Acclimating to Evolving Dynamics in the Workplace

This article appeared in the June 2026 issue of MiMfg Magazine. Read the full issue and find past issues online.

Gone are the days of black-and-white. Today’s careers are full of color, and job seekers are turning the workplace into an art form.

Workplaces are very different than they were generations ago. Job seekers are more likely to integrate work with their personal lives — expecting flexibility, engaging social interactions and ongoing education. Employers who provide that environment are more likely to give employees what they’re looking for.

And that is living . . . not just working.

Work to Live

Advisory Firm Clark Schaefer Hackett, which has divisions including Clark Schaefer Consulting and Clark Schaefer Strategic HR, has completed comprehensive studies regarding what the various generations are looking for in an employer.

The largest cohorts in the workforce today are Generation Z (born approximately 1997 to 2012) and Generation Y (1981-1996). One of the biggest shifts in the workplace is the mentality of Gen Z and Gen Y when compared with that of Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Generation Xers (1965-1980).

“Baby Boomers and Gen X had the mindset of you live to work,” says Cathleen Snyder, Director of Training and Development for Clark Schaefer Strategic HR. “Your job was the most important thing in your life and in many ways defined you. You fit your life around your job.”

“Younger generations have more of a mentality of work to live,” she goes on. “Their job supports the life they want to have. It supports being able to hang out with friends on the weekend, travel, whatever their interests might be. Their work doesn’t necessarily define them, and they have very strong views on how work fits into how they want to live their lives.”

Snyder and Russ Stewart, Director of Training for Operational Excellence at Clark Schaefer Consulting, have been working with clients to help them create an environment that is conducive to these applicants’ preferences.

“You hear so much about work-life balance but, these days, it’s less about balance and more about life-blending,” Snyder says.

American Society of Employers (ASE) Director of Staffing Dan Van Slambrook adds that connecting with K-12 students early can open their eyes to what a manufacturing facility truly is — not only a place to make money but a place that enhances your life.

“Younger generations really want to understand available career options within an organization and are looking for established pathways to get there,” he says. “We’re seeing an increasing number of employers showcasing available career paths on their websites. Upward mobility is something employers are incorporating into their talent acquisition strategies.”

Getting Comfortable in the Gray

Along with being able to envision a career path that moves forward, today’s workers hope to use their insights to help their companies succeed — and nurturing their problem-solving skills empowers them to do so.

“In the past, executives were accustomed to steering the ship and keeping everything moving in the right direction,” says Mary E. Corrado, President & CEO of Troy-based ASE. “In today’s world, you can’t necessarily see clearly — there’s a lot of fog out there.”

Corrado lists a combination of five factors that can help employers navigate through the uncertainty:

1. Committing to continuous learning for executives and employees
2. Encouraging innovation, including considering AI solutions
3. Empowering employees to solve problems
4. Reflecting and adapting
5. Staying flexible

“Leaders need to take an adaptive leadership approach,” Corrado says. “People don’t like to live in the gray. They like black and white — that’s how our brains are organized. They need to plan. They want to know exactly how things are going to happen.

“We need to get comfortable living in the gray, and that gray is the uncertainty we’re in,” she adds.

A recent ASE survey identified the top five challenges for manufacturers in 2025-2026: tariffs and trade policy, attracting and retaining talent, economic uncertainty, employee engagement and inflation/pricing pressures, respectively.

“One of the biggest ways to address uncertainty is through communication, transparency, and letting employees know what’s happening,” Snyder contributes.

Transparency also encourages frontline workers and mid-level managers to problem solve — and, when they do, leaders should reinforce that problem-solving mindset rather than dismissing ideas, they say.

Supervisor Training and Skill Development

Considerations about career development, leadership capabilities, training and personal growth interests should start with the very first contact with a candidate and continue through an employee’s lifecycle, Snyder says.

Van Slambrook adds that succession planning, including nurturing leadership capabilities, can help prevent knowledge gaps upon other employees’ retirements or resignations. Strategic, proactive measures are particularly crucial now because the youngest Baby Boomers and older Gen Xers will reach retirement age soon, potentially creating a bigger talent crisis in the skilled trades.

Through succession planning, companies can leverage the value that next-generation employees bring while preserving critical knowledge from retiring employees, and an essential element for a smooth transition is relevant training.

Many manufacturers promote frontline personnel with proven technical skills into supervisory positions, but they often need foundational tools to be successful leaders, says Jimmy Nelson, Director of Leadership and Organizational Development at Grand Rapids-based Frontline Training Solutions.

“We spend a lot of time teaching a welder how to weld but, when you move from a frontline worker’s position into that leadership position, there is often very little if any training,” Nelson says, adding that Frontline offers a Supervisor Boot Camp for frontline professionals transitioning into leadership roles.

Leadership skills that should be cultivated include such things as time management, communication, conflict resolution, encouraging innovation and the ability to implement core social/business values into the workplace.

“Too often, employees are promoted into supervisory roles because they excel technically, but leadership requires an entirely different skill set,” says Corrado. “ASE’s Principles and Practices of Supervision courses are designed to help new supervisors build the communication, leadership, problem-solving, and people management skills that are critical for long-term success. Investing in supervisor training early helps organizations build more effective leaders from the start.”

If you build rapport, you build trust. With trust comes credibility. With credibility, you build influence — which is critical for frontline leaders and mid-level managers, Snyder says.

Too often, training is considered a perk but it’s important to stop thinking of it as a perk and more as a necessity, Stewart adds.

“Technical skills drive results, but leadership behaviors determine whether people want to stay and contribute long term,” he says, noting that Clark Schaefer Consulting also offers a two-day boot camp, The Frontline Leader, for supervisors and junior managers.

“If learning is considered optional, it’s always going to fall to other demands; something else will always be more important,” Corrado adds. “A culture that promotes professional learning and personal development shows employees that you’re investing in and care about them.”

Leadership development can contribute to cost containment as well. The costs associated with turnover are easily overlooked — as they may blend with everyday expenses — but once they are pinpointed, the numbers are staggering.

Nelson says the formula they use to identify these costs includes advertising, temporarily filling vacant positions, missed opportunities the business likely had and time spent on policies, procedures and onboarding. Using the example of a forklift driver role, Nelson recalls the total was about $11,000, noting that one client had an annual turnover rate of about 280.

That equaled $3 million in expenses per year — just to find, hire and onboard employees.

Life and work can go hand in hand. Employers who recognize how to artfully blend employees’ personal and social needs with the demands of the workplace can reduce financial losses associated with employee turnover while maintaining a welcoming, nurturing, enriching environment where team members want to stay.

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