Change is coming by Barbara Beggs

The Four Generation Workplace

April 3rd, 2010

My 23 year old niece announced she quit her job at the local restaurant.

“You left your employer short- handed on a Saturday night?” scolded her Veteran grandfather.

“That’s going to look terrible on your resume,” fretted her Boomer mother.

“Don’t you know how hard it is to find a job these days?” worried her Gen X brother.

“I asked off three weeks ago! They scheduled me to work anyway. I am not missing Stacey’s wedding. Besides, my friend said they need someone at his work,” she said confidently.

Perfect examples of how the four generations handle things differently. From their point of view, they are all correct.

The four generations in today’s workforce come with very different expectations and values. They are rewarded, use technology, communicate and see education and advancement in quite different ways.

Veterans, 65 years and older, still make up 10% of the workforce. Healthier than previous “seniors”, many still want to work well into their 70’s, even if only part time. Their values, shaped by the Depression and WWII, are of discipline, sacrifice and loyalty and they demand that of others.

Boomers entered the job market with 80 million others.  Competitive workaholics, they are finally saving for retirement. At 45% of the workforce and 46-64 years old, their sheer numbers have always helped them dictate much of what is considered the norm.

Just ask the Gen Xers, 30-45 years old and getting tired of always competing with the Boomers ahead of them. These “children of divorce” insist on balance between work and family life. Lack of time is their big issue as this “juggling” generation struggles to make it to their kid’s soccer game and manage their careers. Their weapons: the technology they understand so well and the skills they’ve built as they have hopscotched from opportunity to opportunity.

Here come the Millennials, 29 years old and younger. At 76 million, there are nearly as many of them as Boomers. Their educations often cost more than the family home and they ( and their parents) are looking for that investment to payoff.  This “networked generation” who grew up on the Internet knows how to find everything and if not, they can find someone who does.

What do they all have in common? They all want to do good work for great companies and feel valued. How does a manager bring these very different people together and make that happen? Start by looking for ways to leverage their different strengths. Help them see that each of them brings something of value others can use to reach company goals. Discourage the “we know better” attitude. For example, have Veterans to mentor Millennials about developing a strategic approach. Create opportunities for Millennials  to coach Veterans about social networking and technology. Give everybody a chance to strut their best stuff and see what happens.

Entry Filed under: Coaching, Leadership, Team Building