Managing intergenerational differences between Matures and Millennials

¶ … Intergenerational Issues in Talent Management

Human Resources Director

In response to your recent request for an analysis of the survey of the company's employees which determined that the vast majority are from the so-called "Millennials" generation who are less than 35 years of age with less than 5 years of work experience or the so-called "Matures" generation which is comprised of workers older than 60 years with more than 30 years of work experience, this memorandum explains what the survey findings mean for the organization and provides a plan to address these impacts. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the impact of these intergenerational differences are provided in the concluding section.

Analysis concerning how this scenario affects the organization

As can be readily discerned from the statistics in Table 1 and Figure 1 below, the number of Matures and Millennials in the American workplace today are nearly identical.

Table 1

Current Estimates of Multigenerational Cohorts in U.S. Workforce

Generation

Birth Years

Estimated Cohort

Matures

1900-1945

75 million

Baby Boomers

1946-1964

80 million

Generation Xers

1965-1980

46 million

Millennials

1981-?

76 million

Source: Based on textual data in Fabre, 2007 at p. 55

Figure 1. Current Estimates of Multigenerational Cohorts in U.S. Workforce

Source: Based on tabular data in Fabre, 2007, p. 55

Not surprisingly, the differences between these generations are become the focus of a growing amount of scholarly research. Indeed, Bardwell (2007) emphasizes that, "Generational differences are one of the most challenging diversity and leadership issues in organizations in the 21st century" (p. 19). Unfortunately, these differences involve more than just tastes in cable programming or dining preferences but rather extend to the very work ethic that fueled America's growth from the outset. For example, one Mature manager complained that, "As an older manager, I found that the younger people didn't value their jobs. They'd go onto the computer, take care of personal business as opposed to doing the work they were hired to do and were unproductive" (cited in Bardwell, 2007, p. 21). Although Bardwell paints with a very wide brush, the points he makes concerning the fundamental differences between Matures and Millennials is highly salient as it regards workplace management. It is reasonable to suggest that Matures are not only able, they are downright eager to live up to expectations and can be viewed as more engaged with their work than their younger counterparts (Bardwell, 2007).

As a result, these types of intergenerational differences can have a profound impact on any organization's performance and productivity. As Bardwell emphasizes, "[Millennials] had difficulty adhering to the rules and regulations. Oftentimes they felt that they could do what they wanted and couldn't understand why they had to do it the way they were told it was to be done" (2007, p. 20). This sense of undeserved entitlement among Mature executives about their Millennial employees is not entirely unjustified. For instance, based on his empirical observations and experience, Bardwell concludes that, "[Millennials] didn't understand going into the workforce the importance of rules and regulations. They would come in at any time, get written up through the disciplinary procedures and still wanted to do it their way" (p. 20). There are some prevailing theories concerning why this type of massive division in the workforce occurred in the first place, and these issues are discussed below.

Development of a plan to address the situation

Different generations in the workplace clearly have different values and work ethics that will not be ironed out easily (Heery, 2011). In order to overcome this major international gap, Mature managers must recognize that Millennials can be just as hard-working, honest and forthright as themselves while applying some conventional motivational methods such as employee satisfaction surveys and workshops to identify opportunities to improve engagement levels with the up-and-coming generation (The changing trends of retirement, 2013).

Policies that should be implemented to keep the situation from recurring

Overcoming the intergenerational differences that characterize the modern workplace is clearly not an effortless enterprise but rather one which requires the recognition that people born between 1900 and 1945 experienced an entirely different world than those born after 1981. Perhaps the overarching issue involved in this analysis concerns the "what's-in-it-for-me" aspects that were not necessarily operative for the Mature generation but which are of exceeding importance to the Millennial generation. This shift is perspective can most likely be attributed to major changes in the social contract that followed the end of World War II in which new hires were guaranteed a lifetime of employment security in exchange for loyalty and hard work. While the Mature generation was forced to endure the deprivations of the Great Depression and the rigors of two world wars, the Millennial generation not only avoided events on this level, they enjoyed the positive outcomes that resulted from the Mature generation's sacrifices. Taken together, it is not surprising that significant intergenerational differences exist between Matures and Millennials that can adversely affect management practices in the workplace unless they are taken into account.