Bridging the Gap
SAN ANTONIO—This morning's session "Generational Ethics: Bridging the Gap From Traditionalists to Millennials" was one of the most interesting lectures I've attended at an APTA conference. Maybe it was because it wasn't really a lecture. PTs were encouraged to sit at round tables in the room and discuss issues among themselves. Maybe it was because this is such a hot topic in
any work environment now. I see numerous examples of generational differences even within my publishing company. Or maybe it was because the audience consisted of PTs spanning all generations. This made for interesting case study solutions!
Whatever the reason, I learned a great deal about the four or five generations (Generation Y is split between Generation X and the Millenials) that currently work together and how they/we think.
Traditionalists (born roughly between 1900 and 1942), also known as "the greatest generation," overcame the economic depression, are very civic-minded and masterfully raised the next generation, which turned out to be the largest. Baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) were encouraged to dream big, and were born during the largest economic growth period. Generation Xers (born between 1965 to 1982) grew up living in the shadow of the boomers. They have what speaker Jon T. Nordrum, PT, DPT, DScPT, GCS, from the Mayo Clinic called, "the middle-child syndrome."
"This generation gave us the term latch-key kids because it was the first time in history that elementary-aged children were coming home to empty houses," he said. Because of that--as well as seeing military failure (we lost a war), political failure (a president was impeached) and economic failure--this generation became survivor-based.
Millenials (born approximately from 1982 to 1997) are nurtured, have parents who are strong advocates for them and have instant access to information because of the Internet.
Dr. Nordrum made it a point to tell the audience of PTs "it is more about how the generation thinks, feels and acts together and less about the date."
Because each generation has different values, conflicts ultimately arise in the work environment. In order to find balance in the workplace and provide optimal care for patients, change must occur, Dr. Nordrum advised. He and other PTs recommended the following:
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Be sure to have an open-door policy where everyone is welcome to discuss their thoughts;
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Establish mentoring relationships;
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Evolve with technology;
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Play to the strengths of all generations.
However, some generations, such as boomers, are embracing new values, an audience member pointed out. Dr. Nordrum agreed. "Boomers may be jealous of Xers work-life balance. They were smart enough to ask for it up front, and it's taken us all these years," he mused.
No matter their value differences--and they are just differences ("they're not better, not worse, just different from one another," Dr. Nordrum said)--it is obvious the collaboration of all generations is what creates the best possible team. This was particularly apparent at the end of the first hour when Dr. Nordrum put out a call to any Generation Xers or Millenials in the audience who could help him stop a message from popping up every few minutes during the power point presentation.