Generational gaps in the workplace are a challenge that will remain with businesses indefinitely.  As our life expectancy continues to rise, it will become status quo to have four distinct generations in the work force simultaneously as we do now, from the tail end of the WWII generation to the incoming millennials. 

Differences in age create divisions that can be more distinct than race or culture.  Or to put it another way, it’s likely that a Japanese teenager and an American teenager will have more in common then an American teenager and an American baby-boomer. 

Diverse mindsets and world views threaten serious organizational division potentially leading to a serious lack of knowledge transfer that is critical to long-term competitiveness and sustainability.

Many workplace barriers are created simply by stereotyping.  The older generations may assume that the millennials will only communicate via electronic methods while the youth may become may not bother including their elders seeing them as unwilling to new technology.  

Getting the group outside the work place to engage in some fun but facilitated team building activities can be invaluable.  All generations have the opportunity to communicate face-to-face.  Millennials can see the fun-loving, active side of their managers while the older generation adapts to viewing the millennials as peers in problem solving and competition.

A third party facilitator can solicit feedback and identify issues from an outsider’s perspective.  The facilitator will take in communication from all sides then translate, or re-state the messages in a way that it is understood by all participants.  Out of this effort, work-place goals and objectives will be established.