Many of you are aware of my passion for visiting various offices and assisting them in crafting environments that both employees desire to work in and customers find appealing. In fact, if you’re reading this there is a good chance I’ve been out to your office.
Before each visit, I send over a survey for everyone in the office to fill out. The results are “blind,” which means no one knows who said what. And the same theme comes up every time. See if you can pick it up in these 3 real responses:
“Sometimes it feels like there are certain staff members that get left behind or are not held accountable for their actions.”
“I feel like some of us have to work a lot harder to pick up the slack for some of the employees who cannot do certain appointments”
And this one’s my favorite:
“The less seasoned staff are not held to the same expectations as the senior staff (10+ years). They don’t care about the rest of the team and do not understand that we count on them as much as they do us.”
Spoiler alert: All of these complaints involve inter-generational disagreements.
This matches what I see when I go into these offices. The “youngs” aren’t getting along with the “olds.”
And until you do something about it, office productivity, culture and retention are going to suffer.
Veteran team members often perceive Gen Z and millennials as “flakey,” “lazy,” or “disinterested,” attributing these traits to potential disruptions in the office. Conversely, younger team members view the “older” generation, colloquially referred to as “Boomers,” as out of touch and overbearing. This dichotomy results in a perception of rudeness, with little interest shown in adapting to the more structured work habits preferred by other generations. Recognizing these patterns is crucial. Challenges arise in areas such as conflict resolution, providing and receiving constructive feedback, and overall interpersonal communication.
This emotional intelligence gap may lead to workplace difficulties, including a high turnover rate, decreased productivity, and employee dissatisfaction.
Younger employees perceive their jobs as integral to their identity, and their work patterns may differ significantly from what you are accustomed to. While this might initially seem acceptable, it carries the risk of escalating tension within your office, potentially leading to major arguments. Consider the prospect of urgently hiring replacements due to a shortage of 2 or 3 team members – perhaps this is a current reality for you. Proactively addressing these issues is far more advantageous, ensuring your office operates smoothly without the need for constant troubleshooting.
The good news is there are simple actions you can take to fix these arguments. Emotional intelligence training, role models, clear leadership, intentional feedback mechanisms, and a focus on a healthy work environment are often neglected. Change that… and you’ll have a high-functioning office in no time. After going into literally hundreds of offices and seeing the same problem every time, I’ve figured out some simple ways to resolve the patterns. And it’s been very successful.
You really have three choices. You can fire them and keep spinning the hiring roulette wheel. You can just accept this is how it is and continue in your frustrated state trying to manage the stress and anxiety. Or you can learn how to get the best out of them – and make EVERYONE in your office happy and productive each and every day.
It’s fair to say I have an expert understanding of the problem after tons of one-on-one sessions with Gen Z employees. However, there is only so much time in the day and I can’t visit every office to fix these issues myself. So I created EmpowerEQ: Harnessing Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace.
This course is designed to lead millennials and Gen Z to excellence, elevating office productivity and alleviating concerns about employee turnover. Imagine walking into an office where everyone gets along and is effective – a far superior scenario to daily conflict resolution.
As a business owner, your primary goal is likely to deliver quality goods or services, not to referee daily conflicts. EmpowerEQ has proven successful in teaching effective communication, conflict resolution, and overall emotional intelligence, allowing your team to implement these skills seamlessly without dedicated training days.
The course encompasses lessons unveiling each generation’s perspective, role-playing exercises for team alignment, and recommended podcasts and books for reinforcement. If your office experiences similar challenges, this course can prevent conflicts from tearing it apart, benefiting everyone dealing with cross-generational dynamics.
The difference between a chaotic office and one that thrives lies in how managers address these challenges. Unchecked disagreements can escalate into office wars, affecting productivity, customer satisfaction, and retention rates. If you resonate with the challenges outlined above, take a proactive step by enrolling your team in EmpowerEQ: Harnessing Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace today.