Generational Differences

In the Workplace

Generations(Weston, Blauth, McDaniel, Perrin)

• Group of people born in the same general time span who share some life experience– Historical events– Pastimes– Heroes– Work experiences

Roll the Dice

• Roll the dice• Each will reveal a word• Use the word(s) to tell about yourself or

someone with whom you work.

Who Are You?• Traditionalists (1900 – 1945) – Great Depression, WWII,

Korean War, … John Wayne, Joe DiMaggio

• Boomers – (1946-1964) – Suburban sprawl, television, Vietnam, Watergate, … Martin Luther King Jr. and Dr. Spock

• Gen X-ers – (1965 – 1980) – Sesame Street, MTV, PCs, Divorce, latch-key kids, … Michael Jordan, Bill Gates

• Millennials - Gen Y – (1981 – 2000)- digital cameras, social media, YouTube, 9/11, Katrina, … Mark Zuckerburg.

Fire Service and Union Leadership• Today, there are at least three distinctive

generations in the workforce. • Boomers are team players, love social

interaction at work and invest time to work their way up

• Gen X-ers are sceptical, determined to do a good job but also go home and have a life

• Millenials (Gen Y-ers) have little patience, if they’re not happy… They leave.

What is Your Perception of Work

• Review the Quiz• Circle the description that best describes

your perception of work• Add your points

Boomers (1946-1964)

• Focus on the American Dream

• Value loyalty• Equal rights• Team Oriented• Good communication

skills

• Live to work• Competent • Want to make a

difference• Able to handle crisis• Ambitious• Ethical

Gen Jones (1953-1965)• As teens in the 1970’s—popularized the slang

term “jonesin’” (meaning a craving or yearning)… – turned out to be a core personality trait of this

generation of huge expectations left unfulfilled• Between the personality extremes of the

Boomers’ idealism and the Xers’ cynicism lies the more balanced mainstream “Jones” quality

• The “keeping up with the Joneses” connotation reflects a collective competitiveness of the Generation Jones birth years

Gen X-ers ( 1965-1980)

• Latch-key kids• Angry but don’t know

why• Confident• Pampered by parents• Results driven• Self sufficient

• Project oriented• Strong sense of

entitlement• Willing to take on

responsibility• Work/life balance is

important

Mil/Gen-Y Characteristics(1981-2000)

• Refuse to work a job that does not bring them a sense of joy.

• Care about the earth and servicing their community• Text one another, IM, watch each other on YouTube,

and sometimes do all three at the same time! • Do NOT care about what you have to say unless you

have been endorsed by their friends. – They care about what their community says, and they take

each others recommendations VERY seriously.

Traditionalist Baby Boomers Generation X-ers

Millennials /Gen Y-ers

Core Values Respect Authority ConformersDiscipline

OptimismInvolvement

SkepticismFunInformality

RealismConfidenceExtreme FunSocial

Family Traditional Nuclear

Disintegrating Latch-key Kids Merged Families

Education A Dream A birthright A way to get there

An incredible expense

Communication/ Media

Rotary phonesOne-on-oneWritten memo

Touch-tone phoneCall anytime

Cell phonesEmail Internet

Text messagingPhoto phoneSocial media

Money Pay cash Save

Buy now/ pay later

CautiousConservativeSave

Earn to spend

Traditionalist Baby Boomers

Generation X-ers

Millennials /Gen Y-ers

Work Ethic

• Hard Work• Respect authority• Sacrifice• Duty before fun• Adhere to Rules

• Workaholics•Work efficiently•Crusading cause•Personal fulfillment•Desire quality•Question authority

• Eliminate the task• Self-reliance• Structure and direction• Skeptical

• What’s next• Multitasking• Tenacity• Entrepreneurial• Tolerant• Goal oriented

Work Ethic

Work Struggles

• Respect for Diversity• Uncomfortable with conflict• Reticent to take leave

• Technology• Sharing praise/rewards• Balancing work and family

• Career development• Office politics• Skeptical / distrustful of authority

• Respectful communication• Functional literacy• Supervision • Structure

Gen Y Invented by the Boomers• Boomers raised Gen Y to believe that they can

do anything and be anything. • Boomers made their lives easy enough that

they now believe they deserve to live first and work second. (How dare them!)

• So the first thing Boomers have to do is stop being pissed off at their own creation and embrace the brilliance of this Gen Y community.

Gen Y’s Four Main Motivators

• Challenging, stimulating and varied work -work on a variety of projects ,learn and use new skills

• Pay - high self esteem gives high expectations, and if they feel pay is low, they feel undervalued. May also be paying off school loans.

• Career growth learning and development - need to know how the tasks they are assigned now will fit into the “big picture” of overall career.

• Enjoyable work environment - all about interacting with their peers…don’t want to be isolated. Want their work environment to be fun.

Gen Y-ers

• Demotivated by four factors:– boredom– a lack of respect or recognition – an inability to learn, grow and

develop– having a bad boss

How Do You Reach Them?

• Understand that Gen Y is an “experience” culture.

• Don’t want to be told what to like or what to do.

• Want to experience the world for themselves and pass their own judgment.

• Love to be in the trenches of life, and they want to be there with their friends.

How to Earn Their Respect

• AUTHENTICITY • They don’t waste time on people who are not

being real with them. – Authentic is cool. – Authentic is truthful.

• This generation has seen it all, from televised wars to 9-11 to the hanging of Hussein.

• They know real when they see it, and it takes them all of three seconds to pass that judgment.

How to Connect with Millenials /Gen Y-ers

• START by listening • Hang out with them. • Experience life with them. • Respect them. • Their outlook on life will change you. • --------------------------- • Note: Tattoo parlors (36 percent of them have

at least one tattoo)

Txting: Can U Cnct?

• Text codes used to communicate.• Try it• Complete the texting exercise

Generation Differences in the Military

• Senior officers didn’t understand social media– Blocked access to MySpace, YouTube and other

sites– Appalled to see junior officers still using Facebook

to organize their squadrons• DOD Decision – – Forbid the behavior and lose benefits of online– Risk wrath of senior officers who didn’t

understand it

Generation Differences in the Military

• Traits of Millennials (Gen Y-ers) adverse to Military Tradition– Adoption of culture (baggy clothes, piercing, tattoos)– Casual indifference to distinctions (race, ethnicity,

sexual orientation) e.g. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – feels absurd to them– there is no shame in asking or telling.

– Most tolerant generation on record• The oldest members are Navy lieutenants and

Captains in the Air Force, Army and Marines

Military: Millennials/ Gen Y-ers

• Larger than Boomers• 50% larger than Gen –Xers• Committed to family/community/ teamwork• Volunteering for nonprofit work• Reversing trend toward drug use, criminal

activity, and teen pregnancy• Can-do spirit

Military: Millennials/ Gen Y-ers

• Communicate through text, handhelds, videos, audio mixes, blogs and social media pages.

• They are adept at gathering and sharing information• They tend to be quick and effective decision makers• Amazing ability to multitask• Their openness can be used to break down barriers– Training procedures must address this issue if privacy or

secrecy is necessary

Military: Opportunities to Grow

• Inexperience in negotiating agreements

• Deficient in face-to-face social skills

• Inability to ‘win hearts and minds’

Military: Best of Both Worlds• Combine best aspects of networks and best

aspects of ‘command and control’• Infuse the organization with a sense of urgency

and unified mission• Make people responsible for taking

commonsense actions• Seamless communication, speed, agility, and

ability to multitask• Balanced leadership should provide direction,

discipline, and cohesion

Generation Gap Overemphasized

Are we Victims of stereotyping ---- Blind to commonalities ?

• Boomers, X-ers, and Millennials have same expectations from employers– Work on challenging projects– Competitive compensation– Opportunities for advancement and learning– Fair treatment– Work/life balance

Building Together

• Sheets of paper• No other materials• Construct the tallest free-standing structure

Building Together• Planning/Timing – who planned/who ran out of

time?• Pressure – what were the effects?• Innovation – Ideas?• Risk – who took risks?• Learning – could you do better if given another

chance?• Best practice- Look around… what techniques could

be combined to make it better/stronger?• Skills – what skills were valuable?– who had the

skills?

The Mission: All Generations Must Fulfill the Mission

• Differences can be tolerated as long as they do not interfere with the mission– Cell phones on emergency responses– Taking their time when alarm goes off (can’t get out

of bed– or won’t stop task)– Disregarding a command because you don’t like the

tone of the officers voice (or don’t like the officer)– Disregard policy

• Wearing proper uniform – not FDNY t-shirts on duty (unless you work for FDNY)• Tobacco - (chew because you can’t smoke)

Focus on Shared Values

• Similar ‘top’ values – Family tops the list for all generations

• Everyone wants respect – though not defined the same way.– Boomers – “give my opinions the weight deserved”– Millennials/ Y-ers – “listen to me…pay attention to

me”• Nobody likes change – age is not a factor… Has

to do with what you will loose/gain

Focus on Shared Values

• Loyalty depends on context – e.g. hours at work – older workers may spend more time because they are at a different level.

• Everyone wants to learn – want to have the education needed to perform well

• Everyone likes feedback – want to know how they are doing/ what they can do better

Ways to Minimize Differences

• Avoid characterizations based on age – “Old Farts vs. Young Punks”

• Focus on Similarities- use body part analogy• Recognize that change occurs – punch card,

floppy disks, thumb drives wireless• Recognize value – keep what works from the

past and be open to new ideas• Become curious for the unknown – desire

knowledge

Ways to Minimize Differences

• Ask questions rather than make statements – teachable moments (e.g. Do you think that was the best approach?)

• Define acronyms – IT people have great difficulty talking with non IT people

• Paraphrase before answering – (Your perception and their intended point may be very different)

• Acknowledge when someone of a different age is correct – maturity, learning and experience can enlighten

Advice for Boomers• Get to the point• Avoid clichés – be genuine• Learn to use technology• When making assignments explain the

expected endpoint (then let them figure out how to achieve it) … their ways may not be the same as yours

• Communicate benefits• Lighten up!

Advice for Y-ers• Show respect for Boomers• Take your time- get to know people (not just the

task)• Be friendly – relationships are important• Choose face-to-face conversation• Give your full attention – don’t do something else

when talking to someone• Learn the job… don’t just want to LOOK the Part• Learn the structure/ politics of the organization• Learn the history– seemingly odd decisions are often

based on history

Advice for Managers

When Communicating with:

• Traditionalist – words and tone should be respectful, good grammar, clear diction, no slang.

• Boomers – words should be relational over coffee/lunch, ask about interests, get their input, link to mission and values.

Advice for Managers

When communicating with:

• Gen X-ers – don’t waste time, be direct/ straightforward, avoid corporate speak, send email with details

• Millennials/ Gen Y-ers – be positive, send a text message, tie to personal goals or to goals of the team, don’t be condescending, avoid cynicism and sarcasm.

Ideal Leader for all Generations

• Lead by example• Act as a coach/mentor• Be accessible• Encourage followers by helping them see how

they contribute to organization• Challenge followers• Hold others accountable

Where and How did Kennedy Die?

• In Dallas from a gunshot

• In a plane crash in Martha’s Vineyard

• Of a brain tumor at home

• Who’s Kennedy