The Multigenerational Workforce Paradigm

The current generations in the workplace today are Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Each generation brings their own values and mindsets to the mix. Although genetics play a part in a person’s characteristics, the generation in which someone is born into also plays an integral part in shaping their mind, values, goals, and work ethics. People from the same generation share similar experiences, and this can influence how they think politically and socially.

First and foremost, to understand how the Multigenerational Workforce works, we must know the driving forces behind the current four generations and where they stand today.

As you will learn, an inter-generational workforce provides many opportunities and challenges. While generational differences can and do lead to frustration, conflicts and poor morale, they do not have to. This

Ageism is a huge problem against older people in the workplace. Most employers look for the most respectable, intelligent, hardworking workers who are capable of doing the job tasks. A lot of employers may prefer younger employees over older employees with the idea that younger employees are more able and efficient for the job which isn’t true in most cases. Many employers could also believe that young employees are a better choice because they might be able to work longer periods of time, more up to date with technology,

Although today's family have changed, the workplace has not-and the resulting one-size-fits-all workplace has become profoundly mismatched to the needs of an increasingly diverse and varied workforce (Christensen & Schneider, 2010). Blending the ages in the workplace has its preferences and its challenges, as every era has its own particular qualities, and abilities they convey to the work environment. Generational contrasts, influences how individuals convey, with various

Society has drastically changed in the past decades. The younger public nowadays is growing up in a completely different culture than that of older generations. Often times because of this distinction, one may find themselves in conflicts with others who grew up in a different era. This is all due to the generational differences between both groups. Generational differences occur because people of different generations have different values, experiences, and work ethics that mold them into who they are.

The article “Generations: Boomers and Echos and Nexters – Oh My!” written by Harriet Hankin deals with generational diversity in the workplace. The main focus of the article is the differences of several generations of workers currently trying to thrive, or at least survive, together in today’s workforce. She discusses the different characteristics of each generation,

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

In Supervision Managing For Results (2013), the author establishes that the Generation Y whom I consider to be youngest “are often highly self-confident, achievement-oriented, internet savvy, upbeat, impatient, and tenacious. They often love to learn, are socially conscious, can multitask, like to network and socialize with others, desire meaningful work coupled with feedback and recognition, and enjoy flexibility and autonomy at work” (p.384). Furthermore, the older generation (Baby Boomers), “value personal growth and self-gratification, a comfortable life, the use of logic, teamwork and involvement, and their own health and wellness” (Newstrom, 2013, p. 384). Also, having a strong work ethic, drive to succeed, willingness to give it their best and time to achieve a goal are characteristics of the baby boomer

A key issue with multigenerational workforces is that senior management may not recognize that the differences between generations is a problem that middle management faces and therefore may not retain the talent each brings to the team. When talent retention becomes a problem in an organization the whole organization suffers.

The generation’s project was a very interesting assignment. The project was designed with the intention for students to develop an understanding and expertise in the generations of people in the workforce and how it is important to understand the commonalities and differences between them. There are four generations currently at work in the marketplace. As learned during the research phase of this project the four generations are as follows: the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. The generation that my group did our research on was the Baby Boomer group. I learned a lot of valuable information during the research phase of this project as it relates to, personal and professional traits, work ethic

If we take a look at my generation and previous generation one this is unmistakable, each generation possess individual values, attitudes and goals. After reading the article Gen Y in the Workforce by Tamara J. Erickson it became obvious to me that there is a generation gap between the traditionalists and generation Y. I believe a number of things play a role in this gap one of which I believe is the help my generation has received from previous generations.

In general, research suggests that there are intergenerational differences in values and expectations of employees in the workplace. In this argument, four main parts contribute to the topic: firstly, the different generations in the workforce will be defined and explained; secondly, the differences between Generation Y and previous generations will be discussed; thirdly, the reason why managers should treat Generation Y differently will be explained; finally, key points addressing the topic will be summarised in the conclusion.

Managing a 21st century labor force is becoming more complex as the marketplace becomes increasingly global. It is vital that organizations understand the challenges and benefits of effectively managing a diverse workforce in order to maintain a competitive advantage. While diversity in the workplace can take many forms (race, gender, religion, etc.) this paper specifically examines generational diversity. This is the first time in history where there are four generations employed in the workforce. As such, it is imperative that managers “recognize what motivates each generation to develop effective communication tools to minimize conflict, progressive HR and work-life

“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.