UNDERSTANDING THE MULTIGENERATIONAL WORKFORCE

Shira Harrington [email protected] 703-508-9573

The current US workforce has been profoundly shaped by the values of four generations: The Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. The societal events and parental upbringings of each cohort have influenced their views of life and work, which they bring into the workplace.

From time immemorial, every older and younger generation has played a game of tug-of-war: younger generations want to innovate and older generations want to preserve the status quo. Ultimately our cultures transform at a healthy pace. Today’s Millennial generation, currently in their 20s and early 30s, are playing that game with gusto.

DISCLAIMERS ABOUT GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY

 There is a difference between generational diversity and age diversity. Generational diversity refers to the life events and parental upbringings of a birth cohort born in a 15-20 period. Age diversity refers to the different stages of life – eg. a 25 year old will have different needs than a 55 year old.  People are individuals with many “onion layers.” We should be aware of these differences in order to appreciate their diversity.  We should use generational diversity to archetype, not to stereotype. An archetype suggests that 80% of a population will exhibit certain characteristics, yet there are always outliers.  People who are born during the five-year period around a birth cohort are termed “cuspers.” They will relate more to the former or latter generation based on their parental and social upbringing.

THE LEGACY OF THE TRADITIONALIST GENERATION

 The Traditionalist generation born before 1945, experienced major societal events including the Great Depression when they were children and as they grew up, WWII. They lived during a time of great upheaval which caused them to value hard work, loyalty, and frugality.  As adults, they reinvented the workplace valuing hierarchical models of top-down, command-and- control leadership, respect for authority and “paying dues” up the corporate ladder.  Anticipating a pension-supported retirement, they were encouraged to stay with their employers for a lifetime and thus valued long tenure and workplace loyalty. They passed this value to their Baby Boomer children.

THE IMPACT OF THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION

 The Baby Boomers born between 1946 – 1964 are a population of 80 million raised during a time of tremendous social change. The Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War are examples of events that initiated a time of social unrest and anti-establishment thinking. They ultimately became great champions of diversity in the workplace.  Raised by Traditionalist parents who valued workplace stability and loyalty, there were initially taught to seek out a life-time employer; however, with the abolishment of pension plans in the 1990s and the wave of corporate downsizing, Boomers eventually learned to be career mobile.  Women became pioneers in forging careers that were traditionally held by men in the workplace. In fact, both men and women started competing to secure executive roles, and to this day tend to focus on work as their primary identity.  Today many Boomers are facing age discrimination and unemployment as they attempt to re-enter the workforce after the downsizings of the Great Recession.

THE CAREER PROGRESSION OF GENERATION X

 Generation X born between 1965 – 1980 are the children of the early Baby Boomers. The smallest of the generational cohorts at only 46 million, they were largely overlooked by the media and advertisers and only now are garnering some attention as they enter their parenting years.  The first latchkey generation to come home after school to an empty house, they learned the value of independence. When the internet became popular in the 1990s, they were propelled into entrepreneurship and spearheaded such companies as Google and Amazon.  Known for their fast paced, goal oriented approach and cynical communication style, they often are challenged managing Millennials who expect more mentoring and specific performance guidelines.  The children of downsized Boomer parents, they learned not to expect loyalty from employers; rather, to be loyal to their own careers. As a result, work-life balance became a top priority.

HOW MILLENNIALS WERE RAISED

 Millennials, a population of 100 million born 1981 – 2000, were raised in a time of relative affluence, social turmoil and rapid technological advancements. There have been more technological changes in the last 10 years than in the last 50 years.  Many of their Baby Boomer parents have “helicopter parented” them in an effort to protect them from societal dangers and to raise their self-esteem in a way that their Traditionalist parents didn’t.  They were raised to appreciate diversity and see the world as their global community.  They are “digital natives” having been raised with technology from an early age – 83% go to sleep with their smartphones.  They tend to be social activists and like to work for or volunteer with causes that make a difference. Collectively, they are on a quest to save the planet, end world hunger and create a more peaceful world.  They were raised in a collaborative environment in school and learned to value teamwork.

MILLENNIALS TODAY

 Millennials are facing $1 trillion in college debt which they are having difficulty paying off because 61% of them are unemployed or underemployed due to the Great Recession, and because of the bottlenecking of their huge cohort into the workforce.  Their careers and personal lives are being delayed and 85% of them have needed to move back home with their parents after college.  Having been taught by helicopter parents that failure isn’t an option, they tend to ask a lot of questions and be given explicit instructions when working on a project.  They are an entrepreneurial generation and are using technology to innovate and start their own businesses.

FUNDAMENTAL SHIFTS IN WORKPLACE VALUES

DECLINE OF EMPLOYER LOYALTY

Until the last two decades, there was a perceived loyalty “contract” between employees and their staff. Employers provided a pension and a sense of security to their employees who were loyal to one employer for the majority of their careers. The recession of the 1990s, however, began a wave of downsizings, including the ultimate elimination of corporate pensions, which left Generation X and Millennials fending for their careers. As a result, employee tenure began to erode to the point where today’s Millennial generation stay in their jobs on average for only 18 months. In fact, it’s considered socially uncouth among Millennials to stay at a job for more than two years.

“PAYING DUES” IS PASSÉ

While most young workers throughout the last four generations have desired fairly rapid career advancement, there was an understanding among the Traditionalist and Boomer workforces that one had to “pay their dues” for certain a period before expecting to receive a promotion. Climbing the “career ladder” may have taken some time, but was for the most part attainable. With the shrinking of middle management, career options have become more limited, leading to“itchiness” among younger employees who don’t want to wait around for 5 years to see if their boss will vacate a spot. In addition, with technology providing unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurship, and parents bolstering their self-esteem, it’s no wonder that many Millennials expect to be promoted at a rapid pace.

WORK ETHIC BEING REDEFINED

During the Boomers’ early working years, putting in “face time” (no, not the iphone app!) was a common means of demonstrating work ethic. If you showed up to work before the boss and stayed after the boss left, the presumption was that you were hard at work. Today, with teleworking and flex schedules becoming more the norm, the concept of work ethic is changing. Rather than being defined the clock, Generation X and Millennials believe that it should be defined by their deliverables. Moreover, there is a trend particularly among Millennials to use work time for personal activities. While many older managers look at this practice with disdain, Millennials might argue that it shouldn’t matter when their work gets done, as long as it does. And if it means taking a break to chat on Instagram, that shouldn’t matter to the final deliverable. On the other hand, if using social media becomes more the norm than the exception, it might mean that their job engagement level needs to be raised.

RESPECT IS GIVEN TO PEOPLE, NOT TITLES

Having fought in WWII, many in the Traditionalist generation brought their military values to the workplace. Following the chain of command – along with the accompanying command-and-control management style – meant that orders were to be followed without question. A person’s rank determined the level of respect they should receive. Generation X and Millennials, having been raised in much more informal environments have dropped not only the formal “Yessir” greeting to their corporate bosses, but believe that executives should be respected because they earn it, not necessarily because their title demands it. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a Millennial to casually make a request of the CEO, and expect a response same-day.

THE IMPACT OF MILLENNIALS ON WORKPLACE VALUES AND BEHAVIORS

Currently the largest segment of the US workforce, the Millennials will continue to make a significant impact on workplace values and behaviors. From their perceptions of communication, to technology, to process improvement, Millennials are demanding a more flexible, fluid, and innovative culture. Employers will need to adapt to the needs of this massive cohort or risk their attrition. Becoming an employer-of-choice that retains Millennials is possible…if you take the time to ask them how.

What Millennials Want:

 Knowledge that is shared freely from the top. They want to know why their job matters.  Processes that are lean and efficient, not just “because we’ve always done it that way.”  A culture that embraces innovation from all levels.  State of the art technology whenever possible.  A boss who cares about their career and will constructively show them how to advance.  Career mentoring opportunities. Reverse mentoring older generations is fine too.  The opportunity to communicate via mobile technology.  Work-life integration. An understanding that work and life really aren’t separate.  The opportunity for remote working or at least flexible scheduling.  A workplace that is not only diverse, but respectful of diverse opinions.  A commitment to being ecologically friendly and giving back to the local community.  An environment where teamwork is fostered, and where they can connect with their peers.  Frequent feedback on their work progress so they can quickly course correct.  Opportunities to gain new skills, and hopefully new roles, based on merit not just tenure.  A fun, friendly culture that knows how to incorporate play into work.