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The Great Divide: Leading Five Generations in the Workplace

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I. The Organizational Cost of The Great Divide

The workplace today is complex: rapid-changing technology, a mix of remote and office work, and up to five different age groups in collaboration. All these factors create a huge emotional gap in companies-what we call “The Great Divide”. This division makes mutual understanding difficult, hurts team chemistry, and ultimately stops organizations from reaching their goals. Addressing The Great Divide is not just about culture; it’s a critical business priority. Fixing this emotional barrier is not just about culture; it’s a critical business priority-one that has major implications for your revenue and the future of your company. (1)

When Cultural Friction Becomes a Balance Sheet Crisis

The emotional friction from The Great Divide causes immediate business problems. Recent research shows that average employee engagement rates are only around 33%. This low number signals wasted potential and productivity loss. When employees are mentally checked out, they are much more likely to quit. High staff turnover translates quickly into huge financial burdens. Replacing just one worker can cost from half to four times that employee’s annual salary. This cost includes clear expenses (hiring, training) and hidden “soft” costs, like the major time managers spend supporting the hiring process. (2)

For instance, replacing a mid-level employee earning $60,000 can cost the company over $180,000, factoring in lost company knowledge. High turnover is a critical profit-and-loss crisis. The conflict fueled by The Great Divide—stemming from poor management, misunderstandings and lack of growth—is the root cause. Investing in Emotional Intelligence (EQ) training and flexible leadership is therefore a high-impact strategy to protect the company’s financials.

The Rally Imperative: Action Over Analysis Paralysis

When organizations are overwhelmed by complexity, many freeze, trying to find the perfect action. It’s in this inertia that friction takes hold and allows The Great Divide to deepen. The solution is the Rally Mentality-your inner coach and motivational anthem. This is the decision to stop talking about problems and surge forward with focused, honest action. It requires energy and motion, realizing that resilience is created in the organized comeback.

By focusing on “micro-wins” rather than total fixes or “analysis paralysis,” leaders take ownership and create an unshakeable mindset. This mindset demands that managers treat internal battles, like generational conflict, as solvable problems that require immediate, EQ-driven action. (3)

The Great Divide

II. The Five-Generation Blueprint: Decoding Values and Non-Negotiables

Great leadership calls for an understanding of the intrinsic motivations, values and non-negotiable expectations within each of the five generations. This is a call for better understanding and adaptable Emotional Intelligence.

Foundational Generations: Traditionalists and Baby Boomers (The Duty Cohorts)

The oldest generations in the workplace prioritize duty and stability. Traditionalists (born 1925–1945) value dependability, loyalty, and respect. They are motivated by recognition that honors long-term commitment and prefer personal, tactful communication, sometimes handwritten. Their worldview values hierarchy and loyalty.

Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964) are optimistic, competitive, and workaholic, also prioritizing company loyalty. They believe success requires sacrifice and long hours. Baby Boomers are self-motivated, with salary and career excellence being key drivers. Critically, they dislike unsolicited feedback and may react poorly to negative input. Communication is typically efficient, favoring phone or face-to-face talks. (4) 

The Transition Generations: Gen X and Millennials (The Autonomy and Purpose Cohorts)

These groups value personal growth, flexibility, and organizational purpose. Generation X (born 1965–1980) is independent, skeptical, and flexible. They put work–life balance first and are interested in what benefits them, not just the company. Gen X get the message across effectively and to the point, and they will leave fast if their needs are not met by the employer. (5) 

Millennials (born 1981–1996) are currently the biggest group in the workforce. They look at work to include purpose, values, and transparency. Millennials need flexibility and lifelong learning. The most important thing to them is transparency about career advancement and how to grow with the company. They need a clear track or roadmap of career progression. Millennials need independence, mentorship, and cross-functional skill development. (6)

 

The Pivot Point: Generation Z in the Spotlight (The Transparency and Stability Cohort)

Gen Z, born 1997–2012, carries with it the highest modern demand for Emotional Intelligence. Non-Negotiable Expectations: The Gen Z population wants complete transparency and ethical leadership. They value emotional stability, meaning they ask for sustainable schedules and respect in regard to their well-being since they are the age group most likely to report mental health issues. 

Feedback Structure: Instead of traditional hierarchy, they prefer a collaborative structure. They want frequent constructive feedback instead of slow annual reviews. All input has to be easy to access via technological solutions, such as mobile-first systems and collaboration apps, if they are to be kept satisfied. (6)

The Inherent Workplace Conflict Demanding EQ

The generational blueprint shows one big contradiction. Boomers, raised on loyalty and duty, often resist surprise feedback. This inherent conflict is at the heart of The Great Divide in today’s workplaces. Gen Z, on the other hand, craves stability and expects real-time feedback, all the time. It’s no wonder universal systems fall short — they don’t meet people where they are.

That’s where Emotional Intelligence comes in. High EQ helps leaders read the room, adapt their approach, and communicate in a way that connects — not clashes. It’s about knowing when to “code-switch”, the practice of changing how you communicate to fit a different social context. By doing this, everyone feels seen, heard, and motivated.

Using the right tech can back this up. Mobile-first tools and AI can deliver personalized, in-the-moment feedback. But it still takes emotionally intelligent leaders to interpret what people really need — and then build strategies that deliver it.

The Great Divide

III. The EQ Edge: 7 Rally-Forward Strategies to Lead a Multi-Generational Workforce

Emotional Intelligence (or EQ) is a trainable leadership skill of strategic importance in managing people across generational lines. These seven strategies are actionable steps that show how leaders can use EQ to bridge The Great Divide and start your organizational rally to improve communication, relationships and productivity. 

1. Shift from Annual Reviews to Real-Time Coaching: EQ Focus: Social Skills & Self-Awareness

Annual performance reviews are passé for continuous development-seeking Millennials and Gen Z. Anxiety mounts as feedback is delayed, which hastens turnover. The Rally Action is to implement continuous, frequent feedback loops. 

Leaders will need to use EQ to focus this input on constructive, immediate “micro-wins.” Technology, using AI analysis, helps tailor personalized feedback, transforming performance management into sustained, real-time mentorship.

2. Institutionalize Transparent Progression: EQ Focus: Empathy & Internal Motivation

A major risk factor, especially among younger workers, is a lack of a clear path for advancement. Hazy promotion rules are seen as a leadership failure and a reason for talent to leave. Leaders have to show empathy and recognize that stagnation is a fear. 

The Rally Action: Drive skills-first career programs to clearly map lateral moves, upskilling opportunities, and the specific metrics needed for promotion. Millennials value transparency most when it comes to knowing where they stand regarding career progress. Clarity of policies, given early, provide stability to retain people. (7)

3. Lead by Modeling Vulnerability, Not Perfection: EQ Focus: Self-Regulation & Trust

Strict, top-down authority damages the trust Gen Z demands. Leaders must bridge this gap by showing humanity and self-awareness. The Rally Action dictates that leaders intentionally model vulnerability to build trust and psychological safety. This means openly sharing hard-won lessons and acknowledging mistakes, turning setbacks into chances for improved relationships. This requires high self-control. While a follower’s mistake is often forgiven, a leader’s inappropriate response, after claiming vulnerability, can devastate team trust, requiring competence alongside emotional transparency. (8)

The Great Divide

 

4. Learn the Art of Generational Code-Switching: EQ Focus: Social Skills & Empathy

Exacerbated by radically different generational norms, such as handwritten notes versus instant messaging, miscommunication is the root of The Great Divide.5 It means leaders need to employ EQ to enhance their capability to craft messages based on the recipient’s age group. 

The Rally Action is to practice “code-switching” actively. It means adapting the medium of communication-the phone call for a Boomer versus collaboration apps for Gen Z-and the motivational vernacular. Recognition for Traditionalists should be oriented to tenure; for Millennials, it should relate to purpose and skill development. This adaptive behavior causes a greatly reduced internal friction.

5. Turn Conflict into Cohesion: EQ Focus: Conflict Resolution & Self-Regulation

Work-style differences, especially friction around hybrid structures, are a leading cause of conflict. Emotionally intelligent leaders employ empathy and self-regulation to dampen tensions and create an inclusive environment. 

The Rally Action is a form of behavioral mediation: coaching employees to recognize the positive intent behind different work styles and using conflicts as opportunities to reinstate mutual respect. Once leaders understand the motivations underlying the behavior of each generation, misunderstandings can be turned into greater team cohesion.

6. Define and Celebrate Micro-Wins: EQ Focus: Momentum & Motivation

While facing complex challenges—such as integration of AI in systems-can, in fact, lead to organizational slowdowns. The Rally Action is to concentrate on small, intentional actions—micro-wins, as taught by the Rally Mentality. Defining those small wins with the help of their EQ and celebrating them authentically and frequently are a must for leaders. Such constant infusions of energy are explicitly appreciated by Millennials and Gen Z. Bonus–this approach provides the motivational momentum necessary for all generations to keep a long rally going. (9)

7. Define the ‘Why’ for Ethical Alignment: EQ Focus: Purpose & Empathy

Younger generations seek that their careers align with their values, and this requires ethical leadership and transparency. The Rally Action is to communicate the “why” in advance of decisions, while framing corporate strategy through an ethical lens. Leaders should connect the daily activities to the purpose of the company by using empathy, promoting wellbeing and recognizing that career development and mental health are interconnected. 

This focus on ethical alignment speaks directly to the socially conscious frame of mind of the younger, retention-critical groups.

The Great Divide

IV. EQ in the Age of AI: Converting Human Fear into Organizational Trust

The next great hurdle is the successful integration of Artificial Intelligence. Whereas AI could deliver an additional $13 trillion in global economic activity by 2030, this shift comes with huge uncertainty and distrust among workers. Emotional Intelligence is the critical tool for managing the human risks of this change. It serves as a crucial bridge over The Great Divide that AI integration can create. (10)

The Dual Challenge: Technical Governance Meets Human Uncertainty

AI governance platforms are designed as technical systems for managing compliance, ethics, and accountability in the use of AI. They protect against technical risks like algorithmic bias. 

However, at the same time, complex AI introduces a major layer of human risk. Employees are scared because this may mean job displacement, with repetitive roles becoming automated. 

Unless the leadership is empathetic, this uncertainty leads to organizational resistance and erosion of trust. Without efforts to manage human risk in parallel, technical risk mitigation cannot be successful. (11)

The Strategic Imperative: EQ as the Firewall Against Distrust

Emotional Intelligence is the essential firewall against organizational distrust. Open decision-making and explaining how AI works are vital for trust. Leaders must use high empathy to acknowledge employee fears and openly communicate the AI strategy, framing it as augmentation (making jobs better) rather than replacement. (12)

The Rally Action is for senior leadership to create a culture of open communication around AI use and actively develop internal policies and employee AI governance training. This effort shifts focus from managing the abstract regulatory risk of the algorithm to lessening the very real human risk of anxiety and resistance. By addressing uncertainty transparently, EQ leadership becomes a critical part of risk management and business continuity. (13)

The Rally Forward with AI: Elevating Human Skills

To maintain momentum, leaders need to paint a compelling vision in which human talent is augmented, not replaced. They have to explain that AI cannot replicate key human competencies such as Emotional Intelligence, creative thinking, complex negotiation, and highly adaptive social skills.  

The role of the manager is now fundamentally different. When AI performs routine analysis, the manager’s role becomes little more than an Emotional Steward-whose primary job is to maintain psychological safety, referee conflict, and put words to often-complex change that drives human-centric growth. Reframing EQ as the ultimate competitive advantage turns fear of obsolescence into motivational energy, positioning the organization to capture the economic uplift promised by AI adoption. 

The Great Divide

V. Summary and The Next Rally Action 

Leading a hybrid, multi-generational workforce augmented by AI is the defining test going into 2026. “The Great Divide” is the core barrier: the costly emotional gap from friction and uncertainty. Having a refreshed mindset-the Rally Mentality-driven by measurable, teachable Emotional Intelligence is the solution. 

The Rally Mentality enveloped with EQ delivers three strategic must-haves: 

  • Financial Retention: EQ directly reduces the high financial losses resulting from staff turnover by ensuring clear career prospects and regular coaching. 
  • Generational Cohesion: EQ bridges the demands of the five generations through “code-switching” and empathetic conflict resolution, turning friction into productivity.
  • Technological Trust: EQ manages the human risk of AI deployment through modeling vulnerability and communicating openly, changing employee fear into motivational energy. 

Your Turn: Start the Rally 

Don’t let team friction reach a state of crisis. Leaders can rally their teams right away by selecting one of these seven pragmatic EQ strategies and putting it into practice. Additionally, leaders who are looking for frameworks to translate this EQ Edge into measurable corporate performance can find specialized programs on how to define and defeat limitations in pursuit of higher success. Consider programs such as “Across the Great Divide” on building bridges across generations internally with employees or externally with client prospecting. Leaders willing to create an unshakeable attitude will find material focused on seizing deliberate action to move teams forward in a specific desired direction.

📩 Get in touch: Shannon@ShannonMcKain.com 
🌐 Learn more: www.ShannonMcKain.com 
📱 Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonmckain/

AI won't replace Human Interactions

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shannon McKain is a motivational keynote speaker and a business consultant based in Dallas. She has worked in nearly all 50 states with audiences ranging from corporate executives to student leaders. Looking for a keynote speaker or consultant who can speak on these issues with expertise? Let’s chat! 

Loneliness is the Latest Epidemic

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A few days ago, the U.S. Surgeon General reported a new epidemic that’s been tearing through our country — loneliness.

When we think about an epidemic, it’s often regarding widespread infectious diseases that ignite panic, cause casualties, and trigger governmental response. 

But what the Surgeon General is calling an “under appreciated public health crisis” affects about half of all U.S. people. The alarmingly progressive cases of loneliness have not been previously dealt with at this level but continue to pose extreme and deadly health risks to all of us. 

When I saw the recent headline, my heart immediately sank. Silently, I didn’t want to admit it. But, truthfully, have you (or anyone you know) felt “lonely” at any point in the last few years? 

Yeah. Me too.

Mulling this over, I knew I needed to write about it. Connection and psychological safety have always been of the utmost importance to me, not just personally, but also professionally. In order to create the best workplaces in the world, our offices must foster an environment that allows every employee to feel connected, safe and included. And if we aren’t doing that, humans aren’t able to offer their best work. 

Here are some key takeaways from the longer report: 

  • Humans are wired for social connection, but we’ve become more isolated over time. 
  • Social connection significantly improves the health and well-being of all individuals. 
  • Social connection is vital to community health and success.

We all have a role to play in fostering social connection. So, what can you do to play your part personally or professionally?

How to Fight Loneliness in the Workplace

  • Foster a culture of inclusivity: Take uncharted measures to ensure each team member feels welcomed, valued, and heard. Create lines for open communication and aspire for diverse perspectives. 
  • Create socially interactive opportunities: Provide ways for team members to socialize and connect beyond work-related tasks. This may include team-building activities, happy hours, volunteer days, and other creative activities.
  • Take the time to celebrate: Recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of teams and individuals show that even small wins count and have a big effect in the larger picture.
  • Provide support for mental health: Offer resources and other means of support for team members who may be struggling with mental health issues. This can include access to mental health professionals, employee assistance programs, or other resources.
  • Prioritize empathy: By showing empathy for team members who may be struggling at work or beyond. Simply listening is the first step in showing care and support.
Loneliness is the Latest Epidemic

How to Fight Loneliness in Your Personal Life

  • Don’t wait, reach out:  To overcome feelings of loneliness or help somebody who may harbor such feelings, it’s best to reach out instead of being reached out to for conversation. Even a few minutes of conversation can help people feel more connected. 
  • Join a group or a club: Finding like-minded people in groups or clubs is a great way to synergize creative interests. Taking the step to join might provide the right opportunity to meet new people and make meaningful connections.
  • Practice self-care: Self-care takes many forms both physically and mentally. This may include exercise, eating well, sleeping long enough, and practicing mindfulness. But the first step in successful self-care is allowing yourself to do it. 
  • Seek professional help: If you’re struggling with persistent feelings of loneliness, isolationism, or depression, consider seeking help from a mental health care professional.

As always, I’m cheering you on. If you found this blog post helpful, please forward it on to anyone you think needs to hear it. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shannon McKain is a motivational keynote speaker and a business consultant based in Dallas, TX. She has worked in almost all 50 states with audiences ranging from corporate executives to student leaders.

Looking for a keynote speaker or consultant who can speak on these issues with expertise? Let’s chat!

Workplace Culture Issues in 2023

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Recently Radio Host David Rancken from KRLD NewsRadio 1080 in Dallas contacted me about doing an interview on Workplace Culture trends in 2023. His questions and my answers follow.

David Rancken:

How’s the job market in your industry right now? This year started out with some of the lowest unemployment numbers in decades, and there seems to be no end in sight to the great resignation of 2022, but there are still a lot of issues dealing with the workspace these days. On today’s “Ask the Expert”, we are talking to Shannon McKain, a workplace culture expert as well as motivational speaker, and she is in the KRLD Zoom Room. Shannon, thank you so much for the time!

Shannon McKain:

David, thank you so much for having me back on KRLD again!

David Rancken:

When you’re giving out your talks, you talk about something called The Great Divide in the workplace. What is that?

Shannon McKain:

I’m so passionate about people having professional lives and personal lives that they absolutely love, and frankly, for most of us, we have to spend a fair amount of our time in the workplace. But unfortunately for the last decade or so, we have been so divided in so many key areas, I feel strongly that we are focusing too much on those divides and not enough on what actually brings us together.

David Rancken:

And the whole thing is this divide that you speak of. It’s not just in the workplace. It’s literally the entire nation is divided in some fashion. What is it about people that makes us so divisive?

Shannon McKain:

Golly, that could be a whole segment in and of itself, but I think particularly today, we are just so riled up because we have so much information at our fingertips, and people are empowered now more than ever to be able to assert their opinions, feelings, or emotions about something. And that’s valid. People should be able to have that opportunity. However, we’re not doing it in constructive ways where we can still continue to be pulled together on issues, especially when it comes to workplace culture.

David Rancken:

What do you see are the biggest workplace culture trends into 2023? As we are really just into the birth of this new year.

Shannon McKain:

We’ve been through so much in the last three years. Because of that, I think today we’re seeing more burnout, fatigue, confusion, anxiety, and more mental health issues than ever before. So I think when you talk about the last three years and all we’ve experienced, essentially we disrupted the apple cart in every particular sense. Humans need stability. We really do need parameters to do our best work in life. So when all of that got disrupted these last three years, it’s leaving us with a lot of confusion coming out of it. We need to focus on creating workplace culture that not only provides structure, but is healthy for employees.

David Rancken:

One thing we had seen for the last couple of years has been given the nickname, the Great Resignation, where people found other jobs in other places, but that’s also getting followed by what they’re calling the Great Regret, where they look back and say, it’s not so great on the other side.

Shannon McKain:

The workplace issues we’re seeing today have really become a PhD level of how do we solve this equation. So yeah, I think employees are definitely saying, we want something different but we aren’t necessarily finding what we need.

David Rancken:

It really isn’t. And they didn’t know what to expect when they went into the great unknown of the new company. And what they did end up losing was any seniority they had at their old place. And they might be finding this company that I just joined, I might be making a little more money, but is that extra money worth it?

Shannon McKain:

Yeah, absolutely. And in the 20+ years that I’ve been really analyzing workplace culture and issues, people think that they are motivated by money, but really at the end of the day, we are motivated by so many other facets.

For example, right now we are seeing younger millennials and particularly Gen Z not being motivated in the traditional senses whatsoever, whereas career trajectory, hierarchy, getting promotions, or the fear of being laid off, aren’t even on
Gen Z’s radar right now. They’re motivated in completely different ways.

David Rancken:

But they haven’t seen what it’s like on the other side when unemployment numbers up upwards of 12, 13, even upwards of 20% in previous decades.

Shannon McKain:

Yeah, absolutely. And I think this next year we are still looking at a lot of uncertainty, especially with a pending recession and the layoffs that we are currently seeing and will potentially see here within the next few months.

David Rancken:

And a lot of people had you talk about layoffs, a lot of people had interest in getting into the tech sector because it seemed like it’s a lot of fun in all the perks that Google and Facebook were providing, and the layoffs are really hitting the tech sector very hard at this point.

Shannon McKain:

Yeah, if you jump on LinkedIn on any given day, you see announcement after announcement of another layoff. And frankly, I don’t think that that’s doing anything for our mental health either.

David Rancken:

Let’s talk about LinkedIn for just a second. You brought it up. That gives younger employees a chance to find new work, something that older employees really never had before. In the old days, they had to stick and look through the want ads and on and through networking and everything else. How big of a sea change has LinkedIn been?

Shannon McKain:

I’ve watched LinkedIn from its inception. It’s been another great tool to not only leverage our networks, but also communicate professionally. I wish younger generations would understand that and leverage it to its fullest potential. The way we communicate, write, and put our information out there is being utilized in really great ways on LinkedIn right now.

David Rancken:

What are people missing out in not using LinkedIn?

Shannon McKain:

Constantly reevaluating our profiles, updating them, thinking about how can we promote ourselves. The idea of a personal brand and self-promotion is a very real thing. Gary Vanerchuk talks a lot about day trading our time as currency right now. Everybody’s constantly trying to stay relevant and stay in front of other people. LinkedIn is no different for your personal brand.

You have to continually think about what do I need to add to my brand? What do I need to communicate and put out there professionally? And then also being able to communicate with others and really have a discussion or a dialogue. Contributing to different conversations across the platform or following different hashtags, or again, just keeping people up to date with what you’re doing.

David Rancken:

That’s got to be tough for older workers that don’t necessarily know how to use LinkedIn properly, what steps would you tell someone that is an older person that hasn’t necessarily used it?

Shannon McKain:

I think the first thing you can do is think of Google as your best friend. You can Google and research anything today. So if you have a question about how to get started on LinkedIn, I’m sure that there’s 25 different videos on YouTube or Google to teach you how to do that.

But from a fundamental standpoint, think about how you have your physical real estate, say your home, your apartment, your townhome, wherever i you live, but also think about your digital real estate and being able to put all of your information professionally in one place that everyone can find it. So recruiters can search for you, that you’re using the right keywords and metrics to be able to say, okay, who I want to connect with professionally. And then also just being able to create status updates and just saying, Hey, here’s going on with me week-to-week or day-to-day.

David Rancken:

I guess that’s, it’s basically turning yourself, as you said, into your own brand that has to get the message out there about what it is you are and what it is you do, and how do you get that message out to followers and how do you find those followers?

Shannon McKain:

There’s a fella by the name of Richard Bliss doing a lot of education right now around the proper ways to use LinkedIn and how to optimize getting your information out there and what your reach is. Just with anything else online right now, we’re subjected to the algorithms that the parent companies want us to adhere to. It can be very cumbersome for listeners right now. I don’t want to get too into the weeds on that particularly, but just thinking about professionally, how do you write and articulate a couple of important sentences about what’s going on with you and where you’re at in your career? And then of course, engaging and connecting with folks, it’ll just continue to build a bigger reach.

David Rancken:

We were talking earlier about Gen Z and younger millennials. They don’t seem to have the same attitudes towards a workplace as older workers.

Shannon McKain:

Absolutely not. As a keynote speaker, I talk about all areas of workplace culture and workplace issues. And one of the key areas is different generations and how they are motivated, how they communicate, and what they value. Particularly with Gen Z right now, we’re not seeing them motivated in the traditional ways whatsoever.

Historically, generations were very motivated by terms of seniority, hierarchy, and working their way up the corporate ladder. But Gen Z is just simply not wanting to do that. They see that as a very stressful move, and they’re willing to forego the extra income or the additional perks of getting into middle management or climbing the ladder for what they perceive to be a better work-life balance, maybe perhaps being able to have more flexibility and just staying where they’re at. And they’re also not motivated at all by the fear of being terminated. So when you look at the psychology of this generation, we have to tackle it in a completely different way than we have with any other generation.

David Rancken:

But how does that affect the companies themselves as they’re looking to replace workers and they’re finding out that the workers that they’re hiring don’t care if they’re there or not?

Shannon McKain:

So the biggest component for management and employers is to first understand to achieve excellent workplace culture, they have to understand the psychology of employees. Then they can address how to meet employees needs. For example, right now we’re seeing that the number one motivating factor, across the board, in every area of employment is that employees just simply want to feel safe. They want to feel psychologically safe; they want to feel like they can speak up or contribute without the fear of being reprimanded. And they want to understand that their employer trusts them, especially when we’re still working in a hybrid environment and don’t really want to work the traditional nine-to-five anymore.

And so employees want their employers to be able to trust them that they’re going to get the work done and they’re being productive, even if it’s not at the right place or the right time, nine to five, if that makes sense.

David Rancken:

Yeah, it does make sense. And you talk about other issues because we, we’ve seen it in school districts, we’ve seen it in other offices. A lot of companies are looking to stand out among possible job applicants, and one of those involves something like a four-day workweek. Is that going to become more normal in the near future?

Shannon McKain:

It’s a very interesting climate that we’re looking at right now. The four-day work week that we’re seeing, as you had mentioned in education and also in corporate America. That’s kind of a two-part thing that we’re seeing right now. One in part because of labor shortages and education in schools across America, we’re just simply not seeing teachers wanting to come to work and teach. And so that’s been a really huge issue. We’re seeing that in terms of labor shortages, but then we’re also seeing it in terms of the demand of the psychological needs of workers today.

What people don’t remember or understand or maybe have forgotten that the five-day workplace hasn’t always been that way. In fact, it didn’t actually get implemented in corporate America until 1926 when Ford Motor Company actually adopted that particular work schedule.

Prior to 1926, we were looking at labor as very strenuous and hard labor types of careers and jobs, and the expectation was that workers had to work six to seven days a week, even 10, 12, 14+ hours a day. And then in 1926, Ford Motor Company said, I don’t think that this is where the future of work needs to go. And they implemented this five-day work week, nine to five, and everybody gasped and said, oh my gosh, this is crazy. But it worked and productivity went through the roof. We did that for a century, and now we’re seeing the apple cart gets turned upside down again. I think it’ll be really interesting to see what happens in these next couple of years with the four-day work week.

David Rancken:

Do you see companies looking towards older workers to take on some of these jobs that the Gen Z and millennials might not. Or are older workers kind of being left out in this great surge of hiring?

Shannon McKain:

I think older generations are certainly at a crossroads right now trying to understand their place in navigating all of this. I think in general; employees are being asked to do all different kinds of tasks that are putting them outside of their comfort zones. Older generations need to ask themselves what they have to do in order to continue their career until they can successfully retire.

David Rancken:

One of the phrases that came out, and this will probably be the last question we talk about, is the phrase that came out in the last year was the phrase quiet quitting, where people decided, I’m going to do my job to the best of my ability. I’m not taking on anything extra. Is that still the case? Or companies saying, okay, just do your job and we’ll hang on to you?

Shannon McKain:

We have all these fancy terms that we’re coming up with these days. I think if you really look at the evolution of the workplace in general, you’re always going to have those workers that want to continue to push and do everything to impress their managers. And then you’re also going to have the workers that are going to say, this is what I was hired to do, so, therefore, I’m going to get that done and then go home.

So from a “Quiet Quitting” standpoint, companies are just trying to do whatever they can right now to make things be successful. At the end of the day, I think we all need to ask ourselves, what are we doing to meet in the middle to be able to make our workplace culture more productive and successful?

David Rancken:

Shannon McKain is a workplace culture expert and motivational speaker. You can find her at www.shannonmckain.com on today’s ask the expert. Shannon, thank you.

Shannon McKain:

Thank you so much, David, and I hope this helps your listeners today!

About The Author

Shannon McKain is a motivational keynote speaker and a business consultant based in Dallas, TX. She has worked in almost all 50 states with audiences ranging from corporate executives to student leaders.

Looking for a keynote speaker or consultant who can speak on these issues with expertise? Let’s chat!