The fact that right now we have multiple generations toiling in the workplace — all hustling to find their way and make their mark — will hardly come as a surprise to independent manufacturers’ representatives and the manufacturers and customers they work with.
As if the existence of this phenomenon needs any support, The Washington Post reported earlier this year on a seminar conducted in Fairfax, Virginia, that was attended by business executives all of whom maintained they didn’t understand their younger employees. In her session entitled “Get Wise with Gen Ys,” business coach Anne Loehr emphasized that now, for the first time in this country’s history, “we have four generations of people jammed together in the workplace — people born from the 1930s all the way to the 1980s — jostling for hegemony.”
The Post article, by staff writer Ian Shapira, made the point that “What we’ve got here, as a movie character beloved by one of those older generations put it, is a failure to communicate.”
Shapira’s obvious reference is to the prison “Captain” character in the Paul Newman movie “Cool Hand Luke.” The guard, played by an older Strother Martin, is constantly befuddled by the younger Newman’s Luke, so much so that he constantly refers to the “lack of communication” as the reason why Newman won’t conform to prison rules.
Add Flexibility to Communications
There’s more to working with diversified generations than communications, however. At least that’s the view of Marilyn Moats Kennedy. Kennedy, a consultant who heads the Wilmette, Illinois-based Career Strategies, agrees with the importance of communications but adds, “To succeed, I’d have to recommend that we add flexibility in approach and management style.”
Rather than just settling on the need to improve communications, Kennedy says “The first thing older managers have to decide is whether they want younger people on their team.”
That consideration may not be as strange as it seems. According to the consultant, “The younger generation isn’t necessarily interested in teamwork. Their view is that working within the confines of a team is manipulative more than anything else. For instance, consider this scenario: Your have five people, two youngest of whom are computer competent and the three older aren’t. The supposition is that the younger are supposed to help the older. That’s great, but they’re going to help the older people in exchange for what? That’s the question the younger workers will not only ask, but require an answer.”
This reaction or pushback to the concept of teamwork, she maintains, didn’t necessarily spring up out of nowhere. “Consider for a moment that in school, there are more sports today for the individual than there are for the team player. More and more people are gravitating to running, tennis and golf vs. the traditional team sports. On top of that, we’re also dealing with a larger number of younger people many of whom have never worked a paid job until they’ve graduated from college. Combine both of these trends and that’s what we’ve got in the work force.”
Tracing the Evolution of Change
How and why did such drastic changes in attitudes evolve? Kennedy explains that while just 20 years ago we were all aware of the fact that Baby Boomers (those born in the 1946-59 time frame) would age despite their best efforts to avoid the inevitable process. What we didn’t’ anticipate, however, was how profoundly this would affect the workforce. She says that the U.S. labor force is now a reverse pyramid poised on an ever-narrowing point. “Only 18% of the U.S. population is younger than 18. Race, gender and ethnic diversity in the workplace have been superseded by a bigger issue — age diversity.”
She says there are five age cohorts in the workplace now:
- Pre-Boomers (1934-45)
- Boomers (1946-59)
- Cuspers (1960-68)
- Buster (1969-78)
- Netster (1979-88+)
Kennedy continues, “These five groups share some traditional work values but differ on the role of managers, employer/employee loyalty, and social values differ. “Nowhere is this as acute as it is between Pre-Boomer and Boomer managers and their younger subordinates. For example, older managers criticize younger workers’ commitment because 20- and 30-somethings frequently want to limit the hours they work. Telecommuting is another generation expectation. Then, add to that they like to work in small groups, put the individual (vs. the team) first, and possess an attitude of ‘I win, you win.’”
Simply introducing the subject of 20- and 30-somethings in the workplace leads directly to a consideration of how to motivate different generations. The simple fact is that “one size does not fit all,” according to Kennedy. That’s why it’s so important to vary the reward system.
Jordan Rules
Since Kennedy is headquartered near Chicago, she’s asked about one of the more noted examples of employing a varied reward system that took place during the championship run of the ultra-successful Chicago Bulls of the NBA. The varied reward system was chronicled in a book entitled Jordan Rules, by Sam Smith. According to Kennedy, the reason a different set of reward rules worked with the Bulls was because “Big bucks were involved and Michael Jordan — the subject of the book — was such a great field general, others would willingly follow him, to the benefit of all. But there’s a difference in the typical workplace that we’re talking about. All too often, younger people look around and see others — their older managers — who have stuck around too long and are just waiting for retirement. That’s hardly a motivating factor.”
She adds that that’s why it’s so important to identify what motivates varied generations of workers and then establish ground rules to meet those motivating factors.
According to Kennedy, “Since we know Pre-Boomers and Boomers are motivated by money and the three younger groups (i.e., Cuspers, Busters and Netsters) are motivated by time off, why not offer what each group wants most? Investigate buy-back plans in which employees can buy additional vacation time. Mentoring is also an important perk. During the last four college recruiting seasons, the three most persuasive arguments to Busters from prospective employers (and earlier from recruiters) were: ‘I (the boss) will mentor you.’ ‘You will never be bored. If you are, I’ll change your assignment.’ And, ‘You will always be on a steep upward-learning curve.’ Nothing matches constant skills improvement in the Buster/Netster career pantheon.”
Carefully Defining Words
If that’s the consultant’s argument in favor of flexibility, she still acknowledges the constant importance of communications among the diversified generational groups. “Various words and practices mean different things to different people,” she says. “For instance, consider two fairly simple words — ‘participation’ and ‘community.’ I say ‘simple,’ but they can carry entirely different meanings. Start with participation. When I go to a meeting, I participate by expressing ideas and sharing experiences. Younger people, on the other hand, don’t want to go to a meeting in the first place. And, once there, they say nothing and hope it will end quickly. If they had a good idea during the meeting, they’d keep it to themselves. Their conception of participation isn’t a definition, rather it’s a blueprint of what we do.
“Then there’s ‘community.’ To me that might mean proximity. That’s hardly true for younger people. Community to them means something that is created. The fact is that while you and I might work in a community, they don’t.”
The fact remains that the skill of communicating with younger people is something that often “stymies 40- and 50-something Boomer managers. They become frustrated when they try to communicate what they consider ordinary ideas to 20- and 30-somethings. For example, when a Boomer says to a Boomer, ‘This needs to be done,’ both understand that’s an order, but nicely put. Likewise, when a Boomer says to a Boomer, ‘Would you mind?’ the anticipated answer is, ‘No, of course not.’
“However, when a Boomer says to a Buster, ‘This needs to be done,’ the Buster hears an observation, not an order. Boomers are astounded when they ask a Buster, ‘Would you mind?’ and they state quite frankly the reasons why they would mind.
“What’s going on here is fractured cross-generation communication. What one person heard was not what the other person meant. Regardless of age, you need to understand some of the differences in communications’ styles which must be overcome if people are to work comfortably together.”
Agree to Agree
When all is said and done, the question remains: What’s a manager to do?
According to Kennedy, “When Boomers and Busters work on a team, the team leader should encourage the Busters to do the research and the Boomers to process information. Then, each side can report to the other. Boomers need technology tutors and busters can fill that role. For reasons not yet discovered, Boomers stumble when they read software instruction manuals. That’s one reason they stall at the technology starting gate. Busters can tutor the Boomers and show them the shortcuts. They understand the logic of the computer, used since early childhood. In return, let the Boomers explain why the organization has a hierarchy and why it must be honored. Let them help younger workers learn why what the company does matters.
“As more Netsters enter the workplace, the balance of power between the groups will shift. The irony is that Boomers are more numerous but the scarcity of Busters and Netsters gives them increasing clout. Management must recognize the diversity of workplace values and work to accommodate them all.”
