Multi-generational Management

Abstract

The study of multi-generational management has recently come into vogue, because an unusual circumstance has developed. Significant numbers of five distinct generations are now present in the workforce of the United States, a phenomenon human resources professionals and social scientists have dubbed "5G." This presents unique challenges for managers because each generation has in place certain stereotypes about itself and about the other four generations. These stereotypes affect the ways the generations interact with one another at work, and have frequently been the source of conflict.

Overview

The modern workplace has long been struggling to address issues of diversity, as members of more and more groups find themselves needing to understand one another well enough to get along or at least get their work done with a minimal amount of friction. During this process, diversity has usually taken the form of differences in gender, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation. Within the past few years, a new category has been added to this list: generational diversity. This is because, for a variety of personal and economic reasons, more generations are simultaneously participating in the workforce than has been seen at almost any other period in history. At present there are five distinct generations working side by side: the traditionalists (born before 1946), the baby boomers (born after 1946 but before 1964), generation X (born after 1965 and before 1980), generation Y (born after 1980 and before 1995, also known as millennials), and generation Z (born after 1996). Each of these generations has distinctive qualities that it is known for; some of these are positive, while others are negative. These stereotypical representations affect the kinds of expectations held by members of one generation when they interact with another generation. As is often the case when people act based on their expectations of others, there are times when the interaction takes on the semblance of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

For example, if a group of millennials expect that their baby boomer supervisor will behave in a self-centered manner, thinking primarily about his or her own needs, then it is likely that most of the supervisor’s actions will be interpreted this way, regardless of their true intent. When the supervisor eventually learns that he or she is being perceived in this way, it is likely to create resentment toward the millennials for thinking the worst (Zemke, Raines, & Filipczak, 2013).

Applications

In an effort to avoid generational conflicts in the workplace, many managers have begun to study the ways that different generations tend to interact with one another at work. Obviously, there are a great many permutations and combinations that can arise from the five different generations, as well as the many different types of relationships that are possible in the contemporary work environment. Employees can be above or below one another in the hierarchy, or at the same level (Burke, Cooper, & Antoniou, 2015). They can also be members of completely separate hierarchies and power structures, who nevertheless are required by the circumstances of the workplace to interact with one another from time to time.

A good deal has been written about the stereotypical behaviors that each generation supposedly exhibits: Traditionalists are old fashioned and methodical, and tend to resist the use of technology whenever possible, preferring face to face communication. Baby boomers are seen as disliking authority but having a preference for clear organizational structures with well established reporting lines; they are sometimes described as materialistic and even self-absorbed. Generation Xers are thought to be cynical and independent, because they grew up exposed to numerous political and religious scandals, and often had to look after themselves because their parents were divorced, working, or both—the term "latch key kid" dates from Generation X’s era, when kids would go home after school to an house because both parents were at work. Millennials share the baby boomers’ distrust of authority, but possess great aptitude with technology, since they grew up using the Internet and various gadgets. Generation Z is only just entering the workforce, so it is difficult to tell what all of its distinguishing characteristics will be, though it is clear that its members are even more comfortable with technology than are members of generation Y (Sauser & Sims, 2012).

Perhaps the most interesting piece of research on these issues, from a managerial perspective, at least, is a study that investigated these generational stereotypes in an effort to determine how accurate they really are. The study found, among other things, that virtually all generational stereotypes relevant to workplace performance are experienced as exaggerations by the generation to whom they are attributed. For each generational grouping, questions were asked of that group’s members and of members of all of the other groups, about how accurate the stereotypes attributed to that group are. Every group reported feeling that others’ understanding of it was exaggerated.

For example, if all groups were asked what percentage of millennials behave awkwardly in social situations, most groups might estimate the answer to be about 80 percent, whereas millennials themselves would estimate about 50 percent. In other words, the stereotypes that each generation has about the other generations tend to be grounded in truth, but are less true than people outside a given group believe they are (Elliott, 2011).

Managing multiple generations of workers requires balancing competing interests, some of which appear to be at odds with one another (Al-Asfour, 2014). This can make management a thankless job, as almost any type of initiative can be relied upon to upset one generation even as it appeases another. For example, if a company sought to introduce an employee benefit that would be paid out in the form of shares in the company that could be redeemed after ten years, younger employees such as millennials and those from generation Z might be quite pleased, but older employees like traditionalists and even some baby boomers might be less thrilled (Abrams & Von, 2013). This would be because the older employees might not want to wait years into their retirement to receive the benefit, while the younger employees, with more working years ahead of them, would find the delay less onerous. Software technologies have been developed specifically to help human resource personnel to deal with a multi-generational workforce (König, 2015).

In order to avoid conflict-generating situations, managers of multiple generations will often try to craft benefit programs in such a way as to make them appealing to each age group of employees at the firm (Bussin & van Rooy, 2014). In the example above, the benefit of company shares might be altered so that it could be redeemed at any time during the ten year period, but the reward would be greater if one waited longer. This way, all generations would have the option of receiving the same benefit, but they would also have the flexibility of cashing it in sooner if that worked better for them.

Viewpoints

One piece of advice that multi-generational managers agree on is that they should be aware of differences among employees of different generations, but try to build on the similarities that exist between them. For example, baby boomers are unusual in the fact that they frequently care for their parents and their children at the same time; they are sometimes called the "sandwich generation," since they are sandwiched between the needs of their parents and their kids. Sometimes this causes baby boomers to resent members of other generations, envying the fact that they do not have as many duties to juggle. A skillful manager could help avoid conflict around this by enlisting both Baby Boomers and members of other groups to help the company design support services for employees in need of child care. This would be a project that focuses on what employees of different generations have in common—the need for high quality child care—rather than what distinguishes them.

Interestingly, most of the generations think other generations have the same negative qualities, the majority of which seem to result from poor communication between members of different generations. This can be seen when one asks members of various generations what they think about other generations’ attitudes toward change. Members of younger generations will usually report that members of older generations are resistant to change: Baby boomers say this about traditionalists, generation X says it about baby boomers, and generation Y says it about generation X, and so on. The pattern holds for other stereotypes as well. Millennials think baby boomers are arrogant, baby boomers think millennials are arrogant, and so on—suggesting that the underlying issue is that the generations are not communicating well with one another (Szollose, 2011). Facilitating communication between generations, and in effect "translating" for one generation so that its words and behavior are understood by other generations the way they were meant to be, becomes the role of the multi-generational manager. Ideally this sort of work is done ahead of time, so that misunderstandings and conflicts can be avoided before they begin, but in large organizations where things are constantly on the move, this is not always possible. The manager must then clean up the mess caused by mistaken assumptions, clarifying communications, and repairing bruised egos on all sides (Lindsell-Roberts, 2011).

Recruitment

It is tempting to think of the multi-generational workforce only in terms of the problems it can cause, but there are potential benefits worth considering as well. Having employees from different age groups all working together toward the same organizational goals brings to the work a much wider range of skills and experience than would be present if only one or two generations were represented. Some employers, cognizant of this benefit, design their recruitment efforts to appeal to members of different generations. This can be a tricky affair because it is easy for recruiters to fall back on simplistic stereotypes about the generations, assuming that all millennial and generation Z workers are vegan carpoolers, for example (Reitman & American Society for Training and Development, 2013).

The best multi-generational recruitment efforts are based on detailed research and discussions with members of the groups being targeted, so that a realistic picture of the target generations and their needs can be developed. Sometimes, this involves refining the lens through which the generations are being studied. This can mean not only looking at the year of an employee’s birth to determine their generation, but also examining criteria such as career stage. Career stage is an approximation of how long an employee has been in a career, and tends to be classified as early, middle, or late.

Early career is usually five years or less in a role, middle career is five to fifteen years, and late career stage is fifteen or more years in a role (Warnell, 2015). Thus, an employee born in 1975 who has been working as a salesperson for eight years might be described as a member of generation X at the middle stage of his or her career. This gives a clearer picture of the employee’s experience and potential attitudes, which can be useful when helping the employee interact effectively with others. For example, more than one generation complains that other generations do not respect its authority or acknowledge the contribution of their experience. Assessing the accuracy of this kind of complaint could be difficult for a manager who does not know more about the employees involved—an early stage baby boomer who does not feel her experience is being respected by a late stage millennial is a very different situation than a late stage traditional who feels that her experience is not being acknowledged by an early stage generation Z employee. When a thorny conflict arises, the wise manager will pause to consider issues such as stage and generation (Finkelstein, 2015).

Terms & Concepts

5G Workplace: This is a shorthand phrase referring to the fact that the labor force has members of five different generations working side by side: traditionalists, baby boomers, generation X, generation Y, and generation Z.

Baby Boomers: Baby Boomers are members of the generation born between 1946 and approximately 1964. When soldiers returned home from World War II, they were anxious to get married and start a family, so an unusually large number of children were born in the years after the war ended in 1945. This earned the children the name baby boomers because they were part of a boom (a large increase in number) of babies.

Generation Z: Members of Generation Z were born after 1996. There is as yet relatively little hard data available about the characteristics of Generation Z, but indications are that they are at least as comfortable with technology as millennials and may have similar attitudes about the value of education and the need to make a positive contribution to society.

Helicopter Parents: Millennials and post-millennials are known for having been raised by extremely attentive parents, in contrast to members of generation X, who were much more independent as children. Some parents have been so attentive that observers have said they practically hover over their children at all times, like helicopters—hence the name. This behavior occasionally continues through college and even beyond, extending into the millennial child’s entry into the workforce. Stories are told of angry parents calling college professors or work supervisors to complain about how their children are being treated unfairly.

Millennials: The generation born in the early 1980s and reaching adulthood around the year 2000. Millennials are sometimes referred to as generation Y. They have the reputation of being comfortable with technology and with diversity, and have the highest rate of education.

Traditionalists: This is one of several names used to describe those born prior to 1946. They are also known as the Greatest Generation because of their sacrifices during World War II and the Great Depression. They tend to have more challenges using technology because they have lived most of their lives without having to learn it or rely upon it.

Bibliography

Abrams, J., & Von, F. V. (2013). The multigenerational workplace: communicate, collaborate, and create community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Al-Asfour, A., & Lettau, L. (2014). Strategies for Leadership Styles for Multi-Generational Workforce. Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 11(2), 58-69. Retrieved January 3, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=100414801&site=ehost-live

Burke, R. J., Cooper, C. L., & Antoniou, A.-S. G. (2015). The multi-generational and aging workforce: Challenges and opportunities. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

Bussin, M., & van Rooy, D. J. (2014). Total rewards strategy for a multi-generational workforce in a financial institution. South African Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(1), 1–11. Retrieved January 3, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=103281234&site=ehost-live

Elliott, S. (2011). Ties to tattoos: Turning generational differences into a competitive advantage. Dallas, TX: Brown Books.

Finkelstein, L. M. (2015). Facing the challenges of a multi-age workforce: A use-inspired approach. New York, NY: Routledge.

König, C. (2015). HR technologies for the multi-generational workforce. Workforce Solutions Review, 6(3), 20–23. Retrieved January 3, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=111478863&site=ehost-live

Lindsell-Roberts, S. (2011). New rules for today’s workplace. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Reitman, A., & American Society for Training and Development. (2013). Talent engagement across the generations. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.

Sauser, W. I., & Sims, R. R. (2012). Managing human resources for the Millennial generation. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

Szollose, B. (2011). Liquid leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia: Multigenerational management ideas that are changing the way we run things. Austin, TX: Greenleaf.

Warnell, J. M. M. (2015). Engaging millennials for ethical leadership: What works for young professionals and their managers. New York, NY: Business Expert Press.

Zemke, R., Raines, C., & Filipczak, B. (2013). Generations at work: Managing the clash of boomers, Gen Xers, and Gen Yers in the workplace. New York, NY: American Management Association.

Suggested Reading

Barry, M. (2014). Creating a practice environment that supports multigenerational workforce collaboration. American Nurse, 46(1), 13.

Carpenter, M. J., & de Charon, L. C. (2014). Mitigating multigenerational conflict and attracting, motivating, and retaining millennial employees by changing the organizational culture: A theoretical model. Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, 5(3), 68–84.

Cekada, T. L. (2012). Training a multigenerational workforce. Professional Safety, 57(3), 40–44. Retrieved January 3, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=72324002&site=ehost-live

Gelbtuch, J. B., Morlan, C., Project Management Institute & PMI Global Congress—North America. (2015). Successful project management leadership in a multigenerational workplace. PMI Global Congress 2015—North America.

Wiedmer, T. (2015). Generations do differ: Best practices in leading traditionalists, boomers, and generations X, Y, and Z. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 82(1), 51–58.