Meagan Johnson - Generational Speaker

Solve Your Challenges and Bridge the Gap between Generations at Your Multigenerational Workforce

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Multi-Generational Tips for Working From Home

Learn some tips for working from home. Each generation is approaching the new “working situation” a bit differently.

My first job out of college back in 1993 was a little company called Quaker Oats. I was really excited to get this job but I was more excited to see the office space. I thought it’s going to be a big shiny building downtown. I’ll drive to work every day, maybe find someone to carpool with. I’ll wear professional clothes every day and my co-workers and I will go out for lunch.

Then… the hiring manager told me that in this job I’ll be working from home. In fact, the entire team worked from home! I thought “Who does that? I mean this is the early 90’s! Working from home was considered voodoo science.”

Now 25 plus years later, I still work from home! I love it and I don’t work for Quaker Oats anymore. But I love working from home.

Even today, some people are essential workers and are leaving their homes to go to work, but the majority of us are now working from home. According to White Pulse, greater than 60 percent of millennials are working from home.

Which Generation Likes Working from Home the Most?

Babyboomers? Gen Xers? Millennials? Gen z?

Generation X!

That’s my generation. People born between 1965 and 1980. We’re built for this! We were the latchkey kid generation. We’ve been working from home since day one. 50 percent of Gen Z and Millennials report they find it harder to avoid distractions while working from home.

This was true for me, especially when I first started working from home and started my business as a speaker. I would often allow myself to become distracted with personal projects like reorganizing my closet, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning out the laundry room… etc, because I felt a sense of satisfaction i got from getting something done.

The problem was I just avoided work projects that needed to be completed. I learned to ask myself if I worked a traditional job in an office, is this a task that I’d be doing during working hours? If the answer was NO, that meant I needed to stop what I was doing and get back on the projects that needed to be completed.

working from home

Tips on How to Make Working from Home Work

I have conducted a non-scientific multi-generational survey and asked for some tips on how to make working from home work, especially if this is a new experience for you.

So, the number one suggestion was to set up a designated space to work. I totally agree. For many years, I sort of worked from the dining room table. And sometimes I worked at a desk in my bedroom. I found myself becoming much more productive, once I had a designated space to work.

The second suggestion was to shower and get dressed for work, just like you’d get dressed to go into the office. I don’t relate to that one at all, as the benefit of working from home is that you don’t have to get dressed professionally. Everybody’s a little bit different. Do what works best for you.

The third suggestion is that you have to allow yourself some time for breaks. Get up and move around. Force yourself out of your workspace. My dogs do this for me. They let me know when it’s time for me to take a break.

Give Yourself Some Slack

If you don’t have dogs, make sure you are getting up and moving around. Take a walk with a friend. Give yourself some slack if you woke up at three in the morning because you couldn’t sleep. You opened up your computer and got some work done. Allow yourself a longer lunch hour. Allow yourself to quit work early during this uncertain time.

You don’t want work to take over your life. Remember your friends, your family, they are still out there waiting for the day they can connect with you. Even though we are still all wearing masks, keep on smiling because people see it in your eyes and they feel it in your heart.

The Generational Divide – Boomers, Gen X, Millennials

Is the generational divide even as wide as we sometimes think it is?

Age is one of the primary ways by which our society is divided and with this division comes certain stereotypes about each generation.

Generational Divide

I was interviewed on the podcast by Zale Mednick to help his audience better understand the context that shapes certain generational perspectives and to assist us in bridging the existing gaps.

Gen Z and the Impact of COVID 19

Gen Z, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials…

The impact of Covid-19 has spread across all the generations. The Impact on Generation Z (people born between 1997-2012), however, is a double-edged sword, both good and bad. Being younger, they will have a greater chance to survive the virus if they catch it than their older cohorts. On the other hand, because their careers are just beginning, they will suffer the fallout from the pandemic much longer.

The majority of Gen Z is finishing school now or in the first years of building their career. We often think of Millennials as the neophytes in the professional world but we would be mistaken. Many Millennials are in their 30’s, with families and multiple years in the working world under their belt.

Gen Z however, is just getting started. This means the freshman years of their professional lives will be plagued with record unemployment, layoffs and job attrition. Gen Z is getting hit with a double-whammy situation, downturn of the economy and a fast spreading virus with no play book to fall back on.

Gen Z’s lack of experience in situations like these makes companies’ behavior during this uncertain time even more vital. It would be easy to discount Gen Z’s perceptions during this time. They are new to the workforce and may be perceived as not having a voice in the “adult” world. With the current level of uncertainty in the corporate arena, it would be easy to dismiss their viewpoint.

That would be a mistake. It may seem hard to imagine now, but there will come a time when the economy changes and the skill set Generation Z brings to the marketplace will be in high demand. Just look at the Millennials, who, as young employees, faced terrible job prospects during the Great Recession of 2008 only to find their expertise in high demand less than 10 years later.

Additionally, Generation Z has already demonstrated they are a proactive generation. According to Girls With Impact Report, 65% of Gen Z rank “making a difference to a cause they care about” as a major priority. For example, frustrated by the older generation’s lack of attention to climate change, the combative political climate and the high cost of education and health-care, Gen Z popularized the meme OKBoomer.  The meme was a call out to the older generations and to their ignorance to the causes Gen Z supported.

What does this mean for organizations during this challenging time period?

Generation Z may not be working for you now but they are watching what you do and what you do matters. Generation Z wants to see leadership in the organizations they support. Just like Gen Z’s response to OK Boomer, Gen Z will not abide by an organization that does not respond appropriately during this health-care crisis. 

Here are some examples of companies doing small things to make a big impact during the pandemic that Generation Z respects:

Landsharks https://shoptheshark.com/ an independent clothing store in Saugatuck MI, hosts happy hour on Facebook Live. TitledHappy Hour with the Sharks, the husband and wife owners play a drinking game while giving away gift cards, promoting other Michigan independent stores and celebrating high school graduates who will not be able to have a traditional ceremony. The Happy Hours are highly interactive and hilarious to watch. You do not have to be a Michigan  resident to love what owner David Lokker is trying to do for his community.

Arizona restaurant’s Beckett’s Table, https://beckettstable.com/ and sister restaurant Southern Rail https://southernrailaz.com/ launched AZ Wines for AZ Frontlines. The program not only promotes small AZ wineries, it also recognizes an AZ Frontline Hero with a complimentary bottle of AZ wine. 

When the Claremont Club, http://www.claremontclub.com/, a Southern Californian fitness center, closed during shelter-in-place order, the CEO Mike Alpert asked the members if they would be willing to continue to pay their dues while the club was closed. With the members continuing to pay, employees could continue to receive their paycheck and healthcare benefits. Ninety percent of the members chose to continue to pay their dues. According to Alpert, it is about the people not the money.

Gen Z is not content to give their time and dedication to a company who is conscientious “light.” Gen Z however, wants to go deeper. They want to witness organizations take positive action during challenging times. They want employers to protect what matters and take care of the community. Gen Z will stand behind and support those organizations that excel at this during our time of chaos and crisis. 

Resources:

 2019/2020, Girls With Impact Report, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l1sA333bB406n0Grw4W7Mc6jGrErnOsm/view

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-business-owner-mike-alpert-fights-to-keep-employees-on-payroll-claremont-club/

Easy Cinco De Mayo Margarita

There are a vast variety of schools of thought when it comes to making the perfect margarita.

I have discovered however the EASIEST way to make a really good margarita. Emphasis on the word EASY and GOOD! The Margarita purists will argue that I am “cheating” with this margarita.

I will agree it is not a gourmet margarita. It is, however, the perfect margarita to make for your small stay at home celebratory group during Cinco De Mayo.