Today’s Generations: We Found Nine!

Today’s Canadian workplace may feature as many as five different generations, each with unique attitudes about life, living, and work. How can they work harmoniously under the same roof for 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year? How can one manager engage these often competing interests and diverse ways of approaching work and life? The answer is that it’s possible—though not easy—and your workplace will be the stronger for it. So who are all these strangers in the workplace? According to Nora Spinks, President and Founder of Work-Life Harmony Enterprises, an international research and consulting firm based in Toronto, there are actually nine generations in Canadian society, but with a few exceptions only five will be found in most workplaces. Ms. Spinks based her categories on social, political, economic and technological factors.