As a conflict resolution consultant and accountability coach I help my clients reduce conflict in the workplace to improve their working condition.

Communicating with baby boomers and traditionalists is an important factor to reduce conflict in the workplace.

Baby boomers were born between 1946-1964:

• They attended crowded classes and are good team players.
• It is the first time that they had a category on their report cards which read “works well and plays well with others.”
• Boomers live to work
• Gen X work to live
• Gen Y blend the 2

Here are easy tips to communicate with baby boomers:

• Ask boomers to be part of teams since this is natural for them.
• They have a lot of experience to share with all ages.
• They may need some mentoring with technology to keep up with Gen X and Y.

Traditionalists were born between 1918-1945:

• They bring great value to organization.
• Many traditionalists can’t retire and need to work due to the economy.
• Some traditionalists want to stay active and never want to retire.
• They feel that they still have something to offer at work.
• Home Depot is partners with AARP (American Association of Retired Persons).  Their tagline is passion never retires.
• Post card mania hires seniors.  The CEO needed something constructive for her father to do after her mother died.

I was the keynote speaker at a Florists Association and was amazed at how many traditionalists the conference center hired.  They helped with registration and gave directions on how to find the auditorium.  They were helpful, courteous, and their smiles were contagious.

Here are some easy tips to help communicate with traditionalists:

• Make them feel that they are a vital part of the team’s success.
• Ask employees for referrals from parents who are interested in part time work.
• Encourage them to be mentors for Gen X and Y to help the younger generation understand face to face communication.

I hope that these tips will help you communicate better with baby boomers and traditionalists. My next article will give you and your team can become accountable.

Until next time, this is Joyce Weiss and remember, “You get what you tolerate!”

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Read what my client, Cpl Steve A. Richardson, Jr, said about Joyce’s consulting:

“Our team was tremendously impacted by the Team Building Program that Joyce Weiss presented to our office. There were several people on our team who did everything possible to avoid one another. During the sessions Joyce helped everyone see how the negative energy between those two individuals affected the entire office. Everyone was given the opportunity to express their concern – which really helped. The best part of the training was when Joyce taught us how to speak directly to each other in a respectful way. By the end of the workshop there was a tremendous difference in our team. The stress level of everyone dissolved. Several weeks went by and I noticed the two people that had the main issue with one another were having a conversation with each other. I called Joyce immediately to let her know how she really left a positive impact on our office. Thank you Joyce!” – Cpl Steve A. Richardson, Jr, Regional Contracting Office. Marine Forces Reserve

Click here to schedule your Complementary Discovery Conversation

As a conflict resolution consultant and accountability coach I help my clients reduce conflict in the workplace to improve their working condition.

Understanding the different generations is an important concept to reduce conflict in the workplace.

Gen Y was born between 1981-1995:

• They have Helicopter Parents who hover over them during college interviews and job placement fairs.
• The parents are very involved with their children’s decisions and want them to experience the best possible opportunities.
• The job turnover rate is 30% for Gen Y because they want to work at a place that suits their specific talents.
• Some older generations look at Gen Y as the entitled generation.
• The reality is that Gen Y has been given more choices than any other generation.
• They want to work at a place that appreciates their unique qualities.

Here are some tips to help communicate with Gen Y:

• Give them mentors to understand face to face communication.
• Encourage them to mentor others who need help with technology.
• Empower them to share ideas since they bring a fresh perspective to the team.

Gen X was born between 1965-1980:

• They are the smallest generation.
• Gen X came home from school and their parents were not at home because they were working.
• Gen X is known as the latchkey generation.
• They are very independent.
• They would rather do things on their own than be on a team player.
• They don’t like to be micromanaged.

Here are some tips to use with Gen X:

• Train them how to be great leaders since they will be taking over management from baby boomers by 2019.
• Have work/life balance as part of your mission statement.
• Gen X doesn’t want to be workaholics like their parents.  They want to spend time with their family.

I hope that these tips will help you reduce conflict between generations. My next article will give you tips on how to communicate with baby boomers  and traditionalists.

Until next time, this is Joyce Weiss and remember, “You get what you tolerate!”

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As a conflict resolution consultant and accountability coach I help my clients reduce conflict in the workplace to improve their working condition.

My clients have been asking me to include tips on how they can communicate better with different generations.  I decided to include this information in this article.

There is good news and bad news about this issue. The Good news…We can learn from each other. The Bad news…At times we don’t respect each other and drive each other crazy.

For example:  All generations view work life balance differently.

• Baby Boomers are working and caring for their parents and struggling to find time for them.
• Gen X want to spend quality time with their family and don’t want to become workaholics like their parents.
• Gen Y are just entering in the workforce and job demands interfere with their personal life.

You will learn in future articles how this one challenge creates a lot of conflict in the workplace.

Younger generations thank me for adding this information in my training programs because they want the older generations to know that they don’t have a poor work ethic …it is a difference in how they choose to spend their time.

Here are some tips:

• Have open meetings.
• Communicate that ALL generations help with the bottom line.
• Set up mentor programs with all generations helping each other in technical projects or problems solving

I hope that you will see a difference with your generational conflicts after using these tips. My next article will help you communicate with Generation X and Y.

Until next time, this is Joyce Weiss and remember, “You get what you tolerate!”

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Enjoy this short podcast on Reducing Conflict in the Workplace by Creating Strong Teams

As a conflict resolution consultant and accountability coach I help my clients reduce conflict in the workplace by improving their working condition.

Here are two questions for you:

1. Are your meetings full of creativity with new ideas constantly flowing or…is there a lot of silence?
2. Is your work environment a safe place to make mistake and learn from these mistakes? Or is status quo and fear of taking risks the norm?

This article will give you ideas on how to improve morale in your workplace.

I had the privilege of going on a tour of Microsoft while visiting one of my clients. Turnover is not very high.

Here are 5 morale boosters Microsoft uses  for all employees:

• Free Starbucks coffee, soda and snacks are available all day.
• A break room includes air hockey and lunch tournaments.
• 100% of the insurance is picked up by Microsoft for all employees.
• There are TV’s located in all of the hallways with photos of new employees…quite a nice touch welcoming new team members.
• Each employee is paid to volunteer for charities or groups in order to encourage employees to give back to the community.

You can see why the tour was outstanding.  Morale is not an issue and respect is honored in the workplace. What can you learn from Microsoft? How can you take some of their ideas in order to improve morale?

Here are a few Easy tips for you to use:

• Hold potluck dinners or lunches.
• Give a day off when an employee has perfect attendance.
• Give ½ day off to an employee who finds a new hire.
• Assign new people with a mentor.

These will all make a difference and you will see morale improve. I hope that you will see a difference at your workplace after using these tips.

Until next time, this is Joyce Weiss and remember, “You Get What You Tolerate!”

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Enjoy this short podcast on a Work Life Balance Definition

As a conflict resolution consultant and accountability coach I help my clients reduce conflict in the workplace to improve their working condition.

Here are a couple of questions for you…

• Do you have a culture of “we versus they” at work?
• Do you have people pointing fingers and blaming others?

If so…this article is just for you.

The following are a few ideas that I share in my facilitating programs:

• First of all bring together a small team that needs to work on Silo issues…to encourage cooperation and respect.
• Discuss ground rules such as turning off cell phones, no gossiping and speaking to each other with respect.
• Go around the table and discuss what each person appreciates about each other.

Make sure everyone participates in these activities. Once trust is developing…it is time to discuss what everyone needs from each other…guide the conversation so that people are being constructive.

If you don’t get the results that you envisioned it may be time to invite a trained facilitator to help you move forward.

I was hired to work with a board of directors on an executive retreat.  “We versus they” existed between the newer board members and veteran members. I helped them create a code of honor.

• The rules are made by the team on issues such as how to deal with side bars and tardiness.
• The Team calls each other out when rules are broken.
• Everyone has to play by the same rules.
• Positive confrontation is part of the code of honor.
• When someone breaks the code, members say, “This is not about me attacking you. This is about following the rules. We all agreed upon the code.”

I hope that this article will give you tips to help remove “we versus they” at your workplace. Our next article will give you tips how to improve morale.

Until next time, this is Joyce Weiss and remember, “You get what you tolerate!”

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