Using Simulations to Promote Generational Communication Awareness and Empathy in Construction Management Students - A Pilot Study: 57th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference

Today's work environment, regardless of career, is experiencing an unprecedented number of generations working together. Specific to the construction management industry, in order to effectively manage a team in such a generationally diverse workforce, a construction manager needs to increase their awareness and empathy of the varying modes of communication. Working in teams, 29 undergraduate construction management students completed a quantity take-off estimating project where a series of communication constraints were implemented (simulation) within each team that mirrored the ?preferred available mode of communication? of different workplace generations. Likert scale questionnaires were administered throughout the course to collect data to determine if a student?s awareness and empathy of generational communication changed through the simulation experience. The results from the simulation indicate promotion in workplace generational communication awareness and the role of empathy within the construction industry. However, these promotions do not appear to have a statistically significant correlation with each simulation. Furthermore, while students generally favour their own generational ?preferred available mode of communication,? they overwhelmingly rate face-to-face communication as the most effective communication style in the construction management industry.