As many of us adjust to new hours and new patterns in the workplace – such as working from home – we might bump heads with other generations. Why does that Boomer in accounting insist on using the noisy adding machine when a spreadsheet will do the job more quickly and quietly? How annoying is the new Gen Z intern and all her Zoom meetings? How can we adapt to change in the workplace, especially if it is causing fear?
In her book Culture Shock: Surviving Five Generations in One Workplace, Dr. Joanna Dodd Massey explores these new realities. She is a C-level communications executive with a Ph.D. in Psychology and an MBA, and a generational expert who has spent more than 25 years working with and promoting, 18-to-34-year-olds. In Culture Shock, Dr. Massey deploys her humorous and candid writing style as she breaks the news to her cantankerous Gen X, Baby Boomer and Silent Generation colleagues that resistance is futile, that they need to change now or risk becoming irrelevant in the near future.
In addition, Dr. Massey does a deep dive into examining generational behavior (hint: it has to do with the era in which they were raised) and builds on Dale Carnegie’s methodology in How to Win Friends and Influence People when advising on these dynamics. She explains why human beings are hardwired to resist change, and she provides solutions for individuals and companies to help them adapt to the shifts that are happening.
