WEB EXCLUSIVE:
Finding the Balance — Generational Differences and the Workplace

By Tammy Williams
NOLN Staff Writers

Just walking down the street you can probably spot different generations and rattle off a few differences between them — for insistence, some might have grey hair and some might have green hair. But do you realize what these generations and their differences mean to your business?

For starters, let’s focus on the four generations we are likely to see in today’s marketplace: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y.

Traditionalists were born between 1900 and 1945, lived — to some extent — through the Great Depression and WWII, are influenced by family and church, and have high respect for family and marriage.

Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, lived through the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, and had the American Dream promised to them as children. They are influenced by family and education, and have the highest divorce rate and second most marriages in history.

Those born between 1965 and 1980 are considered Generation X. This generation saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of AIDS and had working moms. They are influenced by the media and usually have a nonexistent or dysfunctional family.

The youngest generation is Generation Y. Also called Millennials, these people were born between 1981 and 2000. They lived through the 9/11 terrorist attacks and saw the upshoot of digital media. They were kept busy as kids and were the first generation of kids with schedules. They are influenced by friends, media, sports stars and their personal agendas. However, this generation has a new respect for family.

Chances are you employ at least one person from each generation. So the questions are: How do you relate to these people; what are they looking for in a job; and how do you find balance within the workplace?

Since Millenials are the newest additions to the workplace (and many of you may still be trying to figure them out), much of the discussion will focus on that generation.

Millenials grew up in a crazy age: There was an attack on American soil for the first time in decades; with the Internet, cell phones and video games they’ve been bombarded with technology their whole lives; and they’ve been told they can do anything they want — and they believe it. They may potentially be one of the most highly educated generations ever because of their information overload.

This generation is all about me. They are used to having things handed to them, but they are also all about achievement. One of their most important values is to try to make the world a better place. Millenials, although thought of as not being loyal, actually are.

“Younger generations are a different kind of loyal,” explained Dave Everett, national training and sales advisor for Service Champ during an educational session at iFLEX. “They understand that the company probably isn’t going to be there forever, so they are not loyal to the company. They show their loyalty to the people and position. It is a shorter lived loyalty.”

Millenials want to be evaluated on the output of their work, not on the input.

“They got the job done in 15 minutes, but you wanted them to work hard for 30 minutes. They think, ‘What’s the big deal? I got the job done. Maybe I should get another five-minute break,’” Everett said.

A fun workplace with a flexible schedule is very important to Millenials. Whereas Baby Boomers, who invented the 60-hour workweek, live to work, the opposite is true with the younger generations. They work to live.

“The new generation is balancing lifestyle with work,” Everett said. “They don’t want to work all the time. This doesn’t mean they don’t work hard. It just means when the work day is over, they are gone.”

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