X, Y, Z: NAVIGATING GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES ON THE VETERINARY TEAM
JEANNINE MOGA, MA, MSW, LCSW Chief Happiness Officer, VETgirl, LLC
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In turn, the Xers are schooling this staff member (and other recent grads) in how to reason through complicated ethical dilemmas and navigate interdisciplinary systems -- skills born of many years in the trenches of primary care. Using a co-mentoring model, everyone has something to learn from everyone else – and people’s skills and experiences can be intentionally wielded to build collaborative relationships within the multi-generational team. Instead of engaging the stereotypes related to who is perpetually plugged in and who is too cynical to engage the Twitter feed, we can engage each person’s strengths and aptitudes to build the team most likely to succeed in an ever- evolving marketplace. 3 Beyond skills-building, though, the strongest and most productive teams will be the ones in which every person’s needs for trustworthy leadership, interpersonal respect, purpose-driven work, autonomy, and fair compensation are both understood and satisfied. It is these workplace qualities, after all, that most people value regardless of which generation they are a part of. And when the rubber hits the road, it is these qualities for
which all members of the veterinary team can advocate if we learn to press “pause” on stereotypes and automatic judgments. Additionally, practice owners/managers would do well to remember to communicate clearly (via face to face, email, and text messaging), set and explain consistent expectations, and explore new and/ or conflicting ideas through a lens of curiosity instead of judgment. Keeping these things in mind will help to moderate individual differences while also leaving plenty of space for innovation to emerge. 4 Remember: work teams are at their best when everyone can rise to meet the challenges of practice, and stereotypes only limit our ability to see others’ strengths. 1 Constanza, D., Badger, J., Fraser, R., Severt, J., & Gade, P. (2012). Generational differences in work-related attitudes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Psychology, 27: 375-394. 2 Zabel, K., Biermeier-Hanson, B., Baltes, B., Early, B., & Shepard, A. (2017). Generational differences in work-ethic: Fact or fiction? Journal of Business Psychology, 32: 301-315. 3 https://www.aarp.org/disrupt-aging/stories/ ideas/info-2016/generational-stereotypes- debunked.html
4 Partnership for 21st Century Learning. (2019). Framework for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved from http://www.battelleforkids.org/ networks/p21. 5 North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium (2011). Roadmap for Veterinary Medical Education in the 21st Century. Retrieved from https://www. aavmc.org/data/files/navmec/navmec_ roadmapreport_web_single.pdf. LEARN MORE
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