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?"
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
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
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.
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