Aging and caregiving do not discriminate! It’s helpful to understand a bit about the different generations. The term “generations” is very broad, and encompasses concepts ranging from the literal birthdate range of a group of people, to the cultural similarities they seem to exhibit. 

Whether you find these concepts to be abstract or mere perception, let’s first define the word. The Center for Generational Kinetics defines a generation as “… a group of people born around the same time and raised around the same place. People in this birth cohort exhibit similar characteristics, preferences, and values over their lifetimes.”

The recognized modern generational divisions are as follows:

Traditionalists or Silent Generation – people born in 1945 and before

Baby Boomers – people born between 1946-1964

Generation X – people born between 1965-1976

Millennials or Gen Y – people born between 1977-1995

Generation Z or iGen or Centennials – people born between 1996-now

This chart (courtesy of wmfc.org) is quite useful in understanding the different generations. However, it’s important to understand, as with any cultural, social, or religious division, that these are broad generalizations about a group of people (otherwise known as stereotyping.)

If, however, you are interested in the attributes from a social/psychological perspective (or interested in training how to manage different generational cultures in the workplace), this is a great place to start.

Thanks to managementhelp.org and wmfc.org for these resources.