A few years ago, I was
facilitating a management workshop at one of my clients – a large multinational
manufacturer with tens of thousands of employees. And more than once did I come
across groups where, in the same session, some participants had over 25 years
of experience working for this company while other participants – their
day-to-day colleagues – were merely 25 years old! This broad “employee
generational spectrum” - present in several organisations – can be explained in
part because many older workers often remain on the job longer, and because
younger workers are entering the workplace right out of college.
This results in a more
“eclectic environment” fragmented into as many as four distinct generations,
namely: the Traditionalist, the Baby Boomers,
the Generation X and the Generation Y – also known as the
generation of the millennials.
This “brave new workplace”
presents many additional communication challenges. And if our goal is to
enhance the interpersonal communication efficiency with our colleagues –
employees, peers and bosses –then it’s crucial that we first understand this
multi-generational environment and consider the different values, attitudes and
work styles of each generation prior to engaging with our younger or older
counterparts. Let’s briefly look at these four very distinct groups of workers…
The
Traditionalist generation…
The Traditionalist
generation represents people who were born before 1946. What we can say about
the Traditionalists is that they had to deal with pretty severe social,
economical and political issues stemming from the world wars and the great
economic depression. Being brought up during “tough times” where the military
was in vogue certainly helps explain why this generation is very loyal and
extremely respectful of authority. Traditionalists are generally good team
players, respond well to command-and-control work style and are inherently
resistant to change. They value safety, security, consistency & commitment.
Hard workers – most likely because they grew up during a time when jobs were
not abundant – but often technically challenged, the Traditionalists prefer
face-to-face interactions over telephone or email conversations. Since most of
them are retired, they correspond to less than five percent of today’s working
population. As a consequence of near retirement (for those who remain in the
workforce), they tend to be satisfied with their personal/professional
situation and do not see advancement or achievement as important as their
younger colleagues.
The Baby
Boomers generation…
The Baby Boomers Generation
characterizes people born between 1946 and 1961. For the most part, they are
the product of post-war efforts to absorb soldiers returning home from battle,
which resulted in a childbirth boom – hence the name “baby boomers”. In
North-America, they grew up in an era of prosperity and growth, which also
contributed to an increase in immigration from the old continent. More educated
and with more financial resources than their parents, Boomers are nonetheless
disciplined, hard workers and essentially defined by their careers. Being
exposed to a changing world, they are known to be confident, independent and
willing to confront others and challenge the status quo. Baby Boomers define
themselves by their careers and professions – they are very competitive, they
equate their worth by their work status and position. Often tagged as
“career-focused workaholics”, they naturally believe that everyone should work
long hours in order to advance in their careers. They prefer hierarchal work
structure over flatter and more flexible workplace, and are often characterized
as “command-and-control” types of leaders. Although television was a large
element of the Baby Boomers’ upbringing, they prefer real-time human
communication over digital interactions. Up until recently, they constituted
the greater part of the workforce…. but their numbers are diminishing rapidly
as thousands leave for retirement every week.
The
generation X…
Generation X describes the
people born between 1962 and 1980 (this is my generation!). As they witnessed a
shift from a manufacturing economy to one focused on services, the “Gen-X” also
grew up with technology – personal computers, video games, cell phones, email,
etc. In comparison to the Boomers’ booming labour market, Xers experienced
difficult times in the eighties when jobs were scarce and unemployment high.
They were often raised in two-income or single-parent homes with a good dose of
daycare. Individualists in nature, flexible and independent-minded, people from
this generation are usually more educated, very change-savvy and are generally
more ethnically diverse as a demographic group. Autonomous, they despise
micro-management. They crave responsibility but will politely reject authority.
All of this makes them less loyal to their employers as they equate job changes
with a faster way of moving up the corporate latter. In contrast with their
work-focused parents, they do however favor flexibility and a more “optimal”
work-life balance.
The
Millennial generation…
Finally, Generation Y – also
known as the Millennial Generation, the Net Generation, or the Echo Boomers –
corresponds to people born between the early eighties and the mid nineties.
Born with technology – the Web, SMS, Facebook – they are the latest generation
to enter the workplace. Not so long ago, they were still marginal in terms of
numbers, but with the current demographics (boomers retiring fast, Gen X being
less numerous), the Millennials have just become the largest generational group
in the workplace… Gen Y’s live, learn and shop online, thrive on electronic
communication and prefer it over face-to-face conversation. Natural
multi-taskers and very collegial, they are inundated by information, music and
media from all around. Although confident and seeking a meaningful role in the
workplace, they value flexible employment schedules and will systematically
pick family over work. Money is less important than purpose, learning
opportunities and job flexibility. The Millennials will also challenge authority
and won’t hesitate to push back if their values are not respected. (Given their
personal and professional values, their work styles, their inherent diversity
and openness to the to world, this is by far my favorite generation…
subjectively speaking, of course!)
So What?
What does this
multigenerational workplace mean from an interpersonal communication point of
view? Put simply, when groups have the same values and attitudes, interactions
with colleagues typically go smoother.
However, when background, values and attitudes of people differ, it may
yield interpersonal tension, misunderstanding and other communication issues if
we are not paying attention. Furthermore, the way each generation handles
confrontation may also be a point of friction.
Adapting our communication style, finding common grounds and focusing on affinity zones are techniques that will
make this cross-generational communication more productive. And if else fails,
we should always revert back to “good
old empathy”. In other words, let’s just try to put ourselves in the other
person's shoes – adopting our counterpart’s perspective will always help the
fluidity of our interaction with them.
What do you think?
- Patrick
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