On the tenth anniversary of the TV sitcom, Parks and Rec, critiques celebrate how the show undercut negative stereotypes of the millennial generation’s workforce practices.
What might a television show reveal about how generations work together in the workplace? According to Relevant Magazine, the sitcom Parks and Rec, set in a municipal Parks and Recreation Department of a small town in Indiana, was groundbreaking in the values it revealed about millennial workers.
Relevant describes,
Each of the characters on Parks and Rec came to embody one of the traits attached to millennial culture. The show, and its brilliant cast, not only helped make sense of the labels, but they shattered the stereotypes associated with them.
Instead of seeing traits like cynicism, immaturity, naïve ambition, celebrity infatuation, self-empowerment philosophy and materialism as negative labels that can be turned into punchlines and discarded just as easily, Parks and Rec showed how they could be redeemed.
For more, see ‘Parks and Rec’ Saw the Best in Millennials from Relevant Magazine.
MACo’s summer conference will feature an unorthodox session on generational differences in the workforce, with an HR consultant with a background in psychology laying out common priorities for employees, and a panel of county professionals from different generations to share their insights and personal stories.
MACo Summer Conference Session
Beyond the Classifieds: Finding and Keeping the Employees You Need
Date/Time: Friday, August 16, 2019; 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Description: As a recruitment tool, the newspaper is no longer enough…and neither are the traditional methods of retention. Faced with generational change and evolving workplace cultures, today’s county human resources officers are reaching out across many platforms and breaking open new ways to entice and position top employees. What’s cool about county service to Millennials and Generation Z? How do county benefits deliver for Gen Xers? And, how can a county draw from those in their second or third careers? In this session, learn the best ways to find and keep excellent government employees across all generations, including recruitment tactics and changes to human resources policies.
Moderator: The Honorable Tawanna Gaines MD House of Delegates
Speakers:
- David Johnson, Vice President and Senior Consultant, The Segal Group
- Sam O’Neill, Office of the Baltimore County Executive
- Shelley Heller, County Administrator, Kent County
- Richard Brooks, Director of Emergency Services, Cecil County
Learn more about MACo’s Summer Conference: