Millennials in preparing them for the world of work. So the first emphasis of this blog will be to offer a kind of “things nobody taught you in school” mentoring.
Second, there is an emerging body of research and surveys about the twentysomethings – some of it is thorough and some of it is scandalous. There are also a lot of online resources. All of it needs critical analysis and that will happen here – using a straightforward, no nonsense approach. So look to this blog for reviews.
Third, in the tradition of its sister site www.workingwithothers.com this blog will offer commentary on generational issues in the workplace – usually from a humorous or lighter side perspective.
Finally, it is my wish that this blog serves as a vehicle to create a conversation – more appropriately a community dialogue – where many – especially twentysomethings share their views and insights about the changing world of work and what it means to them. From time to time I will posed a question that I trust will encourage such a conversation.
Thanks for checking out this blog. I invite your participation.