Managing Generations in the Workplace
Introduction
The extent of change that the world has experienced over the past 50 years is a staggeringly high amount, and the pace at which a lot of these changes have come about is no less impressive. These shifts have affected nearly every aspect of our existence beyond our fundamental physical needs and have had a profound effect on how we live our everyday lives.
One part of life which has not escaped these vast changes is the business world. Modern businesses may operate within the same underlying principles of profitability that have governed business since it started, but many of the characteristics of a successful company trading in the modern arena would seem foreign to businesses from years gone by.
An interesting issue that modern businesses face is how to handle the different generations of people who make up their staff.
This is partly due to the increasing life expectancy of humans, particularly in first world countries, which consequently prompts an ever increasing retirement age. Since people work to a later point in their lives, they may stay with the same company into their late 60′s or early 70′s, and sometimes as hands- on workers rather than simply sitting at the board.
There is also a need for a more diverse set of skills in the progressive business surroundings, triggered largely due to the swift development and wide reach of computer technology. Business processes, both internal and external, have undergone radical changes which require a new way of thinking. These modern ways of thinking are most commonly found within the younger working age group.
Problems
One of the most typical problems that face a modern enterprise that is working with a number of distinct generations in its workforce is related to technology. Computers are commonplace in our lives nowadays and they form a pivotal piece of the corporate puzzle. This computing ability can help businesses to run more efficiently, but they are only as able as the people who work them.
There are also generational issues when it comes to outward business aspects such as the law. New laws and corporate best practices are emerging all of the time and critical business decision makers must be aware of any that apply to their business. This can be said of sales as well as promotional channels that have come forth with the rise of the World Wide Web.
Outside of this, there can be communication problems between different generations of employee, psychological limitations of the older personnel in an organisation and the need to satisfy a range of different wants and aspirations to keep an entire workforce satisfied.
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The Generations
The requirement to manage generations in the work environment may seem like an unnecessary task, but the differences between the generations of worker that are often found in business are worth taking note of.
Traditionals
Senior, or “traditional”, employees are the oldest that would be found in a modern corporate environment. They’re the people who were born before the Second World War, and will be in their late 60′s or early 70′s.
Their approach to business and life in general is one of organisation and obedience. They were expected to make individual sacrifices for the greater good, and while this belief was nurtured under the shadow of an international conflict, lots of the older generation still harbour this opinion in modern times.
Since many of the mature generation will hold senior positions within a business their views and beliefs will generally carry greater weight than those of younger generations. Their decisions will often be fundamental to the business and shape the future success or failure of the organisation.
Baby Boomers
The Baby Boomer generation includes those born between the end of the war and the mid- 60′s, when there was a general decline in the birth rate around the world. Baby Boomers will be aged between 45 and 65 approximately and are likely to form the vast majority of management roles within a modern company.
This generation grew up without a lot of the oppression and discipline that was more normal amongst earlier generations. They are an aspirational group of people that are very family- oriented.
When it comes to the workplace, this group of workers will frequently be able to grasp the bigger picture while still maintaining a grasp on modern developments in terms of technologies and business procedures. Their family- oriented character tends to see them working well in teams, although it is often observed that they are not at ease when taking criticism(no matter how helpful) , and they are not good at giving feedback to other employees. These communication problems can become very disruptive in a corporate environment.
Generation X
Members of Generation X were born between the mid- 60′s and the late- 70′s. They will be presently aged between 30 and 45 and will be distributed amongst the various levels of management within a contemporary business.
Socially they grew up in extremely demanding times. Careers were an ever more important and defining part of people’s lives and this was made clear to Generation X from a very early age. Many will have progressed through lower and higher education prior to working their way up within one or maybe two businesses. They are expected to work long and hard hours and frequently both parties in a marriage or relationship will have professions.
As such, they are often very good at problem solving and achieving short- term objectives but can struggle to grasp how their contribution influences the big picture. They will be motivated by financial benefits rather than a sense of duty since they feel they have paid their dues through a life of learning and work. Generation X need close supervision to ensure their efficient contribution to the organisation.
Generation NeXt
This generation were born since 1980 and are the youngest collection of people currently at work. They have borne witness to a changing social climate where being an extravert is rarely frowned upon. They are most open to radical ideas and procedures and find hyper- consumerism and aggressive promotion to be second nature.
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The Working Environment
Technology
Everyone is familiar with the gap between the elderly generations and modern technological equipment. Whether it is a parent struggling to operate a new mobile phone, or a grandparent being truly confused about what the world wide web is, the void between the old and the new becomes very apparent when it comes to technology.
In regards to the modern organisation, issues involving technology can have very far reaching implications. Computers are vital to many aspects of business, from controlling payroll, to perform core tasks and even providing a channel for promotion. As such, an employee who’s not familiar with the systems being used by a company is likely to find problems in many areas of the business.
A similar principle can also be applied in reverse. The younger generations may be very comfortable with emerging technologies and practices, but may lack knowledge of the older systems that still perform many of the critical functions of the organisation. Internal business practices are rarely black and white so employees ideally need a range of technological abilities and knowledge.
Physical limitations
There are clear physical factors that may affect how a successful company manages its workers in regard to age. Older generations will by and large by physically inferior to their younger counterparts, and as such they will be less suited to roles that require physical exertions.
Luckily, most of the older generations of worker will have advanced to senior levels of management within the organisation they work for, and these jobs reward based upon knowledge and experience rather than physical capability.
Modern ailments
Modern companies are faced with physical conditions that companies of the past would not have had to confront. Complaints like RSI, or repetitive strain injury, have become more frequent since the widespread introduction and use of personal computer keyboards.
The desk setting itself can create a number of problems if the ergonomics of any specific workstation are not good. Back problems and joint problems can develop after long intervals of sitting incorrectly, and long periods of exposure to computer monitors can contribute to long- term eye damage. Tests are on- going to investigate the full scale of the impact of the contemporary place of work on the body.
Far too often, office workers think desk chairs hardly impact their bodies in a negative way which is not always true.
Solutions
The management of generations in the workplace has obtained greater exposure over recent years and many more companies have been made aware of the benefit of good generational management. This has spawned many new ideas and practices that are in one way or another aimed at developing the working rapport between the business and its workers, no matter how old they may be.
If there are specific jobs within your business that are most appropriate for a particular generation then it is often beneficial to only use members of that generation to perform the job. This kind of specialisation demands good organisational management. It will also be necessary to pass the knowledge on from generation to generation when your workforce ages.
There are a number of ways in which your business can learn about managing several generations of staff. Seminars dedicated to the subject have become a more common event in recent times, and the amount of practical information that can be obtained from these occasions can be of special benefit to an organisation.
There are also a lot of resources available on the web that discuss the matter in greater detail, and draw together a range of unique ideas for tackling various scenarios.
If setting your own administrators the task of learning about generations within the office does not seem suitable there are many business consultants that now include the idea of generational management into their practice.
Conclusion
Different generations of worker can find it difficult to work together. They have grown up in different times and learnt about a planet that has been continually changing.
Each generation is also stimulated by different things, and have come from different social upbringings. It will rarely be true that one solution can be applied across numerous generations but it is also crucial that you make sure that your business does not micro- manage the different age groups working for it. The business must do what is optimum for its own success.
Contemporary businesses have a diverse range of skills requirements and these requirements simply cannot be satisfied by just one of the generations discussed on this page. As is so often the case, the route to success depends upon discovering a balance between the generations- employing the strengths, mitigating the weaknesses and encouraging accordingly – through educated and empathetic direction.
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 4:38 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.