In late 1980, the girl is hanging out with friends, playing cards around a rectangular two-level coffee table. There are bowls of half-eaten chips, cans of soda and hamburger wrappers. A feathered roach clip rests on the table beside an amber-coloured ashtray packed with burnt tobacco, cigarette butts, and roaches from the hashish and marijuana they have consumed. A thin haze of smoke fills the room, and the curtains are closed. The room walls are painted red; the sun’s reflection hits the curtains and turns black. Bob Seger sings a song about a lonesome highway, and there is counting: 15 for 2, 15, 4, pair for 6. The conversation is inattentive and limited to “It’s your crib” and “Pass me that.” Her mouth is dry, and she has the occasional bout of paranoia that is easily overcome. It’s 2 pm, and she is in her pyjamas. She feels dull and slow-moving; she is burned out. She needs eight to ten hours of sleep and an orange.

It’s 2020, and the girl is sitting in an office in an 80-year-old heritage house. The room smells of antiseptic with undertones of artificial fragrance contained in soaps and cleaners. The room lacks balance with a mix of contemporary office meets IKEA dining. The pine chest and rocking chair in the corner have belonged to her for 32 years. A plush pink couch rests awkwardly against a stained-glass window. It doesn’t fit because it is rounded. The desk is laminate-rich brown with two computer monitors; the computer is pinging, the phone is ringing, and another one is buzzing; there is a continuous flow of crucial information. A surgical mask covering her dry, itchy face smells off, so she carefully replaces it while avoiding contamination.

If one were to look closely at her eyes, they would notice she is frantic. If they listened to her talk, they would hear she was having difficulty formulating a thought. Physical anxiety hits her at the slightest stressors, and she can’t escape the constant worrying. She listens to an endless loop of stories in her head, becoming paranoid as she fights back tears. She is mentally and emotionally exhausted and wonders if she has gone crazy. She is burned out. And without ten hours of sleep and a couple of 15-minute naps a day, she fears her body will eventually end up lying still anyway – in her bed, a hospital, or the morgue.

Burnout is real.

It is not a problem related to life management but an occupational syndrome caused by chronic stress (stress=pressure/resilience). Stress and pressure are often mistakenly used interchangeably but are very different. Stress is the internal response to external factors, and pressure is the external force of external factors. Stress is the body’s response to pressure caused by situations or life events. Pressure is the tension felt during moments perceived as uncertain and important. Pressure is not developed by stress; however, due to pressure, stress will develop.

Stress occurs when the point is reached where pressure has increased to the degree that resilience is damaged. Resilience is the ability to bounce back when experiencing stress. Pressure, stress, challenge and change are unavoidable; therefore, individuals need resilience to avoid being affected in pressure situations. Thus, resilience is central to well-being and is necessary to prevent burnout.

Generations at Work

Gen-Xes are the middle child, stuck in a time warp between Baby Boomers and millennials with very different life experiences and lifestyles; therefore, communication is often challenging. The generation gap includes different opinions, skills, values, attitudes, and beliefs. Millennials’ comfort with technology contradicts Gen-X and Boomer’s comfort with direct personal communication. The lack of desire to engage in verbal conversations could be exasperating for the older generation, especially at work. Boomers may adapt to changes slower but have valuable experience to pass down. They tend to be more loyal to their organization, whereas millennials are dedicated to what they’re working on.

For the first time in modern history, we have a multi-generational workforce, with employees spanning five generations simultaneously: Gen Z and millennials (the new generation), Gen X and Baby Boomers, and some members of the Traditional generation (the older generation).

What you say and how you say it is essential when communicating with today’s workers, and precautions must be taken with words used in person or electronically. Gen-Xes are blunt and direct, talking in short sound bites that can be misconstrued as aggressive and rude.

Advancing beliefs and practices have led to a cultural shift in leadership. The new generation of workers believes everyone is equal; they want to feel heard, be provided opportunities to give and receive regular feedback and be given opportunities for autonomy and creativity. Today’s generation of workers looks at leadership like a reverse pyramid. The workers make up the majority of the pyramid (millennials make up 33.2% of the workforce in Canada), and the leaders are at the bottom, or the base of the reverse pyramid. The boss supports the workers so they can work at their best.

The older generations look at the leadership of a team from a hierarchical structure with the boss on the top and the workers on the bottom. We are often driven by a need for authority, autonomy, and job security and have loyalty toward our work and supervisor. We believe in a power structure and a boss that symbolizes authority.

Generational upbringing and struggles define work ethic, goals, and job performance. There is a significant difference in how each generation expects to experience job satisfaction. For example, the older generation of workers tend to expect strict 9-to-5 office hours, and the new generation of workers insist on work-life balance, including teleconferencing, flexible work hours, and opportunities to relax. Today’s workers want a purposeful career with company-backed learning opportunities. The older generation of workers believe that nothing is free. They believe a corner office with a view is an achievement; the new workers don’t care as long as they have a laptop and unlimited Wi-Fi.

The details of cross-generational issues and ageism in the workplace may change, but every generation has complaints. A flexing communication strategy can improve cross-generational communication and improve communication. Flexing, or the temporary adjusting of a preferred style to the most comfortable style of another person, improves the conveying of messages. A flexing strategy includes being open to differences in verbal, non-verbal, written and visual communication preferences.

Uncovering others’ styles improves communication and builds rapport. In the changing multi-generational workforce, there is a need to close communication gaps by providing a flexible work environment, meeting communication preferences, creating a culture of belonging, giving and receiving feedback, and offering autonomy. Recognizing diversity will benefit the entire organization.

Understanding the impact of leadership language, what we choose to say, and how we say it has an effect on an organization’s morale and performance. Flexing strategies recognize that communication styles, including blind spots, unfavourable behaviours, and communication strengths, are just as important as conveying clear, concise, courteous, and complete messages. Flexible and diverse communication will reduce anxiety, build stronger relationships, increase productivity and reduce wasted time.

Finally, acknowledging and addressing generational communication challenges creates happier, healthier, and more productive workplaces.