Talking Generations
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Nowadays, in order to be an effective communicator we not
only need to know how to adapt to different personality types, but we also need
to understand the different generational issues that can create conflict in the
workplace.
The dynamics we experience today are unique to our era:
younger generations have made a dramatic shift in work values leading to harsh
judgements and criticisms within the work environment. Ultimately, this conflict
of generational values hinders performance of individuals and weakens overall
team success.
The solution? As Steven Covey of "7 Habits" would say, we
need to begin first by seeking to understand. If we can begin to understand what
is important to each generation, we can then learn to see things in a wider
perspective and begin to build bridges of communication between the "gaps". With
better understanding comes better communication, which leads to heightened
tolerance and ultimately to successful collaboration between the generations.
Let's look at the different generations and their values in
general:
1. The Veteran age group is generally comprised of
those who are 55 and older. This generation is post-war and their
nature is to be loyal to a single employer for a lifetime and in turn, they
expect the same degree of loyalty back. Because this generation did not grow up
with material wealth, in most cases, they tend to be frugal and do not
understand the need to use debt to build business or the need for anyone to have
debt at all. In the workplace, they show up on time and they take orders well -
they do as they are told because they respect their boss, as well as their
elders.
2. The Baby Boomer age group is comprised of
generally the ages 35 to 54 and are the children of the Veterans. This
group grew up with little in the way of toys or nice clothes and vowed to give
their children everything they couldn't have as children. In most cases, baby
boomers grew up earning an allowance and understood the principle of working
hard to earn a living. In general, they left home at the age of 18 and survival
was a real issue. If a baby boomer was told to do something at work or else be
fired - he or she would do it because they were afraid of not being able to pay
the bills. In the workplace they have a mentality of "work, work, work, and then
you die".
3. The Generation X age group is typically comprised
of the ages 23 to 34 and are the children of the baby boomers. A
majority of the Generation X group grew up with both parents working and saw
their baby boomer parents get laid off or witnessed them being miserable in
their jobs. This helped shape their current value system which is, "I am going
to have a life first and work will come second". It is generation X who is
pushing for flex hours, 4-day work weeks, paid sabbaticals for education and
paid parental leave for both fathers and mothers. In the workplace, you cannot
threaten a "Gen X" to do something or they will get fired because they don't
care. Most generation X's live at home until the age of 26 and do not experience
the same survival issues as those of their baby boomer parents. Their main goal
is to have fun at work, make a buck, and have a life.
4. Generation Y is 22 and younger. They are
likely called generation Y because that is the question they ask most, "Why?"
These are also the children of baby boomers and so far, are one of the most
creative generations we have seen in a long time. Generation Y want to work
where they are allowed creative expression, a flexible approach and control over
their own hours. In the workplace, they show little loyalty because they already
know they will have about 10 careers in their lifetime. They get bored very
quickly and need more incentive to work than just a paycheck.
5. As we look at the value differences at a glance,
notice when we make judgements on the values that do not match our own.
Notice also that we may automatically label an attitude or value as right or
wrong, without first understanding where this judgement is coming from. This
kind of difference in values is one cause of conflict and communication
breakdown in the workplace. We need to build our sensitivity around these issues
and try our best to understand where a person may be coming from based on their
generational values. A master communicator learns to recognize the differing
perspectives among the generations and then creates unique solutions that appeal
to each belief system.
About the Author
Cheryl Cran, CSP President of Synthesis at Work Inc. works with organizations
in significantly increasing productivity and profitability through communication
strategies that improve employee performance, leverage team synergy and build
extraordinary leaders. Many of Synthesis at Work's clients are award winning
industry leaders. www.cherylcran.com
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2007-08-23 00:38:31 in Employee Articles
