Project Title: The Generational Spectrum: Navigating Workplace Diversity
Problem: With multiple generations working side by side, teams often struggle with mismatched expectations around feedback, responsiveness, tone, and participation. These differences rarely surface as open conflict, but they consistently lead to confusion, disengagement, and missed connection. Without a shared framework or language to address these dynamics, teams continue to function—but not optimally.
Organizational Context: This course was developed for a large Central Texas nonprofit behavioral health agency operating within strict state and federal training requirements. While existing compliance-based, asynchronous trainings met regulatory needs, they left little room for reflection on day-to-day team dynamics. The organization needed a solution that fit seamlessly into its existing learning platform while addressing the human side of work—specifically, how generational perspectives influence communication and collaboration.
Solution
I developed a blended learning experience anchored by an asynchronous eLearning course built in Rise 360 with custom Storyline interactions, intentionally designed to align with the organization’s existing training infrastructure while offering a more human, reflective learning experience.
The course frames generational diversity through practical, workplace-relevant scenarios, allowing learners to explore how differences in lived experience influence communication styles, expectations around feedback and responsiveness, and comfort with hierarchy and collaboration. Interactive elements—including character-driven scenarios, decision points, and guided reflection prompts—encourage learners to pause, recognize familiar patterns, and reconsider assumptions they may not have previously named.
The course avoids generational stereotypes or prescriptive labels. Instead, it emphasizes curiosity, shared language, and individual choice—positioning generational awareness as a tool for collaboration rather than categorization.
To extend learning beyond the individual experience, I designed supporting structures to promote sustained team-level application:
A flexible menu of facilitator-ready discussion activities for supervisors and team leads, designed for use in existing meetings with minimal preparation
A voluntary reverse mentorship model that pairs employees across generations, creating space for mutual learning and perspective-sharing in a low-pressure, practical format
Together, these components support both individual awareness and collective alignment, giving organizations actionable tools to reduce friction, strengthen communication norms, and turn generational diversity into an operational strength rather than a hidden source of tension.
Below, you’ll find a carousel of images that illustrates how the course brings generational diversity to life through story-driven scenarios, interactive character insights, and reflection tools. You can also experience the eLearning course by selecting “Open Course” at the bottom of the page.
Before introducing generational stereotypes, this section helps learners approach the topic with care. It highlights the importance of recognizing diversity within generations, examining bias, and avoiding overgeneralization. This framing encourages learners to stay grounded in empathy, not assumption, as they move into more complex content.
This activity centers generational context as a lens for empathy, highlighting how key historical and cultural events shape workplace values, communication, and expectations. Each generation’s graphic invites learners to reflect on differences without relying on stereotypes. This example depicts influences on the Baby Boomers.
This graphic draws on recognizable symbols from Millennial pop culture and digital media, using familiar icons to ground the generation’s story in everyday experiences. The design invites learners to engage with the context that shapes Millennial perspectives, while encouraging reflection beyond stereotypes.
Learners are introduced to each member of a multigenerational team one by one—starting with their desks. Through personal objects, memories, and values, each character becomes more than a label or stereotype. These desk explorations lead into short stories that bring each generation’s context to life, helping learners understand workplace dynamics through real, human experiences.
The last module of the course centers psychological safety as the foundation for bridging generational differences. Learners explore practical strategies to reduce misunderstandings, foster honest dialogue, and cultivate a culture where every team member—across all age groups—can thrive. This section marks a shift from awareness to action, empowering learners with concrete steps to build more inclusive and connected workplaces.
This interactive activity helps learners explore how different generations interpret nonverbal cues—like eye contact, posture, and gestures—in professional settings. By comparing insights from older and younger generations, learners begin to recognize where misinterpretations can occur and how to adapt across styles.
This scene is part of the course’s ongoing narrative, which follows a multigenerational team through a series of workplace challenges. Here, learners witness a moment of rising tension and explore how each character interprets and responds to the same event. The unfolding story brings abstract concepts to life—making generational dynamics feel real, relatable, and rooted in everyday team experiences.
This interactive scenario challenges learners to examine and reframe common generational stereotypes. Each character faces a workplace challenge tied to a generational bias. Learners choose whether to believe or reframe the stereotype, then explore how that choice shapes team dynamics in the short and long term.
Before learners begin practicing reframing stereotypes themselves, this guided example shows what the process can look like in a workplace context. Through Sarah, a Gen X team member, the activity illustrates how a common generational stereotype can be reinterpreted as a professional strength—setting the stage for real-world application.
In this culminating activity, learners follow the same characters they’ve encountered throughout the course as the team works through a realistic scenario: planning a youth mental health outreach program. Learners are invited to observe team dynamics and respond to reflective questions that assess their understanding of key skills from the final module—such as communication, perspective-taking, and bias reduction. This scenario-based approach reinforces learning by connecting course concepts to real-world situations.
Learner choices shape the outcome of the team’s project, with multiple endings based on how well they navigated communication challenges and generational dynamics. This outcome screen offers narrative feedback that connects actions to results, reinforcing the impact of inclusive practices and offering space for reflection on team collaboration and growth.
Curious how it works? Click here to navigate the asynchronous portion of the Generational Diversity course.