When you’re talking about a total of 151 million Americans, it’s tricky to make sweeping but accurate generalizations. And yet, that’s how many Americans fit into just two widely-recognized demographic groups: Baby Boomers, the 75 million people born between 1946 and 1964 and Millennials, the 76 million who came along between 1981 and 1997. Just as we can tell an LP record from an iPod, we’ve likely recognized common differences between Boomers and Millennials: How they typically work, communicate, balance job tasks and personal life, and what they expect for mentoring and promotions.
How can Boomers and Millennials work together without driving each other nuts? We recently turned to two New York architects to discuss their experience, proposed solutions, and general observations. This discussion resonates far beyond the design industry as it is applicable to the workforce of today and has implications for the workplace of tomorrow.
Our interviewees were Renaldo Pesson, associate partner at E4H Environments for Health Architecture, now in his third decade practicing interior architecture with a specialty in healthcare building design; and E4H architect Anne-Laure Cleeremans, who earned her master’s degree from La Cambre in Belgium in 2012 and has practiced for five years. They’ve collaborated on several projects and renovations, including the construction of 80,000 square feet of corporate offices and public spaces for a leading healthcare system in New York City. Through their comments, it was possible to determine five pointers on how Boomers and Millennials can get the most out of their work together in terms of the quality of their work, their career advancement, and even their personal enjoyment of the job:
