Working with different generations in the workplace. Complicated?
I recently had a discussion with a colleague that piqued my curiosity. The topic was how differently people seemed to go about their work depending on which generation they belonged to. For the purposes of this blog, I think it is best to create a scenario that is likely being played out in workplaces around the country. Consider this:
“A young person (Centennial is how she might be described) was recently hired for low level clerical work, mostly data entry. She quickly mastered her primary tasks and asked for more to do. Her time management skills were lacking, but she was willing to work extra hours to ensure all tasks were completed. Soon, she demanded even more work that required skills above her pay grade. At first, the supervisor was thrilled with her motivation, there was plenty to do. Over time, however, it became a chore to manage her frequent demands for more work. When she was asked to stay focused on what she had in front of her, she reacted poorly. It’s as if she was disappointed she was not overwhelmed with work. The manager liked her drive and desire to do well, but managing her expectations had become a distraction. What is the best way to handle someone of her age and disposition? She is still in her initial 90 day probationary period.”
Well. This scenario is very interesting and a bit puzzling. It gets me to thinking about all the training and experience I have and how I would characterize managing different generations at work. To be sure, the modern workplace is more diverse than ever and that includes people from different generations.
The first thing I realized is that I didn’t fully understand the attributes of the different generations one might encounter at work today. I suppose at some level I understood they were different but never really put much thought into it. It seemed like a logical step to do some research. So, I did.
And I will tell you there is a LOT of data on the internet about the generational differences (Google “Gen X core values, you will get “about 11,300,000” results).
What I learned is that in western countries (mostly North America, Europe, and Australia) recent generations are broken into five “cadres”. Traditional (Silent), Baby Boomers (my cadre), Gen X, Gen Y (Millennials) and Gen Z (Centennials). The discussion that follows will not include the Traditional cadre as they represent a smaller and decreasing portion of the working population.
I reviewed dozens of web sites and articles. Most had some kind of table or chart that compared the attributes of the different cadres. None of them really told the story I wanted to convey, so I pulled a little from this one a bit from that to make my own. I apologize for not having attribution for them, but the list would be as long as this blog.
I decided to break the characteristics into two groups. Group 1 describes what I consider to be cultural attributes of each of the cadres. Group 2 attempts to summarize what the working environment is like for each of them. There are many more attributes one could devise, but I wanted to make it as focused as I could.
First, let’s examine the cultural attributes. I think it helps understand the “why” of how people behave and see the world. I’ll come back to this later in the blog.
The dates for each cadre are approximate and I saw many different estimates. The exact dates aren’t that important, consider them a basic guideline.
As I worked through this, it became clear that each generation had unique experiences growing up and faced just as much variety in their adulthood (or burgeoning adulthood in the case of the Gen Z population). Very interesting. I was sure this would color how each saw work life and what they wanted out of it. I was not disappointed.
Below is Group 2. I focused on the work environment and how each cadre was likely to behave in the context of career/job.
Again, I could have added many more categories and detail, but this would have turned in to a white paper, not a blog!
One observation I made right away is this: most people doing this kind of research are doing it for marketing purposes. Advertisers need to understand their target audiences and must identify fundamental characteristics of them to know what will appeal to their wallets. So, what does this mean regarding managing people of different generations in your department?
Most importantly, I think it is critical to remember we are always dealing with individuals, not a bucket of attributes defined by a market researcher (or operations blogger). When I looked through the characteristics of Baby Boomers, I recognized some things apply to me and others that most surely did not. I think members of each of the cadres would say the same thing. In fact, one article I read suggested that most people would not self-identify as having one label or another.
How, then, would I counsel someone on how to handle a specific situation? I think the right response is to stay focused on fundamental management practices of setting good expectations, following up, and maintaining accountability. My experience tells me that most people will ultimately respond to this in an appropriate and constructive way.
However, doing the research did provide an insight. While the fundamental practices may be the same, the way we approach people of different cadres may well be different. I think about the generations as somewhat different cultures within our larger culture.
As the world has become smaller and business more global in its scope, our workforces have become more and more diverse. It is not at all uncommon to be in a room with people from all over the world working together to solve problems or create value for the company. I once took a course in working with team members from Asia. Differences in culture define how we communicate with each other. I know I tend to be very direct and get right to the point. It is common in Asian cultures to take a more indirect path in communicating. So, I had to learn to be aware of this difference if I wanted to be effective with my coworkers from Japan. Nothing like experience to drive something home!
I think we can look at the data above in the same light. None of this defines an individual completely. But it does illuminate how the person might see the world. Knowing that, as a group, Millennials tend to want strong positive feedback right now a manager might take extra care to acknowledge the completion of a new task as soon as it is done and put a little praise into the communication. The Baby Boomer doesn’t expect that kind of feedback for completing one task, but sure wants it remembered come promotion or raise time! The Centennial doesn’t want an email about how well they did on an important task, she might want you to pop by for some face time to discuss it.
More subtly, if a Centennial is struggling with staying focused on a task, maybe it is worthwhile investigating whether the process used could be improved. This is especially important if the individual exhibits frustration with how the job is expected to be done.
So, what about our Centennial in the example above? I’d say she pretty well fits the general description of people in her age group. Ambitious, good multitasker, hard working, wants to get ahead. Tends to press the supervisor and sees herself as an equal, regardless of experience. While I am certain she wouldn’t exhibit all the attributes listed in the tables, her behavior is within what I would call the expected range. How does this inform our approach to dealing with the situation if it is becoming untenable from a manager’s point of view?
In general terms, I’d advise making a job progression plan for this highly motivated individual. Lay out a set of expectations with a roadmap that puts progress in her own hands. I would also assume she will do everything in her power to exceed those expectations! So anticipate this. My thought is that if she knows there is a path to more responsibility (creating greater job stability and satisfaction) she may be more measured in her attitude and overall demeanor. Regarding the time management piece, it may be worth getting some training in this skill. She seems to fit another of the Centennial attributes of being distracted by multitasking causing her to have put extra time in to get the job done from time to time. One might also consider some work rules (she would likely hate this) that limits time on social media, etc.
The idea is that it is valuable to take people in the context of their life experience and culture when executing our management duties. As managers, it is critical to keep in mind that we must be accountable for our results and give the people who we lead the best we have to offer. Use your skills and training to give them the tools and space to be successful.
Make it happen.
