When a 70-year-old shift leader at Berry Plastics/Kerr Group's Sarasota division went to the human resources manager seeking advice on how to handle a new 20-something employee with multiple tattoos, body piercings and trousers so baggy that he had to continually pull them up, she knew it was time to get help.

The HR manager turned to Karen Magee, president of Karen Magee and Associates, a Sarasota-based business consultant who helps organizations understand how to manage problems resulting from generational diversity.

Increasingly, Magee is being asked to help companies bridge the generation gaps. "Most of the training I do is centered on raising awareness," she says. "Corporate management has been dealing with employee diversity in terms of gender and race for years, but diversity in terms of age is a whole new area that has not been addressed before. It's really a worldwide trend that has serious local implications." How serious? Age discrimination has become the fastest growing category of charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-up 41 percent since 1999, reports Express Personnel Services, an Oklahoma City-based company that develops HR training programs.

For the first time in history, four generations are in the workplace-each imbued with different values and communication styles that often create a "Who's on first?" environment of cross-purposes and confusion. Although the exact 20-year spans defining each generation differ slightly among experts, the four groups have been identified as the Traditionalists, who were born between 1922-1943; Baby Boomers, 1943-1960; Generation X, 1960-1980; and Millennials-also referred to as Generation Y or the Nexters-who were born after 1980. Those born on the cusp of a generation are known as "Cuspers," and often reflect the traits of both generations.

All kinds of conflicts can adversely impact the workplace when employees from these four generations meet at the water cooler-from the Millennial who won't unplug her iPod long enough to say "Good morning" to the Boomer boss who can't understand why his Gen X employees won't work on weekends. "Key issues can revolve around everything from confusion about dress codes to growing resentment from 50-year-old Baby Boomers who may have to report to 30-year-old Generation X supervisors," Magee says.

The recent generational diversity class Magee taught to 20 managers and supervisors at Berry Plastics/Kerr Group, which manufactures plastic containers, tubes, cups and other packaging, is a case in point. The company's human resource manager, Martha Johnson, noticed problems arising because of the growing number of employees staying on past the age of 65.

"Many of these older employees are directly supervising Millennials who are just entering the workforce," Johnson says. "I thought Karen's generational diversity class was just what we needed. Since then, we've seen a big improvement in the way employees of different ages interact. Expectations have changed for the better because we have an understanding of how different generations think and work."

According to a 2004 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the current workforce consists of approximately 10 percent Traditionalist, 44 percent Baby Boomers, 34 percent Gen Xers and 12 percent Millennials. SHRM survey analyst Mary Elizabeth Burke says that, although there are always exceptions, each generation has its own profile. She briefly describes Traditionalists as the most reliable and loyal employees; Baby Boomers, who adopted many of the Traditionalists' values, as hard workers, and likely to work past retirement age; and Generation X workers as self-reliant, often performing well where work assignments are not well defined. Burke believes that Millennials share some similarities with Generation X, but warns that it is still too early to know how they will define themselves in the workplace.

Among the generational challenges Doctors Hospital of Sarasota supervisors face, says human resource director Theresa Levering, is the need to spell out policies on the use of cell phones and text messaging. "This was not something that needed to be done with the previous generations," Levering says. Doing so has a distinct advantage: "Clarifying these expectations up front during the interview process has helped in the retention of employees."

Levering says 10 percent of Doctor's Hospital's 600-plus employees are Traditionalists, 60 percent Baby Boomers, 20 percent Gen Xers and 10 percent Millennials. The hospital created an employee advisory group to bring employees of all age groups together with management regularly to identify and resolve issues from dress codes to employee health. "We've worked hard to engage employees by creating flexible work schedules, coaching older workers on technology, and allowing for differences in communication style," she says.