If companies really want to survive in the new economy, they must accommodate the generational differences in their people. That means “in with the old, the new, and everyone in between.”Nothing gets people’s attention faster than telling them how they are perceived by others.
Looking at their workforce through a “generational lens” shows managers how other people see them and how they appear to their coworkers.
The fastest way to get rid of erroneous notions between different generations is to expose them to the light of day. They usually fade away at that point and a more constructive conversation about the strengths of each generation can begin.
How do each of the generations see each other?
Veterans—Most employers have already realized they need this group in the workforce, now that the labor shortage looks like a long-term problem. Veterans are the keepers of corporate wisdom and legend, but aren’t always appreciated for what they bring to the table. Boomers tend to see them as their former bosses—the old guard that is slowly fading from the scene. While Boomers value their past contributions, they tend to view them as obstacles to change (and Boomers love the “c” word). On the other hand, Boomers love their work ethic, their stick-to-itiveness and their respect for authority.
Generation Xers see those same strengths in Veterans, but tend to write them off as technologically challenged. In the rare cases where the “Nexters”—the generation after Gen X—encounter veterans in the workplace, you’ll see a surprising degree of agreement.
Boomers—As a generation, Boomers have had more attention paid to them than any generation so far. They’ve come to expect it. Gen Xers resent them, resent that expectation, and resent just about everything else about them. In most cases at work, it’s a Boomer boss managing an Xer and Veteran workforce, and they get mixed messages from both groups.
Veterans see them as inexperienced and lacking a structure or a chain of command that would make the work flow more easily. Veterans also don’t feel they get clear directions from Boomers. Xers see Boomers as spoiled posers who want to be in charge but don’t want to be seen as authority figures.
Boomers appear to Xers as buzzword-spewing control freaks who are so deep in organizational politics that they wouldn’t recognize a real day’s work if it sat on the hood of their BMW and smoked a clove cigarette.
Once you get beyond all the bile, however, both Veterans and Xers will agree that Boomers try to be very fair and are quite good at managing and motivating teams. They will also acknowledge that Boomers, as a rule, give plenty of feedback about performance and are always willing to sit down and discuss an issue openly. There’s an egalitarian nature to Boomer managers that is quite admirable.
Xers—This group tends to get a lot of crap at work, especially from Boomers. We (and I think it’s important to realize that I’m one of them) have been labeled slackers and are constantly criticized for our work ethic, our attitude, our attention span, and our sense of corporate loyalty. Veterans see our unstructured attitude toward work threatening and think the way we dress or act while on the job is much too casual. Boomers butt heads with us about team spirit and our tendency to bolt for the doors at 5 p.m., whether the work is done or not. Our “it’s just a job” attitude doesn’t win us many popularity contests at work.
On the other hand, when all is said and done, Xers tend to have a lot of technological savvy, and there’s no indication those skills will become less important over the coming decades. As a generation, Gen Xers are also highly task-oriented, meaning you can count on us to get the work done when it needs to be done. We like deadlines, and if you can answer the philosophical question “Is this going to be on the test?” when Xers ask it about any task you assign, you’ll go a long way toward winning them over.
Generational dynamics spans more than this quick list, but it should give you some conversational fodder for the water cooler, the e-mail system, or the next departmental lunch. And nothing will improve until you start talking about this stuff.
Bob Filipczak is co-author of Generations at Work and online editor for the Woodworker’s Journal eZine. (bobf@uswest.net)
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