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COVERAGE OF THE 2018 APTA ANNUAL MEETING
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Zimmer: Establishing Communication
How can people of different ages communicate in the workplace if they don’t speak the same language? Scott Zimmer, generational expert with BridgeWorks III LLC, offered practical solutions at the Sept. 24 General Session during the APTA Annual Meeting. “It’s important to give young talent a seat at the table and to be the kind of boss who wants to hear new ideas,” he said. “The process is all about respect.”
“Generational clashes begin at home,” Zimmer said, listing the five distinct generations in the workplace: traditionalists (born before 1946), Baby Boomers (born 1946-64), Generation X (born 1965-79), Millennials (born 1980-95) and Generation Edge or Generation Z (born 1996-2010). He defined “Cuspers,” people born at the edges of these age ranges, as able to mediate, translate, explain, coordinate and resolve conflicts because of their knowledge of two generations.
Zimmer described how members of each generation create their worldview through the experiences of their teens, which he called “formative years.” For example, when thinking about U.S. efforts in space, Baby Boomers remember the 1969 triumph of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, while members of Gen X remember watching the traumatic explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
He also noted changing leadership attitudes. Many Baby Boomers, as children of veterans, grew up with a form of military discipline; they in turn decided to give their own children “more of a voice.” Millennials, with greater awareness of the world around them, are often “treated like little consultants,” according to Zimmer.
Changing technologies may be another stress point among generations, he said. Baby Boomers, who grew up with landline phones, tend to be more formal in their emails and texts than Millennials and Gen Edge, who grew up with computers, smartphones (which, Zimmer said, really should be called mini-computers because phone calls are the least of their uses) and social media.
“Boomers are most comfortable with face-to-face communication,” he said. “Gen X likes direct, transparent, efficient communication, often preferring emails, while Millennials are used to instantaneous communication, which they find casual and authentic.”
“Millennials want to feel that what they do has value,” Zimmer emphasized, and called on public transit professionals of other generations to “empower them with meaningful work.” He noted that many Millennials have said they would take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company, and cited a survey showing that 71 percent of the group would leave a job where they did not like the way their leadership skills were being developed.
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