Contrasting Workplace Values

Every generation is influenced by its period 's economic, political and social events. From the Great Depression to the civil rights and women 's movements to the advent of television and advanced computer technologies. Thus generational background/situation may also affect the way they work. The key is to be able to effectively address and take advantage of the differences in values and expectations of each generation in the workplace. The current work place consists of four different generations; The Baby Boomers (1946-1964) who are slowly retiring and existing the workforce, The Generation X (1965-1976), The Generation Y or millennia (1977-1997), and the Generation Z who are about to or are just entering the work force. Although these different generations tend to want similar things in a workplace their environment/background has shaped their character, values, and expectations (Hahn 2011).

Most baby boomers grew up watching their traditionalist parents work very hard to make ends meet and take care of the family unit. As a result of their upbringing many boomers have adopted their parent’s strong work ethics; working hard, long hours trying to climb the corporate ladder. Baby boomers still enjoy personal face to face interactions and building rapport with people

America has about five generations that function in our society today, and they are Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and the Millennial. It is interesting the way that an age gap influences the thinking of millions of people in different generations. Different times and situations require that different strategies be put in place for the following generation. Solutions that worked for one generation may be less useful for the next, so sometimes, because of the age gap, these solutions cause disagreements. These various ideologies all have one goal, and that is to be successful. We will discuss the path of the Baby Boomers and Generation X in the workplace environment.

Likewise, the current generations in the workforce have different values. Research surveys done by Gibson et al. (2009) and Crumpacker and Crumpacker (2007) have found that the generations have diverse values. It was found that Baby Boomers value health, family, honesty, responsibility and company loyalty more than anything else. Researchers also found the Baby boomer workers value authority, hard work and achievement. Additionally, Baby Boomers value when someone communicates with them one-on-one rather than using technology (Crumpacker & Crumpacker, 2007; Gison et al., 2009). In contrast, Generation X workers tend to value family security, health, honesty and responsibility the most. In addition it was found that they value a comfotable life

Gen X, Baby boomers, and Gen Y are the different generations who work side by side in today’s workplace. According to Ann Hewlett, the President for Work-Life Policy Gen Y and Baby Boomers generations are a large chunk of the workforce, around eighty million each. Whatever those generations value, they have the power to drive to get the results (Hewlett, Sherbin & Sumberg, 2009). Baby boomers and Gen Y have similarities in what they value and there motivates them in the workspace. They tend to share some attitudes and behaviors. At work, Baby Boomers and Gen Y are motivated by not only money and making a pay package. They both desire a bunch of other stuff in life. Along with strong title, recognition, and respect. They are drawn to crave

In our class discussion that essentially was a continuum of personality testing, we talked about values and the generational cohorts. One of our main class activities during the class period was constructing a powerpoint in a website called Voki. This activity made us envision how the silent, the millennium, and the baby boomers generations would interact with each other and how they communicate in the workplace. This information is very useful because this helped my group to understand the major clashes each generation had with the view of authority, technology, relationships, diversity, loyalty, work ethics and work-life balance. With my history of management, the generational cohorts I believe it is very accurate. For example, if I hired

Being assigned to various roles from subordinate to assigned leadership positions, I have noticed that the work environment and project teams are not constructed in a manner to capitalize on the strengths of the current generation that are entering the workplace. This is not only true for USAREC, but also most mainstream organizations. I have witnessed symptoms and the results from not understanding how to benefit from creating the environment to capitalize on generational traits dealing with the millennial.

The current generations that are predominantly represented in the workplace are Baby Boomers (Boomers), Generation X (Gen X), and Generation Y (Millennials or Gen Y). Differences among the various generations are often portrayed as Boomers having more loyalty to an organization, and generally being more diligent in their work (Wong, Gardiner, Lang, & Coulon, 2008). Gen X are not as likely as Boomers to display loyalty to a particular institution or organization, and are seen as more independent, self-sufficient, and being unimpressed with authority (Wong et al., 2008). Gen Y are said to be more comfortable with change than Boomers, and value skill development, new opportunities, and are more tech savvy than other generations (Wong et al., 2008).

In the article “Bridging the Gap Between Gen X and Gen Y: Lessons From Authentic Leadership,” the authors highlight the issues of age diversity with a specific focus on issues between Generation X and Generation Y in the United States. They state that there are several attitudes, preferences, and characteristics that define each generation and create a fertile ground for organizational conflict. They argue that the solution for leaders with age diversity dilemmas can be found in the area of authentic leadership. The authentic leadership model consists of four key components which can help overcome some of the leadership challenges that result due to the differences in both generations. The article

In America in 2010, the average retirement ages had increased to 64 and 62 for men and women, respectively. Consequently, the workforce is aging as Boomers (born in 1946 thru 1964) reenter the workforce or postpone retirement. Boomers’ delay in retirement may hamper advancement opportunities of the generations beneath them, predominantly Millennials (those born in 1980 onwards). Furthermore, reverberations of the Boomers delayed retirement may have financial bearings for Millennials in the future. It ought to be pertinent for organizations to keep Millennials motivated. This paper focuses on effectively managing intergenerational groups, offering organizational behavior strategies for capitalizing on Boomers’ assets and applying the CAMP motivating

The strategies to engage Generation are quite different compared to baby boomers. So creating such strategies has become one of the management’s goals. Jay Gilbert (2011) writes from his experience that there are few generational differences do exist between millennials and baby boomers. The social characteristics, the way they bring their bodies, and mind to work are the key differences when compared to baby boomers. Employers must trust the belief that to attain prolonged employee engagement, they must understand the engagement drivers for the Generation Y. Thus, Setting up goals for the Generation Y encourages them to produce desired results.

“The number of employees over the age of 55 has increased by 30 percent; however, the number of 25- to 54-year-olds has only increased by 1 percent” (Claire, 2009). In 2008 the eldest of the 77 million baby-boomers turned 62. Estimates are that by the end of the decade about 40 percent of the work force will be eligible to retire. As people begin to reach the age of retirement there may be not be enough new employees to fill the gap (Clare, 2009). Companies need to find ways to attract Boomers and Millennials. Companies that want to attract Boomers and Millennials need to be creative in their culture, HR policies and work environments.

Effective leaders of my age are faced with a few challenges, quite a few actually. One being the generational divide that currently exists between four different workplace peer groups: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, my age group of Generation X, and Millennials. Aside from increased global diversity, our workforce has mushroomed with generational cultures as well. Young associates of today are the future leaders of tomorrow, yet there is an obligation to honor the long-term commitment of our older associates. When bridging these distinct generations,

Today’s young businesspeople tend to be far different than their leaders. Millennials communicate, learn, and are motivated differently than those that are a generation older than them. This makes it difficult for leaders to convey their experiences, values, and vision in a way that resonates with younger employees.

Millennials refers to a generation that is ethnically diverse, confident, optimistic, team players, rule-followers, trusting of authority, school achievers, and achievement oriented. Also, Millennials are known to be a well-educated generation in comparison to the Baby-Boomers. On the other hand, leadership is the act of offering guidance to a group of persons to achieve a common goal (Eastman et al., 2014). As time goes by, changes are noted in leadership by generation. For instance, the Baby Boomers and the Xers focus more on skills and values that a successor would require when in leadership. Incidentally, the two generation reflect on the leadership qualities that they are able to bring to their work. The same is not the case for the Millennials. As is, leaders from this generation are focused on building a new form of leadership. Furthermore, they acknowledge the fact that good leaders must always