DAY FOUR
Zap the Gap
Solving the Multi-Generational Puzzle
5 day Mini-Course
Generation X
There are four generations in the workforce today: Traditionals, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and New Millenniums. The demarcation between each of these generations is determined by their respective birthrates. When there is a significant change in the birthrate, it marks the end of one generation and the beginning of another. For example, the Great Depression and WWII caused the national birthrate to decline. Given the times, people were not inclined to have large families. When the GI's came home from WWII in 1946, however, the birth rate took a dramatic jump upward hence, 1946 marks the boundary between the Traditional Generation and the Baby Boomers. Likewise, as the Baby Boomers came of age in the 1960;s, the advent of the pill, the women's movement, and a variety of other social pressures led to many Baby Boomers to delay the starting of families. Consequently, the birthrate dropped significantly, marking the beginning of Generation X, the smallest generation in recent
history.
Every generation experiences signposts, both cultural and personal that influences its attitudes and behaviors.
For the Traditional Generation, the two big cultural signposts were the Great Depression and WWII. On a personal level, it was having a sense of family upon whom you depended for survival.
For Baby Boomers, the prosperity of the 1950's, the war in Viet Nam, the Pill, and Watergate were large cultural signposts. On a personal level, it was living in households where both parents were there, you were expected to go to college, and there was great peer pressure to dedicate yourself to some greater cause.
For Generation X, the cultural signposts that affected them included Watergate, the Iran Hostage Crisis, and the 1987 Stock Market Crash. On a personal level, they were the first generation to have, in large numbers, both parents working.
Consequently, many Generation Xers came home from school to an empty house. The term latchkey child emerged to describe this generation. Though not having a parent there when you got home from school sounds lonely, being a latchkey child had its advantages. Upon arriving home from school, there were usually a list of chores waiting for them. The rules said the chores had to be done before mom or dad got home, and the chores had to be done to an acceptable level of quality - much like work in the real world today. It was up to the latchkey kids to decide when to start the chores and in what order they should be done. Consequently, Generation Xer's today often have a powerful ability to work independently and to manage their time efficiently.
Generation X was also the first to have more than half its population live in a single parent household. Fifty percent of Generation X comes from divorce. Children of divorce often spend many hours alone waiting for a parent to come home. Not fun to think about, but again, it contributed to Generation X's ability to work independently and alone. In fact, they often prefer working solo to working with a team.
The down side of this preference for independence is that it often conflicts with traditional office paradigms. Earlier ideas, like “you are only working if you are sitting at your desk,” and “everyone must work together as a team,” often fall flat with Generation Xers. What matters most to the Gen Xer is the end result.
Generation Xers often prefer independent assignments, where they can set their own schedules, choose their own places to get the work done, and take care of the details themselves. This can seem very un-team-like. Even the sports they choose tend to be non-team oriented: skiing, snowboarding, roller-blading and mountain biking. Sports that can be played with others or alone. Sports that do not depend on others to win.
Television was a signpost for Generation X. Baby Boomers had T.V. while growing up, but it was just ONE BLACK AND WHITE T.V. To a Gen Xer, that is not T.V., that's torture. Television for Baby Boomers was an information source that the family watched together. With the advent of cable T.V., television became an entertainment source for Gen Xers, customized to their individual tastes. In addition, a household with only one T.V. was not a household worth visiting in the mind of a young Gen Xer.
With entertainment and independence being two strong signposts for Gen Xers, there was bound to be conflict in the workplace, where one is expected to do the same thing day after day. If you are working with a Gen Xer, be prepared for them to ask you, “why?” when you give them tasks. “Why?” does not necessarily mean why do they have to do the task so much as “why are we doing it that way in first place.”
Your best defense to the 'Why?'-asking Gen Xer is to know why and explain. We sometimes fall into the old answer 'because that is the way we have always done it.' This answer does not cut it with a Gen Xer. Remember, these folks are used to operating independently and figuring out the best and most efficient way to get those chores done. When you work with a Gen Xer, be clear as to which old rules, policies and procedures are important to adhere to and be able to explain why they are important. Then, be open to updating or changing other policies and procedures.
One area where it would be easy to give power to Generation Xers is titles. A seminar participant told me she loved her job but hated her title. I asked her what it was.
'Space Manager,' she replied.
'What does that mean?' I asked.
'I don't really know.' She said. 'I think it's because I am responsible for seeing that our products are placed on the shelves of our retail outlet customers and making sure we don't lose space to our competition. But I think it's a stupid title.'
It would be so easy and fun to let choose her choose own title. It costs the company nothing and goes miles with the employees in creating good will.
If you work with or manage Gen Xers here are six things you can do to find the best ones and get the best from them:
1. In the interview before hiring, include the phrase “we want you to have a life” at least three times. It doesn't matter if you are in an actual interview or just working with a Gen Xer. Show respect for their outside life. Baby Boomers more than any other generation have made their career their identity. For Gen Xers, career and work are a means to have a fulfilling life outside of work.
2. During the interview and afterward, include the phrase “'hands off supervision” at least three times. Generation Xers like to be allowed to figure things out. This does not mean you throw them into a hole without any resources. Just give them the tools they need to get the job done, make sure they are capable of doing the job, and then give them some freedom to get it done.
3. Establish a meritocracy. Xers want to know their ideas are valued on merit, not seniority. If you want to alienate an Xer and have them quit in two seconds, promote someone because they have been around longer, or are the boss's pet, rather than because their work is superior.
4. Tell them the industry or company is going to change. Xers see change as an opportunity. Xers have been living with change all their lives. They experienced changing cities, schools and families. In an Xers mind, when a change occurs, the door of opportunity opens. Many Xers are looking for experiences in the workplace that will benefit them in future positions. One way to feed Gen Xers' desire to learn new things is to have them job swap. Another is to provide lots of opportunity for lateral promotions. If you can give a Gen Xer the opportunity to learn a new skill or have a new experience that will strengthen his or her resume for future work, you've just given her or him a reason to stick around and contribute more.
5. Words like “warm” & “humane” are important to Baby Boomers. Xers, on the other hand, respond to words like 'fun' & 'relaxed.' A study commissioned by Deloit & Touche found that the top two words an Xer would use to describe the ideal working environment are “fun” and “relaxed.” Ask your Xers what could be done in the work place to create a more fun and a relaxed atmosphere. The answers could be very easy and inexpensive.
6. Give them a list of people to call if they have questions. Let them know who else is out there that could be of help to them. Do not make one person their sole contact for information. A variety of information sources gives the Xer an opportunity to have a big picture view of the company.
NEXT SEGMENT
THE BABY BOOMERS ARE NOT DONE YET! THEY CREATED THE SECOND BOOM IN THE BIRTH RATE WITH THE NEW MILLENNIUM GENERATION. THIS GENERATION DOES NOT HAVE TIME FOR THE MICROWAVE, PITIES YOU IF YOU ARE ON DIAL UP AND THEY DON'T READ A NEWSPAPER.
Zap the Gap
Solving the Multi-Generational Puzzle
5 day Mini-Course
Generation X
There are four generations in the workforce today: Traditionals, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and New Millenniums. The demarcation between each of these generations is determined by their respective birthrates. When there is a significant change in the birthrate, it marks the end of one generation and the beginning of another. For example, the Great Depression and WWII caused the national birthrate to decline. Given the times, people were not inclined to have large families. When the GI's came home from WWII in 1946, however, the birth rate took a dramatic jump upward hence, 1946 marks the boundary between the Traditional Generation and the Baby Boomers. Likewise, as the Baby Boomers came of age in the 1960;s, the advent of the pill, the women's movement, and a variety of other social pressures led to many Baby Boomers to delay the starting of families. Consequently, the birthrate dropped significantly, marking the beginning of Generation X, the smallest generation in recent
history.
Every generation experiences signposts, both cultural and personal that influences its attitudes and behaviors.
For the Traditional Generation, the two big cultural signposts were the Great Depression and WWII. On a personal level, it was having a sense of family upon whom you depended for survival.
For Baby Boomers, the prosperity of the 1950's, the war in Viet Nam, the Pill, and Watergate were large cultural signposts. On a personal level, it was living in households where both parents were there, you were expected to go to college, and there was great peer pressure to dedicate yourself to some greater cause.
For Generation X, the cultural signposts that affected them included Watergate, the Iran Hostage Crisis, and the 1987 Stock Market Crash. On a personal level, they were the first generation to have, in large numbers, both parents working.
Consequently, many Generation Xers came home from school to an empty house. The term latchkey child emerged to describe this generation. Though not having a parent there when you got home from school sounds lonely, being a latchkey child had its advantages. Upon arriving home from school, there were usually a list of chores waiting for them. The rules said the chores had to be done before mom or dad got home, and the chores had to be done to an acceptable level of quality - much like work in the real world today. It was up to the latchkey kids to decide when to start the chores and in what order they should be done. Consequently, Generation Xer's today often have a powerful ability to work independently and to manage their time efficiently.
Generation X was also the first to have more than half its population live in a single parent household. Fifty percent of Generation X comes from divorce. Children of divorce often spend many hours alone waiting for a parent to come home. Not fun to think about, but again, it contributed to Generation X's ability to work independently and alone. In fact, they often prefer working solo to working with a team.
The down side of this preference for independence is that it often conflicts with traditional office paradigms. Earlier ideas, like “you are only working if you are sitting at your desk,” and “everyone must work together as a team,” often fall flat with Generation Xers. What matters most to the Gen Xer is the end result.
Generation Xers often prefer independent assignments, where they can set their own schedules, choose their own places to get the work done, and take care of the details themselves. This can seem very un-team-like. Even the sports they choose tend to be non-team oriented: skiing, snowboarding, roller-blading and mountain biking. Sports that can be played with others or alone. Sports that do not depend on others to win.
Television was a signpost for Generation X. Baby Boomers had T.V. while growing up, but it was just ONE BLACK AND WHITE T.V. To a Gen Xer, that is not T.V., that's torture. Television for Baby Boomers was an information source that the family watched together. With the advent of cable T.V., television became an entertainment source for Gen Xers, customized to their individual tastes. In addition, a household with only one T.V. was not a household worth visiting in the mind of a young Gen Xer.
With entertainment and independence being two strong signposts for Gen Xers, there was bound to be conflict in the workplace, where one is expected to do the same thing day after day. If you are working with a Gen Xer, be prepared for them to ask you, “why?” when you give them tasks. “Why?” does not necessarily mean why do they have to do the task so much as “why are we doing it that way in first place.”
Your best defense to the 'Why?'-asking Gen Xer is to know why and explain. We sometimes fall into the old answer 'because that is the way we have always done it.' This answer does not cut it with a Gen Xer. Remember, these folks are used to operating independently and figuring out the best and most efficient way to get those chores done. When you work with a Gen Xer, be clear as to which old rules, policies and procedures are important to adhere to and be able to explain why they are important. Then, be open to updating or changing other policies and procedures.
One area where it would be easy to give power to Generation Xers is titles. A seminar participant told me she loved her job but hated her title. I asked her what it was.
'Space Manager,' she replied.
'What does that mean?' I asked.
'I don't really know.' She said. 'I think it's because I am responsible for seeing that our products are placed on the shelves of our retail outlet customers and making sure we don't lose space to our competition. But I think it's a stupid title.'
It would be so easy and fun to let choose her choose own title. It costs the company nothing and goes miles with the employees in creating good will.
If you work with or manage Gen Xers here are six things you can do to find the best ones and get the best from them:
1. In the interview before hiring, include the phrase “we want you to have a life” at least three times. It doesn't matter if you are in an actual interview or just working with a Gen Xer. Show respect for their outside life. Baby Boomers more than any other generation have made their career their identity. For Gen Xers, career and work are a means to have a fulfilling life outside of work.
2. During the interview and afterward, include the phrase “'hands off supervision” at least three times. Generation Xers like to be allowed to figure things out. This does not mean you throw them into a hole without any resources. Just give them the tools they need to get the job done, make sure they are capable of doing the job, and then give them some freedom to get it done.
3. Establish a meritocracy. Xers want to know their ideas are valued on merit, not seniority. If you want to alienate an Xer and have them quit in two seconds, promote someone because they have been around longer, or are the boss's pet, rather than because their work is superior.
4. Tell them the industry or company is going to change. Xers see change as an opportunity. Xers have been living with change all their lives. They experienced changing cities, schools and families. In an Xers mind, when a change occurs, the door of opportunity opens. Many Xers are looking for experiences in the workplace that will benefit them in future positions. One way to feed Gen Xers' desire to learn new things is to have them job swap. Another is to provide lots of opportunity for lateral promotions. If you can give a Gen Xer the opportunity to learn a new skill or have a new experience that will strengthen his or her resume for future work, you've just given her or him a reason to stick around and contribute more.
5. Words like “warm” & “humane” are important to Baby Boomers. Xers, on the other hand, respond to words like 'fun' & 'relaxed.' A study commissioned by Deloit & Touche found that the top two words an Xer would use to describe the ideal working environment are “fun” and “relaxed.” Ask your Xers what could be done in the work place to create a more fun and a relaxed atmosphere. The answers could be very easy and inexpensive.
6. Give them a list of people to call if they have questions. Let them know who else is out there that could be of help to them. Do not make one person their sole contact for information. A variety of information sources gives the Xer an opportunity to have a big picture view of the company.
NEXT SEGMENT
THE BABY BOOMERS ARE NOT DONE YET! THEY CREATED THE SECOND BOOM IN THE BIRTH RATE WITH THE NEW MILLENNIUM GENERATION. THIS GENERATION DOES NOT HAVE TIME FOR THE MICROWAVE, PITIES YOU IF YOU ARE ON DIAL UP AND THEY DON'T READ A NEWSPAPER.
written by Meagan Johnson; copied here
(in "Dancing With Moose") with permission
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