Managing generational differences in the workplace

1. Managing Intergenerational
Conflict in the Workplace
Susan Haywood, MA, CHRP
Human Resource Blueprints Ltd
shaywood@hrblueprints.ca
(613) 867-2554

2. What is this all about?
 First time ever that we have 4 different generations in
our workforce working together side-by-side
 Traditionalists, Boomers, Xers, and Millennials (Y’s)
 Each of these generations were impacted by various
events that shape who they are and how they work
 We need to understand what motivates the various
generations and how to work together

3. Workplace Conflicts
 Conflicts frequently have generational issues as
their cause
 “He is not committed to his job”
 “He has a poor work ethic”
 “He does not follow direction”
 “I can’t believe the way he/she dresses”
 “What do you mean I can’t work from home on
Friday’s”

4. The Challenge
"Managing multigenerational workforces is an
art in itself. Young workers want to make a
quick impact, the middle generation needs to
believe in the mission, and older employees
don't like ambivalence. Your move."
Harvard Business School "Working Knowledge“ newsletter,
April 2006: "Can you manage different generations?"

5. Generational Snapshot of Workforce

6. A New Generation Gap
“The term Generation Gap was used mostly to
describe conflicts between parents and
children. Today, the “Gap” has more of a
presence in the workplace, where employees
from different generations are finding it
difficult to work side by side because their
experiences, goals and expectations are
different”.
GOVEXEC.com

7. What Shaped You?
National Events
Music
Technology
Values
Relationships
Parental Expectations
Other?

8. Characteristics Traditionalists Baby Boomers Generation X Millennials
Born 1925-1945 Born 1946-1964 Born 1965-1977 Born 1978 or after
Age Span 65 to 86 years old 46 to 64 years old 33 to 45 years old 32 or younger
Traits Conservative Idealistic Pragmatic Confident
Believe in Discipline Break the rules Self-sufficient Well-educated
Respect for authority Time stressed Skeptical Self-sufficient
Loyal Politically correct Flexible Tolerant
Patriotic Media/Info/Tech savvy Team builders
Entrepreneurial Socially/politically
conscious
Defining Events Great depression Vietnam War Missing children School shootings
World War II Woodstock Latch Key Kids Terrorism
Korean War Watergate Computers in school Corporate scandals
To Them Work Is If you want a roof and Exciting adventure Difficult challenge To make a difference
food….
Work Ethic Loyal/dedicated Driven Balanced Eager but anxious
Employment Goals Retirement Second career Work/life balance Unrealistic
Education A dream Birthright Way to get to an end A given
Communication Face to face Telephone Email IM/Text messaging
Time at Work is Punch clock Visibility Why does it matter if I get it Is it 5 PM? I have a
defined done today? life.
Most need in the Continued involvement Recognition! More information Praise and fun; or is
workplace past 65 that fun and praise?

9. Traditionalists Generation
 Majority (95%) of them have retired
 Possess intellectual capital and institutional
knowledge
 Have strong work values and ethic
 See themselves as vigorous, contributing members of
the workforce
 Silent stoicism (not much feedback given or expected)

10. Managing the Traditionalists Generation
Offer opportunities for them to mentor
Offer opportunities to continue working
Allow them to volunteer if they do not want to
continue working
Show them that you value their expertise and
contributions

11. Baby Boomers
 The “Me” generation
 More hours equals better performance; now regret
 They are the managers that are running our
organizations today
 Career oriented
 “Love the good life”
 Love job performance feedback

12. Managing the Baby Boomers
Help them explore their next set of workplace
options, and demonstrate how your
organization can continue to use their talents.
Walk the talk on work-life balance by
redesigning their jobs to accommodate multiple
life demands.
Encourage them to enrich their present job and
grow in place if they need to slow their career
pace.

13. Generation X
 The next generation of leaders
 The most well educated generation
 Goal-oriented
 Free Agents vs. Company Loyalist
 Thrive on independence
 Want to be challenged
 Led dot.com boom

14. Managing the Generation X
Talk to them about their reputation, not just
job tasks; they want your candid perspective
and feedback
Acknowledge their ability to work
independently and encourage them to leverage
their entrepreneurial abilities.
Help them get the most out of every job
position by discussing what the job can do for
them and what they can learn from it.

15. Millenniums
 Value independence but need supervision
 Look for new challenges
 Challenge the status quo
 We’re all in this together
 Want the opportunity to make an impact
 Fear boredom more than anything else

16. Managing the Millenniums
Demonstrate the stability and long-term value of
your organization, and also show how your
organization is flexible and filled with learning
opportunities for them.
Provide work schedules that help them build
careers and families at the same time.
Make groups and teams part of their job.

17. Summary of Work Characteristics
Traditionalists Boomers Xers Millennials
Practical Optimistic Skeptical Hopeful and optimistic
Always at work Want recognition Confidence and Unwillingness to
Sense of entitlement independence commit
Patient, loyal and Teamwork and Self-reliant and Meaningful Work
hardworking cooperation techno literate Moral mindset
Difficulty with change Do not accept change Adaptable to Social activism
Objective sense of change Subjective view of
right and wrong Immediate reality
gratification
Respectful of authority Ambitious Risk-taking Value diversity and
Physical health Want recognition change
Globally connected
Rule followers Workaholic –”Thank Balance work Technology savvy
Rewards later God Its’ Monday” and life Immediate
Prefer Structure responsibility

18. Generational Factoids
 Only 14% of survey respondents choose
Generation X as the generation most comfortable
managing and this included Xers themselves
 One-third indicated that they were often
offended by someone from another generation at
work
 45% of Xers come from families that have
experienced divorce
BridgeWorks' 2001 Generations Survey

19. Generational Factoids
When asked who they are most loyal to at
work, Xers put co-workers first, their boss or
project next, and the organization last
40% of Xers said having a mentor directly
influenced their decision to stay at their current
job.
Millenniums ranked “personal safety” as their
#1 workplace issue.
BridgeWorks' 2001 Generations Survey

20. Generational Factoids
 29% of the Traditionalists agreed that a person
should build their career with one
employer, compared to 14% for Boomers and 11% of
Xers
 When asked “Which generation is the best at
finding work-life balance?”, all generations picked
Generation X
 Millenniums indicated that flexible workplace and
opportunity for promotion was more important
than salary
BridgeWorks' 2001 Generations Survey

21. The differences exist so....
DEAL WITH THEM!

22. 3 strategies to manage by:
1) Communication
2) Delegation
3) The Gift of Feedback

23. Communication
 What do your employees want from a work
environment?
 Forget exit surveys; why do people stay?
 What do you want from your work environment?
 Talk about people’s differences amongst your team
 Develop an action plan specific to your team
 Talk about conflict – do not let it fester

24. Delegation
 Boomers want teamwork, Xer’s want
independence, Y’s want more responsibility
 Delegation can be the answer to everyone’s needs
 Prepare Xer’s for the next role, challenge Y’s, give
Boomers some much needed balance
 Requires accountability and feedback
 P.S. Forget how long it took you to reach the point
where things were delegated to you…those days are
gone!!

25. The Gift of Feedback
Keys to providing effective feedback:
 Immediate feedback – to recognize good performance, and
address performance issues as they arise
 Positive and constructive feedback – direct, non-
judgmental, ethical and based on values governing the policy
 Specific feedback – the feedback should pinpoint targeted
strengths and areas for improvement
 Give feedback OFTEN – keeps employee on course, prevents
work from going “off the rails” for long periods of time, and
reduces the stigma of giving feedback.

26. Keys to providing effective feedback:
 Spend time with your employees to discuss the
work and see how they are doing
 Explain how the employee’s work contributes to
the big picture
 Delegate based on employee workload and
capabilities
 Show your commitment to their objectives by
providing needed support and direction.

27. DON’T FORGET TO GIVE POSITIVE
FEEDBACK

28. STAR Model for Giving Feedback
 S Situation - describe the SITUATION where the behaviour
occured
 T Task – describe the TASK the employee performed
 A Action – describe the ACTION the employee chose in this
situation
 R Result - describe the outcome that occurred as a RESULT of
the action
If it is constructive feedback add an additional AR:
 A Alternative Action- suggest an ALTERNATIVE ACTION the
employee could have chosen in this situation
 R Aleternative Result - describe the likely outcome that would
have occurred as an ALETERNATE RESULT of the alternate action

29. Questions?

30. Thank You!