Generations at Work: Veterans, Boomers, Generation X & Y Never before in the history of the American workplace are so many different age groups working together in such close quarters. Veterans, Baby Boomers, GenXers and now the Nexters (Gen Y) are working shoulder to shoulder, cubicle to cubicle. Not only is workspace reduced, but as organizations flatten out, there is less separation by job description.  At no time in American history have so many different generations with such diversity in worldviews and work philosophies been asked to team up and work together.

 

Generational Mixing

There have been multiple generations working in organizations before, but they were usually separated from each other by virtue of their job descriptions and a system of hierarchy. Senior employees were mostly male, white, and were in command positions. Middle-aged employees tended to be in middle management. And the younger workers were everywhere else. Their contacts were mostly with their peers, or one level up, with their supervisor.  Generational mixing was rare, or significantly structured by formality and protocol. When senior employees made decisions, they were "handed down" and communicated to the younger workers through the line supervisor. There was no sharing of how the decisions were made, the strategy behind the order, or for that matter, any requests for input or feedback.