Monday, April 14, 2025

Four Generations, One Workforce

Members employed by Save-On-Foods share what it’s like having baby boomers, generation X, millennials, and generation Z work alongside each other

By Lucy Lantz

Gen Z – 2001 to 2020

Millennials – 1981 to 2000

Gen X – 1965 to 1980

Baby Boomers – 1946 to 1964

JERRY SHAW IS 69 YEARS OLD, lives in Edmonton, and was a policeman with the Edmonton Police Service for 36 years.

Arishnavie Rajeevan is 21, lives in Winnipeg, and is about to graduate from the University of Manitoba with a degree in economics. Jerry and Arishnavie do not appear to have much in common. But they share one major thing: they both work at Save-On-Foods.

Save-On-Foods, a grocery store chain in western Canada, employs over 4,000 Local 301 and 306 members in Alberta and Manitoba. What is unique about these stores is that in any store you walk into, you might be served by someone who is in their 60s or someone who is 16. Individuals from four generations work side by side, bringing different purposes, perspectives, and skill sets to the grocery store environment.

Multiple generations working together in one workplace is complex. It is not always easy to understand people who grew up in a different world than your own. We are drawn to people similar to ourselves and can be quick to dismiss those who don’t share our experiences.

In a workplace setting, different generations will differ on their motivations for working, their communication styles, and their overall worldviews. Diversity in age and generation can be a strengthening factor, leading to innovation and empathy. But it can also be a challenge.

What does it look like at Save-On-Foods?

A few members were generous enough to speak candidly with me about their experiences working alongside different generations. I interviewed two baby boomers, two members of generation X, two millennials, and one member from generation Z. When put together, their comments paint a broad picture of the frustrations and the joys of working alongside coworkers from other generations.

JERRY IS A BABY BOOMER. He started his job at Save-On-Foods in Edmonton at the Oxford location after he retired from the police force. He loves the work and values the face-to-face interactions he gets with customers every day.

“You’re dealing with real people,” he tells me. “You’re helping these people feed their families.”

Jerry makes it a point to connect with customers and doesn’t hesitate to engage them in conversation when the opportunity arises.

“My thing is that going the extra mile with Save-On-Foods, that means you talk to people,” says Jerry. “I was talking with someone my age, and I told her what I did, and she told me what she did. And at the end, she said ‘I gotta give you a hug.’ You know, I didn’t get a lot of hugs like that when I was a police officer!”

For Jerry, it’s these opportunities to serve others that lend meaning to his work. That and, he says, the exercise the job provides is a nice perk.

When it comes to working alongside other generations, Jerry isn’t too impressed by what he sees in the younger generations coming after him.

“They don’t have the same loyalty,” he says. “I mean, I stayed very loyal to the companies that I worked with. Nowadays, kids don’t do that. They’re happy to leave at a moment’s notice for something bigger and better.”

He is frustrated by what he sees as the younger generations’ lack of work ethic and their different approach to communication.

“In my generation, communication was physical—you’re two feet away,” says Jerry. “We’re talking; we’re back and forth. There were no cellphones. Some of these kids, without their cellphone, they melt down.”

He’s not completely negative on his younger coworkers though. He appreciates the world they live in and the potential they have to learn.

“I admire the opportunities that they have now that I never had,” he says. “The things you can learn from other cultures and from those ‘terrible’ cellphones I mentioned. They have way more opportunities to learn on a wider stage than I ever did.”

In the last years of his career, Jerry sees himself as a leader in the store, and he wants to pass on his perspective to the next generations.

“I only have probably maybe two or three years left, and then I’m going to retire totally,” he says. “My job is as a teacher and a mentor to the younger people that work here, and that’s what I try to do. I try to take what I think is really good—these dynamics of work and life, this sense of family and community—and I try to pass it on the best I can to the younger generations.”

BARB WAWRYK IS A BOOMER too. She’s been working at the Kildonan Place location since the store opened in Winnipeg in 2016. Before that she worked for 31 years at a different grocery chain. She enjoys working with younger generations, for the most part.

“I find they kind of look to me like I’m their mother or grandmother,” she says.

She noted a vibrancy and boldness in some of her youngest coworkers.

“Some of the younger generations are very spunky and outgoing and not afraid to approach other people,” says Barb. “They seem to enjoy life a lot more. They’re not afraid to speak up and voice their opinions.”

Barb knows that not all the younger people she works with will stick around at Save-On-Foods. But she’s okay with that.

“The majority of kids who are out there working are working hard because they want to better themselves and they want a career, whether it is in grocery retail or they’re wanting to go into nursing or become an engineer,” she says. “They are striving to get ahead.”

She knows that this job is a stepping stone for some of these individuals, but that doesn’t bother her.

“Some of them are dedicated and some of them are there just to get a paycheque,” she says.

Barb’s empathy extends toward those in her workplace who are working more than one job. She commented that young people in the workforce must work hard to get by, and that this may impact how they show up to a shift.

“They might be working other jobs, and you don’t know if they’re coming in tired,” says Barb. “Or they’re coming in not really focused on what they’re supposed to do. That can lead to frustration by the person who is there working all the time thinking that these people that come in after me are just lazy or they don’t want to work hard. But there’s so many other circumstances that can fall into the reasoning why that could happen.”

SHERRI BURGESS HAS ALSO WORKED retail her whole career. A member of generation X, she’s been at Save-On-Foods at the Lethbridge North location for 21 years.

Her take on generation Z and millennials at Save-On-Foods? They’re fun to have around, but they’re not as serious about work as her own generation.

“Gen Z, when they come into a job, I don’t think they really realize what they’re doing,” says Sherri. “I think they have been told by their parents you need to get a job. So, they come into it not realizing the complexity of it.

“Gen Z and even some millennials that come in, they’re there to get a paycheque and to move up on to what they want to do in their life. They’re not necessarily there for the long haul to stay like some of us.”

Sherri sometimes struggles with the sensitivity of her younger coworkers.

“Us older generations, we have a hard time hearing from the younger generations, ‘I’m not feeling like I can deal with people today. I need to go home.’ We don’t quite understand that.

“You’re out in the world. You have to deal with people all the time. For some of us, you want to say, ‘Get over it!’ But you can’t say that anymore.”

For her own generation, though, she admits that they don’t exactly adapt to change well.

“Gen X and the baby boomers, we don’t take change as easily as the younger ones do,” says Sherri. “They go with the flow, whereas we’re a little more rigid. We like things just to stay normal. We don’t want any ripples.”

Sherri likes that her younger coworkers are enjoying life and can be a bit more relaxed.

“The younger generations, they’re not thinking about making money to buy a house,” she says. “They’re thinking, let’s go on a trip!”

What does Sherri want from the members of generation X and Y she works with? Simple: she wants respect.

“We’ve been here for a long time,” she says. “We’re not old people who are just going to be grumpy with you because we’re older. Listen to what we what we might be communicating to you because some of our information for you could be very useful.”

Sherri sees the differences between herself and her coworkers, and although there are tensions, there are also joys. For her, it’s all about seeing the good in the other person.

“We all come with a plethora of wealth in our life,” she says. “And I think we have to enjoy each other. I think we’ve gotten away from enjoying people, especially in customer service.”

ANOTHER MEMBER OF GEN X, Aileen Santos, works the night shift stocking shelves at Save-On-Foods at the Northgate location in Winnipeg. She’s been there for eight years, ever since Save-On first came to Winnipeg.

When talking about younger generations, she observes that they don’t always show the same commitment as her generation does.

“When they finish work, they leave,” says Aileen. “After the eight hours, that’s it. Generation X, we tend to be more responsible. We will not leave the store without everything being cleaned and organized and ready to open the next morning.”

This difference in work ethic was a common observation among the older generations I spoke with. Aileen admits that this more relaxed approach to work helps the younger generations adjust to change well.

“When it comes to work, generations Y and Z can easily adapt to changes compared to generation X. Generations Y and Z are all about coming to work to finish the eight-hour shift. If there are changes, they would say ‘okay’ and continue working—as long as the changes don’t affect their personal space and workloads.

“Compare that to generation X, where there’s a lot of ifs, whys, whens, and hows discussed. My generation asks a lot of questions before they accept that this change is happening.”

Beyond flexibility, there are other traits that Aileen admires about her younger coworkers. She sees them being upfront in their communication and says that she prefers this kind of clarity.

“Generation Y and Z are more direct,” she says. “They’re vocal. They will say, with respect, whatever is on their mind.”

She also enjoys seeing cross-generational friendships, telling me about a baby boomer and a member of generation Z who have a huge age gap but are best friends in the store.

Aileen is always respectful to her coworkers and tries to imagine life from their perspective when she interacts with them.

“Before I talk, before I do something, I always put myself into their shoes,” she says. “What will they feel if you do this? If they do it to you, what are you going to feel? As long as we respect each other, and we take care of each other in the store, there will be no problems.”

THE FIRST MILLENNIAL I SPOKE with was William Hardy. He’s an assistant produce manager at Save-On-Foods at the Grande Prairie, Alberta, location, and he’s been there almost two years. He’s appreciated the opportunities for growth he’s been given and hopes to continue developing his career.

When William looks at other generations, he sees their stability, and he looks up to it.

“People older than me own houses and stuff,” he says. “I’m in a position where my rent is expensive for me. I’m more motivated because my life is more survival based.”

He knows that some people his age, or younger, are still living at home. Whereas for William, he feels like he has something to prove.

“Especially in today’s economy, it feels like I gotta work or I won’t have anything,” he says. “I want to make my way.”

William balances this drive with an emphasis on work-life balance. He appreciates the need to work hard, but he is not the type to go overboard.

“I think as people of younger generations come up, they kind of realize their personal time is more valuable,” he says. “And they don’t throw themselves at work as much. Personally, I work hard, but if I’m at home and it’s when I’m off, that’s my personal time.”

He compares this approach to that of the older coworkers he works with.

“I think older generations are a bit grittier with it,” says William. “And with me it’s like, okay, how can I do this without hurting myself? How can I do this without throwing my whole life away?”

What William really appreciates about the generational differences in the workplace are the opportunities he has to learn, and then to pass on what he’s learned to others.

“I can learn more from them and be a sponge, and then I can pass it down,” he says. “It’s kind of like a learning tree.”

William’s approach is clear: soak in the knowledge when he’s at work, and use it to get ahead.

“I’m trying to build something,” he says. “I’m trying to move up as much as I can and learn as much as I can.”

ARISHNAVIE, 21, IS A MEMBER of generation Z. She works at Save-On-Foods at the Pembina Crossings location in Winnipeg. Her biggest complaint about the generations above her? Their resistance to change.

“Other generations, they tend to be fixed to the schedule,” she says. “I feel like they’re not flexible enough. They want to go back and follow their old ways.”

Arishnavie values being able to go with the flow.

“I’m very flexible,” she says. “I do not follow a strict schedule or strict work pattern where this has to be done now—there’s no steps I follow. I go according to how the situation is or how the environment is. If it’s busy, then I know what has to be done first.”

While Arishnavie is frustrated by her older coworkers’ lack of flexibility, she knows that there are some things they have figured out. She likes that the older generations help teach younger ones about the importance of taking responsibility for the work they’re doing.

“There’s a passing down of morals and certain work ethics that have been taught to gen z by the older generations,” she says. “‘You shouldn’t do that.’ ‘You shouldn’t take your break too long.’ ‘You shouldn’t talk back to customers.’ I appreciate that.”

MY FINAL CONVERSATION WAS WITH Bridget Young, a millennial who’s been at Save-On-Foods Pembina Crossings location for a year and a half.

Bridget thinks that people have the wrong idea about her generation.

“We grew up hearing that nobody wants to work and we’re all lazy,” they say. “Having a different attitude toward a work environment doesn’t automatically equate to a lack of work ethic. Just because somebody is not willing to work four hours overtime doesn’t mean that they don’t care about their job.”

Bridget notes that it’s not only work ethic at play. It’s how their generation views large companies and institutions.

“I also think that younger people tend to be more distrustful of companies in general,” says Bridget. “They don’t want to burn themselves out for a company that they don’t believe has their best interests at heart.”

Bridget finds that the different generations working together at Save-On-Foods is generally a good thing, and it positively impacts team morale.

“When you’re on the floor working together, we recognize that we’re in the same boat a lot of the time,” they say. “Nobody seems to find themselves superior because of their age.

“And I think when it comes to morale, the most important thing is not holding yourself up as an authority because of your age—whether you’re younger or older—and being able to relate to the people you’re chatting with and respect their experiences. Obviously, their age will play a factor in their experiences, but don’t let it completely colour your perspective of the person.”

FOR MANY OF THE EMPLOYEES I spoke with, the generation gaps fade when the relationships emerge. Bridget emphasized the good that comes when we learn from each other.

“We have a lot to learn from each other because older folks have more experience of being in the workforce for a long time and seeing the course of how the economy and the workforce has changed,” says Bridget. “They can really help us through a lot of changes with that experience. And younger folks have this new fresh perspective about the way the world is and how things can move forward.

“I think learning from all generations is an important way to have a more robust understanding, because I don’t think any generation is 100 percent correct in all their opinions. So, being able to balance each other out and learn and grow with each other is an important aspect of any community.”

If each generation is willing to learn from the generations above and below them, any workplace community will be undoubtedly strengthened.

At Save-On-Foods, each store benefits from the perspectives the different generations bring to their work. If employees, managers, and employers from all generations can work to understand one another’s experiences, learn from one another, and withhold judgment, these generational differences can translate into an organizational strength.

How Can Employers Manage a Multigenerational Workforce?

Having such a wide range of ages and perspectives represented in a work environment can be challenging, but it also comes with opportunity. Employers can unlock the power of the multigenerational workforce if they are able to manage their employees effectively.

3 Ways to Reap the Benefits of a Multigenerational Workforce

Focus on shared values. While differences exist between the various age groups, they also share things in common. Most employees will have overlapping wants and needs, such as flexibility, meaningful work, caring leadership, adequate compensation, and career development opportunities. Instead of emphasizing generational stereotypes, it’s best to treat employees as unique individuals with shared goals.
Foster generational collaboration. Great managers will encourage collaboration between generations to access the different skill sets, perspectives, and experiences of the age groups. Establish mentorship programs and cross-generational teams to foster relationships between members of each generation. Bringing together coworkers from different generations will encourage knowledge-sharing and creative solutions.
Encourage open dialogue. In a workplace with many generations represented, not every generation will feel like their voice is being heard. To make each employee feel valued, it’s important to tell employees from all generations that what they say matters. Try encouraging different employees to participate in meetings, rewarding employees for voicing their opinions, and responding to employee concerns once they are raised.

Source: forbes.com

Older Adults Working Past Retirement

The labour force participation rate of adults 65 and older doubled from 6 percent in 2000 to over 13 percent in 2020. Why are older adults remaining in the workforce longer than before?

5 Factors Contributing to Older Workers Remaining in the Workforce

Today’s older adults have higher education levels than older workers in the past, and those who have more education are more likely to be employed.
Older adults are also healthier today than in the past and less likely to be sick or have a disability, meaning they can continue working.
The obligatory retirement age has been removed. Before 2009, there was a mandated retirement age of 65 in Canada. But now that the law has changed, Canadians can work as long as they want.
The nature of work has changed. Many types of jobs are less physically exerting, making them accessible for any age.
Many older adults continue working past the usual retirement age out of financial necessity.

Source: Nicenet.ca

What Generations Are Currently in the Workforce?

Four generations make up the majority of the workforce in Canada today.

Baby Boomers – Born approximately 1946 to 1964

Generation X – Born approximately 1965 to 1980

Millennials or Generation Y – Born approximately 1981 to 2000

Generation Z – Born approximately 2001 to 2020

Source: Purdue Global

Canada’s Oldest Worker?

While four generations make up most of the workforce, there are still outliers who represent other generations. One of these outliers is David Frank from Windsor, Ontario, who works part-time at Home Depot at the Division Road location. A member of the greatest generation (those born between 1901 and 1927), David recently celebrated his 100th birthday!

To celebrate his centennial, the store put on a special celebration, attended by family, friends, and even the mayor. The store has also named an aisle after him.

Born on November 12, 1924, in Montreal, David has held different jobs throughout his long career. He worked in a manufacturing factory during the Second World War and owned and operated Wallpaper World of Windsor as well as a grocery store in Belle River. He’s always liked working in retail and helping customers solve problems.

For David, it’s the connections he makes and the fulfillment he gets from helping customers that keeps him coming back. After 23 years at Home Depot, he is still going strong and enjoys helping customers find what they need. He certainly lives up to the greatest generation name!

Source: msn.com