Generations in the Workplace, one of my most popular courses, has also been the course with the most discussion, debate, opinions, and follow up conversations long after the course is over. Lyrasis will  offer this course later this year. Keep an eye out for their continuing ed schedule because you will definitely get a lot out of this course.

Before you take the course or look at the slides below, take a few minutes to take the How Millennial are You Quiz from the Pew Research Center.
I’m not surprised at how high my score is, and I would guess most library workers will score high as well. It’s the nature of our work that we stay abreast of technology. From the quiz: I have only a cell phone, have a piercing, play video games, don’t read a newspaper, and don’t watch TV programming. I am the complete opposite of my Boomer parents.

The opening slides with Professor WTF are based on an actual incident that happened while my husband was the Help Desk Manager at a College. Yes generational mishaps occur!

I think the reason the idea of generations struck me is that as a member of GenX, I realize that we often get a bad reputation by default. Without ever stepping foot in a room, someone can see your birthdate or graduation date and make immediate assumptions about everything from your attitude to your tastes in music. It’s going to be an interesting time the next few years as we see the multiple generations expand and see the second baby boomers, the Millennials, not only enter the workforce en masse but quickly move into leadership positions. However younger workers still have much to learn from older, more seasoned workers. It’s a two-way street, and each generation has just as much to learn from the other.

I also find the concept of shared generational experiences fascinating. Think about high school and how important that time was no matter how good or bad. There is a bond with your high school class like no other. The teen years are some of the most formative for setting the final hard wiring of your brain and emotions. For my generation the Challenger Explosion along with the OJ scandal were two of the events that helped make us who we are–skeptical, distrusting of organizations, realists. For Millennials, September 11, 2001 is permanently etched in their memories. Granted 9/11 impacted us all, but imagine experiencing 9/11 as a child or teenager. Imagine never knowing what it is like to fly without full body scans and pat downs. Imagine never knowing a world without terrorism on our home soil. We’ve seen many Millennials search for faith, maintain strong connections to family, and think less about “me” and more about community. My Unitarian Universalist minister was a senior in high school when 9/11 happened. She notes that the events of that year played heavily in her decision to choose a path of spirituality and in helping others.

One can’t talk about generations without some stereotyping of the generations. I invite you to look at this with an open mind, realizing that not all people fit their generational profiles, and to look at this information as a way to open doors and come to a deeper understanding of our fellow coworkers, library users, and fellow man.