Impact of Multiple Generations in the Workplace Essay examples

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).

The most prominent change in the workforce affecting human resources at St. Anthony’s is the rise of a multi generational workforce. Providing different human resource needs for various employees is an evolving challenge. Being aware of different workplace standards between generations is taken into consideration to reduce “pain points” (Calvert, 2015). In the interview, Judie grouped Generation X and Millennials into the same group, and focused primarily on the differences between Baby Boomers and Gen X/Millennials. She described the Baby Boomers as

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.

There are five different generations working together on any given work day in the world. These generations are the Traditionalists (veterans), the Baby

As time progresses onwards, the rift between generations seems to widen. Today, an emphasis is often placed on the defining differences between the younger and older generations.

Upon reflecting on the three main generations that comprise the workplace today, a few differences emerge. “Baby Boomers” grew up in a time when movements were prominent, the Vietnam War occurred, key figures were assassinated, the Watergate Scandal occurred, and television was introduced (Twenge et al., 2010; Schullery, 2013). Overall, “Baby Boomers” seem to exhibit a distrust of authority, value hard work, and want to enjoy their achievements (Robbins & Judge, 2015; Twenge et al., 2010). As such, they are results driven and give their utmost effort (Robbins & Judge, 2015). “Generation X” grew up in a time of computers, divorce, two career parents, MTV, and economic uncertainty (Twenge et al., 2010; Robbins & Judge, 2015). For the most part, they seem to exhibit the workplace behaviors of independence and a lack of commitment to employers (Twenge et al., 2010). They value a balance between work and life and place more focus on extrinsic rewards such as monetary compensation (Twenge et al., 2010). “Millennials” grew up in prosperous times with technology dominating the era and over-protective parents (Robbins & Judge, 2015; Schullery, 2013). Generally, they seem to place a greater value on employee benefits, leisure time, teamwork, and open communication (Society of Human Resource Management, 2004; Twenge, 2010; Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010). In addition, they have also been given the labels of “self-centered” and “entitled” (Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010).

As generation Y, the first group to come of age in the new millennium, grows and matures, they have entered the workforce at an increasingly high rate, making them the fastest growing segment of the United States workforce (Dorsey, 2010, pg. 15). These “youngsters” are typically in their early 20’s to early 30’s, still in the early and formative stages of their careers (Wain, 2013, pg. 308). Joining these Millennials in the workforce are those known as Generation X, consisting of the middle generation born from around 1965-1984 (Wain, 2013, pg. 308). At the far end of the age-workforce spectrum sit the Baby Boomers – those born between the years of 1946 and 1964 (Kaifi, Nafei, Khanfar & Kaifi, 2012, pg. 89). And finally, the oldest generation still trying to eke out their last paychecks before retirement is the Traditionalists, born between the years of 1937 and 1945 (American Medical Writers, 2012).

The four generations presented in this paper are: The Veterans, The Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennias. The Veterans, also known as seniors or traditionalist, were born between 1925 and 1945 (Andrews & Boyle 2016). These individuals lived through the world wars, overcame economic hardship, and have chosen to continue to work past the common retirement age. This group of individuals believe they work out of

The four generations make up a dynamic and challenging workforce. The differences each generation brings will create exciting changes through organizational change and a shift in management¡¦s perspective on personnel issues. Only by understanding and respecting the generational differences, can Management successfully accomplish the blending of these four disparate generations into a unified workforce.

The third generation represented is often referred to as “Generation X.” Members of this group are born between 1965 and 1979. Kyles (2005) defines them as individualistic, disloyal, techno literate, and one of the most challenging groups to manage. This can be attributed to the fact that this group grew up in the rebellious years of the sixties and seventies. Marshall (2004) states, “The employer has to provide an opportunity to work and grow, or they are going to leave” (p. 18). This says a lot about the influence of culture on this generation.

Diversity is no new thing in the workplace. Many different factors account for this circumstance in the business arena. Gender, race and ethnicity, and age are a few of the major factors that create diversity within the workplace. The latter, age, is one of the more understated and disregarded issue of diversity. But over time, differences in age in the workplace has been growing more and more, generating conflicts that could not be ignored any longer. The problem of age gaps in the workplace is caused by having multiple generations in one workplace. Most see the age gaps in the workplace as an inherent thing and thus, not something to cope with instead of something to be dealt with.

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

“Generation X” (“Gen-Xers”), born from about 1960 – 1980, maintained some attributes typical of the “Baby Boomer” generation, but feel that their upbringing was too strict. They added an emphasis on work/life

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