Four Generations in the Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities

1
Four Generations in the Workplace Challenges and
Opportunities

• Kelli D. Peck Parrott, Ph.D.
• Director and Assistant Clinical Professor,
  Student Affairs Administration in Higher
  Education
• kpparrott_at_tamu.edu
• Texas AM University

2
Theory to practice

• What were the national events you remember as you
  were growing up?

3
Generations The History of Americas Future,
1584-2069 (Strauss Howe, 1991)

• Generations
• Length is approx. the phase of birth to
  adulthood, 22 years.
• Boundaries are fixed by peer personality
• Four primary types of generations Idealist,
  Reactive, Civic, and Adaptive

4
Types of Generations

• Idealist - increasingly indulged youths
  after a secular crisis
• Reactive - grow up under-protected and
  criticized youths during a spiritual
  awakening
• Civic - Increasingly protected as
  children after a spiritual awakening
• Adaptive - Overprotected and suffocated
  youths during a secular crisis

5
Two Important Social Moments

• Secular Crisis
• Focus on reordering the world of
  institutions and public behavior

• Spiritual Awakening
• Focus on changing the inner world of
  values and private behavior

6
Generations
7
Our Upper Level Administrators Co-workers
Silents or Traditionalists (1925-1942)

• Spent their youth in the great depression and
  WWII
• The in-between generation
• No US president (If Mr. McCain had won, he would
  have been the first)
• Very protective parents, who were sacrificing for
  them

8
Our Upper Level Administrators Co-workers
Silents or Traditionalists (1925-1942)

• After all their parents sacrificed and went
  through and having experienced the Depression,
  they still feel somewhat lucky to have jobs.
• Have seen so much change so quickly in the
  workplace.

9
Our coworkers supervisorsBoomers (1943-1960)

• Looking for spiritualism, flocked to drugs and
  religion most active era of church formation in
  the 20th century
• Redefined Gender roles gender was their issue
• A generation that when young trusted nobody over
  30 today trusts nobody under 30.
• Issues remember when seen a great deal of
  change, especially in the workplace raised with
  the work ethic of parents who survived the
  depression and WWII.

10
Our coworkers supervisorsBoomers (1943-1960)

• Work is a dominant force in their lives they
  often sacrifice far too much for the good of the
  employer.
• One Benchmarks leadership study was full of
  largely Boomer execs lamenting over sacrificing
  time with family, spouses, and personal interests
  for the sake of work (Downing, 2006).

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
11
Our coworkers and mid-managersXers (1961-1981)

• True children of the 1960s and 1970s
• Awakening period to their parents for them was a
  nightmare of self-immersed parents,
  disintegrating homes, AIDS, and a Me economy
• Find a world of more punishing consequences than
  anything the Silent or Boom generations ever knew
• Knew that where the Boomer children had been
  worth the parental sacrifice of prolonging an
  unhappy marriage, they were not

12
Our coworkers and mid-managers Xers (1961-1981)

• Not shielded, so adult life held no
  secretsbelieve they need to keep their eyes
  open, expect the worst and handle it on their own
• Two-thirds believe they will have to work harder
  than other generations to enjoy the same standard
  of living
• Try to call as little attention to themselves as
  possible, really have not come together as a
  generation. You can find anything in this group.
• FEAR
• Race was their issue

13
Millennials The Next Great Generation (Howe
Strauss, 2000)

• Young Americans born 1982 or after
• Most numerous, affluent, and ethnically diverse
  generation in American history
• Largely the children of Boomers, pre-teens are
  the children of Xers.

14
Millennialsour colleagues???

• Conventional turning back toward
  traditionalism, but with a modern twist very
  rules oriented and highly moral
• Confident very optimistic about people and
  themselves
• Special have been perceived as special since
  birth

15
Millennialsour colleagues???

• Sheltered sheltered and protected in ways that
  prior generations have not
• Pressured feel more stress than any other
  generation has
• Achieving group is perceived as achieving so
  individuals feel pressure to keep up
• Team Oriented oriented toward teams rather than
  individuals

16
Millennialsour colleagues?

• Very close to their parents. You are not just
  getting an employee, but parents too.
• Helicopter parents
• Family oriented 71.3 considered raising a
  family to be an essential or very important
  objective
• These parents provide a great deal of support,
  but also intrusion and annoyance as well.

ACE UCLA Higher Education Research Institute,
The American freshman National norms for Fall
1999.
17
Millennials

• Candidates are stalling on job offers to consult
  with their parents. Parents are calling hiring
  managers to protest pay packages and trying to
  renegotiate.
• Numbers of companies are involving parents in the
  recruiting process with welcome packets and
  including them on informational sessions.

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
18
Millennialsour colleagues?

• Very technologically savvy, though there are
  socio-economic differences.
• Often form initial opinions of organizations
  based on their websites.

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
19
Our work and workplaces

• By 2010 will see an exodus of Boomers 2 leaving
  for every one new hire (Gerdes, 2006)
• 2005 Bureau of Labor Statistics
• 23 million workers ages 55
• 69 million workers ages 35-54
• 32 million workers ages 25-34
• 22 million workers ages 16-24

20
Issues and areas of conflict

• ISSUE Silents and Boomers have sacrificed all
  for the company/organization, Millennials appear
  to have no loyalty to the organization.
• Common Ground They do seem to form more loyalty
  to the project, their co-workers, and perhaps the
  values of the company. Are looking for companies
  that value social responsibility, diversity, and
  the environment.

Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
21
Issues and Areas of Conflict

• Issue The generations share a similar language
  with totally different meanings. Ex. Broken
  record technique, OMG, BFF
• Common ground Find means for keeping up,
  Facebook, MySpace, blogs

22
Issues and areas of conflict

• ISSUE Silents and Boomers feel devalued, as if
  their experience and contributions are no longer
  important. Millennials are not willing to pay
  their dues.
• Common Ground Millennials are impatient to make
  an impact. But they are eager for feedback, and
  while they want to be respected they are also
  looking for mentors. Several orgs are giving new
  employees senior level mentors.

Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
23
Issues and areas of conflict

• ISSUE Silents, Boomers, and especially Xers are
  highly independent. The Millennials involvement
  of parents and need to work on teams is seen as
  childish. They just need to grow up!
• Common Ground The biggest complaint about Xers
  was their inability to work with others.
  Millennials do this well and can teach us all.
  They also have a great deal to contribute,
  especially in regard to technology and optimism.

24
Issues and Areas of Conflict

• Issue Authority Silents respect it, Boomers
  have a love-hate relationship with it, but now
  they are the authority. Xers are unimpressed with
  authority and Millennials do not see a need for
  it.

Common Ground Xers and Millennials are highly
self-accountable, and therefore do not see a need
for authority. You can trust them however, they
will not understand chain of command.
25
Tips for working with Millennials

• Dont assume you share the same meanings for
  words, seek clarification constantly
• State desired outcomes clearly and specifically,
  then get out of the way. Allow freedom to do it
  how, where and when they prefer if possible, but
  with clear goals and timelines. Time is a 24/7
  resource. Tell them when its due, not when to do
  it.
• Have a high level of social interaction
  collaboration and work teams are their strength
• Have the work be meaningful help them see
  meaning KEY

Shepard, S. (2004). Managing the Millennials.
Retrieved April 28, 2008. www.shepardcomm.com/mana
ging-millennials-wp.pdf
26
Tips for working with Millennials

• Provide continuous feedback, but be as positive
  as possible Oreo method
• Experiential learning is preferred technological
  experiences are even better
• Put it in writing they are rules oriented
• Be prepared to train them about EVERYTHING
  assume nothing about behavioral norms

Phillips, C. (February, 2008). Get the best out
of Millennials by tweaking habits. Advertising
Age, 79, 6.
27
Tips for working with Millennials

• Play to their strengths, let their creativity,
  technological skills and brainpower loose and
  they will do amazing things.
• Remember we were all young toothey are in the
  process of becoming.

28
Questions? Comments?

• Thank you!

29
References

• ACE UCLA Higher Education Research Institute,
  The American freshman National norms for Fall
  1999.
• Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
  What leaders need to know about Millennials.
  Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
• Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
  launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
• Hallon, J. (March, 2008). Millennials at the
  gate. Workforce Management, 87, 4.
• Howe, N. Strauss, W. (2000). Millenials rising
  The next great generation. New York Vintage
  Books.
• Phillips, C. (February, 2008). Get the best out
  of Millennials by tweaking habits. Advertising
  Age, 79, 6.
• Shepard, S. (2004). Managing the Millennials.
  Retrieved April 28, 2008. www.shepardcomm.com/mana
  ging-millennials-wp.pdf
• Strauss, W., Howe, N. (1991). Generations The
  History of Americas Future, 1584-2069. New York
  Morrow.