Why is Workplace Culture so Hard Right Now?
Earlier this month, I facilitated a conversation on firm culture at Architecture Exchange East at AIA Virginia. As I was prepping for the presentation, the call was to talk about how firms can recuperate from the last three years. I started with this quote from Socrates, "The secret to change is not to focus all of your energy on fighting the old but on building the new." Folks - I think this is where we are right now. We know that change is inevitable - all we have to do is look to the skyline to see the change of leaves from green to colors to gone and back again.
But, I want to say this - Impacts on workplace culture have not been this dramatic in almost a century. Seriously, it isn't since World War II that we have had the long list of colliding issues at play - COVID-19, Racial Reckoning, The Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting, Hybrid Work, Political Polarization, and now high inflation. If you look at any one of those items in a vacuum, it would be a thing to maneuver around, but all of them colliding at the same time is creating a recipe for instability.
One of the major issues at play right now is the generational divides present in the workplace. Marketing folks have studied generational values and norms for years, but we haven't had 5, or at least 4 generations present actively in the workforce at the same time before, and there are rubs and cultural differences and values differences. The generational cohorts are not very tolerant of each other. I'm planning a series of blogs about generational differences, but as you can see in the chart below - ½ of the population of the US is 40 or under and their experience of the world, what they desire from work, and the tolerance they have is very different from other generations.
Last night we saw the very first Generation Z candidate elected and the oldest Millenial turned 40 this year. It is likely time for your office to spend some time thinking about your culture, rules, and expectations. Interested in reading more - I like to use the Pew Charitable Trust Generational Definitions as a base starting place.
