By Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman Most of us can relate to generational misunderstandings on a personal level, but what happens when similar collisions happen in the workplace? Do we recognize them for what they are?
For the first time in modern history, we are challenged by having to recruit, retain, motivate and manage up to four generations in the workplace at once:
Traditionalist: (75 million) born before 1946
Baby Boomers/ThirdAgers: (80 million) born 1946-1964
Generation Xers: (46 million) born 1965-1981
Millennials: (76 million) born 1982-2000
Although many believe that age defines how we act and what we think about, generational experts Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman say age is only one reference point for a generation -- that a generation's personality is determined by events and conditions (forces at work in the environment) that influenced its members during their formative years.
It is because of these different influences that each generation brings a different attitude, set of values and work style into today's stressful, competitive workplace. Companies and managers who are unprepared to deal with generational differences -- or worse, ignore them -- risk everything from reduced profitability to wasted human potential and loss of valuable employees.
Lancaster and Stillman coined the word "ClashPoint" to describe trouble spots where generational conflicts are most likely to explode. They conducted a national "Generations" survey, interviewed hundreds of employers and employees, and collected countless facts and statistics before writing about these ClashPoints in their new bestseller, When Generations Collide (HarperCollins, 2002). Let's look, for example, at ClashPoints around career goals: In general, when Traditionalists went to work, they headed toward building a legacy in their chosen field. They are extremely loyal to their companies, but when asked what their companies do to show they care about their career development, 31 percent of Traditionalists said their companies "don't seem to care." Boomers or ThirdAgers have always wanted to excel in their careers. As they move toward their career summits, however, they are questioning whether or not they made the right career choices and whether their careers have meaning. The "Generations" survey asked boomers who knew they could make more money elsewhere why they stayed in their current jobs. Less than 10 percent said they stayed because they loved their work. Gen Xers tend to look for career security rather than job security. Their greatest fear is becoming stagnant, so they make a conscious effort to change jobs and build a rsum containing a variety of experiences. The older generations with their greater loyalty to institutions often see Gen Xers' job-hopping as objectionable, not as a survival strategy.
And finally the Millennials, who are already accomplished multi-taskers, are expected to bring a new dynamic to the work force: parallel careers. Some experts predict Millennials will recycle their skills and preferences into new applications over and over again. On the plus side, this generation will be the most adaptable to organizations' evolving structures. It is easy to see that a one-size-fits-all career path will not work within a three- or four-generation workforce. Once companies are open to the idea of different career paths for different generations, they also must be open to different ways of negotiating them! This is but one example of generational diversity in the workplace and how conflict -- ClashPoints -- might arise out of different experiences and expectations. ClashPoints also frequently erupt around feedback, rewards, balance, job changing, retirement and training. The keys to managing generational conflicts are awareness and flexibility. "Understanding the generations," say Lancaster and Stillman, "can be a strategic tool that is relatively easy to work with and actually can be fun." From When Generations Collide (HarperCollins, 2002), by Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman. Used by permission.
Source: Money & Work
