Understanding Generations in the Workplace

Happy Thanksgiving week! Earlier this month, Meagan’s ezine explored the idea of appreciation in its simplest form. We talked about the tiny gestures that make people feel seen.

Gestures like: 

• saying thank you, even when it seems obvious
• using someone’s name when you speak to them
• calling attention to effort, not just results
• noticing someone’s presence, not just productivity 

These are small actions, but they impact us deeply! And in many ways, they lay the foundation for something much bigger: gratitude. 

Appreciation and Gratitude: Similar but Not the Same

While they are similar, they aren’t the same. Appreciation is specific. Like a moment when you acknowledge a gesture, a kindness, or an effort. It happens in real time and points to something concrete: “Thank you for helping me when I was overwhelmed.” Gratitude is expansive! It’s the feeling that grows from many of those small moments woven together. It’s the larger sense of warmth, contentment, and perspective that builds over time: “I’m grateful to have people in my life who show up for me.” 

But both overlap and have a domino effect! When someone feels appreciated, they often become more grateful. When someone feels grateful, they tend to express more appreciation. They reinforce each other in a positive loop 🤗

Gratitude as a Larger Lens 

As the holiday season begins, gratitude becomes a wider way of seeing. It invites us to look beyond individual moments and into patterns, relationships, and meaning.

It might sound like: 

• recognizing the people who helped you through a challenging season
• feeling thankful for routines that bring comfort and stability
• noticing how much joy comes from small rituals
• appreciating the growth, strength, or healing that the year quietly held

And sometimes, it looks like grace. Grace for yourself. Grace for others. Grace for the year you’ve lived. 

Carrying Gratitude Ahead

While Thanksgiving gives gratitude a spotlight, the real impact comes from carrying it forward in everyday ways. That might mean slowing down enough to recognize a kind gesture, acknowledging someone’s effort before moving on, or pausing at the end of the day to name one good thing, however small. Invite gratitude to be more than a holiday idea!

Curiosity is Connection  

Summer is over, and fall is officially here! The fall equinox occurred on September 22nd around 2:20 pm EDT, marking a moment when day and night are perfectly balanced. The equinox is a brief, magical moment in the year when light and dark share equal space. Nature reminds us that balance is not a static state, but something we create and re-create every day.

As the world around us shifts, the Equinox offers a moment to reflect on the balance in our own lives: work and rest, giving and receiving, speaking and listening. It’s also a reminder to be curious about ourselves, about others, and about how we show up in a multigenerational world.

Curiosity Starts With You

Just like the equal split of day and night, personal growth requires balancing reflection with action. The Equinox invites us to pause and ask ourselves:

• Where am I thriving, and where am I stretched too thin?
• What habits or beliefs do I want to maintain, and which ones do I need to release?
• In what areas can I bring more curiosity to my daily life?

A simple ritual: take a few quiet minutes during sunrise or sunset to journal your thoughts. Watching the transition of light to dark (or dark to light) can help you connect with your own inner rhythms and create space for fresh insights.

Curiosity About Others

In our fast-paced lives, it’s easy to assume we know what others are thinking or feeling. The Fall Equinox reminds us to slow down and ask instead of assuming. Whether you’re talking with a friend, a family member, or a coworker, consider asking open-ended questions like:

• What’s something you’re excited about this season?
• What’s been challenging for you lately? Is there any way I can support you?
• How do you like to celebrate your wins and accomplishments?

When we replace judgment with curiosity, we create stronger connections and open the door to understanding perspectives we may have overlooked!

Curiosity in the Workplace

With five generations currently working side-by-side, differences in communication, priorities, and styles can lead to tension. But they can also spark creativity and innovation if we approach them with curiosity.

Instead of labeling coworkers with stereotypes like “Gen Z is glued to their phone” or “Boomers hate change,” ask questions to uncover their motivations:

• What’s most meaningful about this project for you?
• How did you first learn this skill, and in what ways has this skill impacted your career?
• What advice would you give someone just starting in this field?

The Fall Equinox of Curiosity and Compassion

The Fall Equinox is a fleeting moment, but its lesson is lasting: balance is created through awareness and intentionality! By embracing curiosity about ourselves, others, and our multigenerational world, we can turn this season into one of deeper connection and growth. Because when we balance curiosity with compassion, we create a world where everyone’s light has room to shine.

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” — Albert Einstein 

National Women’s Day is a great reminder to look around us and notice the talent, depth, and creativity sitting right beside us – across every generation.

As a multigenerational enthusiast (and proud humorist), I’ve learned that when five generations share a conference room, you don’t have a meeting, you have a superpower! The idea is turning “We’ve always done it this way” and “Why are we still doing it that way?” into a productive dance instead of a duel.

Collective Capacity 

Progress sticks when people feel seen, trusted, and part of something bigger than their job title. Relationships create the psychological safety that turns ideas into experiments and feedback into fuel. Community – the habits, rituals, and shared language we build together – keeps momentum through change and uncertainty. When we design for connection (think generous listening, clear credit for contributions, and consistent touchpoints), we turn individual effort into collective capacity. 

Five Trailblazers Who Modeled Collective Progress

Each of these leaders changed systems by inviting more people into the work – and into the win.

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) – Demonstrated that durable change is built case by case, coalition by coalition, until new norms feel inevitable.
• Katherine Johnson (1918-2020) – Proved that when organizations welcome overlooked brilliance, missions launch, and everyone’s horizon expands.
• Dolores Huerta (b. 1930) – Organized workers and communities, showing that policy shifts when everyday people move in the same direction.
• Wangari Maathai (1940-2021) – Linked environmental health to women’s leadership, planting a future where communities and ecosystems thrive together.
• Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997) – Reminds us that education multiplies opportunity across generations – and that courage is contagious.

From Intention to Practice

Hope is a strategy when we give it structure. Consider these future-forward moves to embed collaboration into everyday work:

• Design meetings for contribution. Share agendas early, rotate facilitation, and assign roles (initiator, challenger, synthesizer). Make contributions expected and equitable.
• Promote cross-generational mentoring. Pair experience with a fresh perspective; set quarterly learning goals that both partners report on. Using SMART goal metrics for reflection and progress check-ins! 
• Create transparent pathways. Publish criteria for projects and promotions. Track who gets access – and adjust until access is equitable by design.
• Consider quarterly “assumption audits.” Personal or work wise. Ask which customer, employee, or community assumptions no longer align with your mission. Invite voices from multiple generations to pressure-test the answers.
• Celebrate the hand-off. Recognize moments when one person’s expertise becomes another’s launching pad. Progress compounds when we honor the past, not just the finish.

Critical Connection

National Women’s Day isn’t just about honoring women’s achievements; it’s about practicing the behaviors that made those achievements possible. Behaviors like listening generously, sharing space, and building bridges that hold. When we connect across generations with curiosity and humor, we honor the women who paved the path for our future. 

“Movements are born of critical connections rather than critical mass.”

Grace Lee Boggs, American author, social activist, philosopher, and feminist