What Are Generational Differences

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).

My view as a manager on Generational Differences is that flexible and patient is a must with it comes to certain individuals that are generations after me. Even generations before me. I have to find creative ways to motivate and encourage people to perform and complete job requirements on time. This requires me to find a balance between and increase my level of understanding on the generational differences. However, what is most shocking is that the simplest tasks you assign an employee seems to be much more difficult. I have to learn to become more resourceful and develop new strategies to assist employees with accomplishing certain requirements.

Baby Boomers constructed America in the 1960s, and soon the Millennials will get their chance. Baby boomers are currently the largest generation of active workers. Research has shown that boomers identify their strengths as organizational memory, optimism, and their willingness to work long hours. Many earned, many still earn high incomes. The millennial generation, born between 1980 and 2000, are starting to enter businesses in large numbers. However, they do not have the same views and values when working compared to the Boomers. This Boomers grew up in organizations with large corporate hierarchies, and Millennials grew up with management structures and teamwork based job roles. By 2025, millennials will make up the 75% of the workforce replacing the Boomer generation. But, are they ready for the workforce and is the workforce ready for them? I think they would be ready if businesses are able to change and adapt towards them.

The Generation X group is the nurses that I am identified with as I was born in 1968. When I began I would say there were more Baby Boomers in the Emergency room; now generation Xers appear to be the majority. Individuals within Generation X are independent, confident, creative and comfortable with change and new technology. Within nursing, GenXers value the work-life balance and seek acknowledgment for their talents and expertise (Leiter & Laschinger, 2010). Generation Xers, however, have no problem declining the extra work hours. In general, they believe that if management focused on meeting the needs of staff members, they would be more concerned about adequate staffing and find a resolution instead of depending on staff staying late and working more (Sudheimer, E., 2009). As a leader my expectations are high, I want to envision everyone working to the top of their license, I have minimal tolerance for anything other than your best work. Boomers want to be appreciated and strive to get the job completed but are having a harder time keeping up with the technology and the ever-increasing demands. For Boomers the patients are the focus and take excellent care of not only the patient but the family as well. Boomers may require a bit more patience; I envision them staying later to finish documentation and requiring a bit more hand holding with any change that

Older colleagues to this generation is the Y generation as lazy individuals who are more difficult to manage. This generation also has a reputation for leaving their organization of employment abruptly to seek new opportunities. Generation Y has been exposed to the world in a different way than previous generations, they are more racially and ethnically diverse and they are much more segmented as they have seen the rapid development of cable, the internet, etc.

The generational divide of the LGBTQIA+ community is a topic that is rarely considered, though prevalent. To outside parties who don’t understand queer community politics, it may seem like they are a homogenous collective of people. Of course there are always inter community issues, such as whether heteroromantic asexuals belong in LGBT discussion or what exactly defines a transgender person. Aside from these issues, it is easy to see the community as a whole as connected with the same end goals and ideas. They all want and focus on getting marriage equality and to be able to adopt and be able to share insurance with our partners. However, upon more research into the LGBT community, a generational gap becomes prevalent, with the reasons behind

Every work environment is teeming with people from various generations. Though, the majority of people wish for a healthy work environment this is not the easiest to come by. People from these different generations have different ways of looking at the world. They were raised differently and though theoretically want the same things they want to reach these goals in different ways. Rising to leadership, the understanding of technology, adapting in the workplace, and communication are the four criteria you need to know to understand how the people of Generation X and Millennials function together in the workplace.

Kyles (2005) defines them as competitive, political, hardworking, and nonconformists. “Known for their workaholic ethic, Boomers will do whatever it takes to get the job done and get ahead, and they expect to be rewarded. They outnumber all generations and hold a majority of management-level positions. They are also approaching retirement and are heavily concerned with financial and job security” (Kyles, 2005, p. 54). This group is very hard working and also offers a lot of wisdom that can be beneficial to those of the younger generations.

Normally we tend to think of diversity in relation to age, race, gender and religion. These days there is more focus being given to diversity in the form of generational differences.

Each generation has certain characteristics and values with which the members of it can identify. Members of Generation X highly value their job and family time; so they try to find a balance between these two aspects of their lives. Generation X are hardworking people, but they are

The baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. This is the largest of all generations. Baby boomers define themselves through their careers (Marshall 2004). Some of the major events that shaped baby boomers values were the Vietnam War, civil rights movement, and Kennedy assassination. Their parents tended to follow all the rules, but this generation is known for challenging the rules (Lieber 2010). Many baby boomers worry that technology is phasing out face-to-face communication, and they are battling younger generations to keep its importance in organizations (Lieber 2010). The baby boomers strong work ethic tends to make them expect the same work ethic from younger colleagues which can be a source of great tension. This group is very competitive in the workplace, and craves recognition (Bartley, Ladd, & Morris 2007).

Whether in non-western countries or westerns countries, when there are changes in politics and societies, families and individuals are affected greatly. In many non-western countries such as China, Japan and Korea, collectivism is considered as one of the most significant values in the cultures, whereas in western countries such as the United states, individualism is emphasized. However, from the middle of 19th century, a great number of Asian people immigrate to the United States. Notably, California received the greatest number of Asian American. It is reported that “by 1880 the majority of the 322,000 Chinese who had entered the country since 1850 had passed through California”(Allerfeldt 54). Those immigrants maintain collectivistic values such as “family embeddedness”(Costigan 1252), while their offsprings orient to individualistic values and the host culture. The different value orientations may lead to conflict. For example, in the book Southland, Frank, who was the second generation of Japanese American, was not fascinated in visiting Little Tokyo, and thus his father felt angry and forced Frank to go with him(Revpyr 92). In addition to family, different generations may orient toward different values in business. For example, the old generation orient toward collectivism, whereas the young generation orient toward individualism. Whether in family or business, Whether in family or business, different

SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE “UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE WORK PLACE” ( Cited from Kapoor and Solomon 2011)

In the short story Who’s Irish by Gish Jen and Everyday Use written by Alice Walker, both authors address generational conflicts between mothers and daughters, as well as struggles to coexist while living in very different cultural mindsets. The moral of both stories is that cross-cultural issues exist in every family tree and we often find comfort in unlikely places. While a mother may not agree with her daughter’s choices she never loses love, and while a daughter may not like decisions that are made by their mother she never loses respect. Both are stories about women going through struggle to integrate and adept into modern American life, two mothers struggle to understand their daughters and the lives they are immersed in.

How many times have you felt that your parents don't understand you, that they have no respect for you as an individual? How often do you shake your head in frustration and blame it on the 'generation gap'? Parents! They are like aliens from another planet altogether! You and they are in different camps; strangers forced to live under the same roof Right? Wrong! There is a way of bridging what appears to be a yawning chasm. If you genuinely want to improve your relationship with your parents (and give them a big shock in the bargain!) try listening to them, treating them just like you would listen to a valued friend. Instead of always whining, 'You don't understand me", stop and think. Do we ever try and understand