Understanding and managing five generations in today's workplace

How to Manage Five Generations in the Workplace
Introduction
Every generation is equipped with its own special skills, possesses its own unique perspective and knowledge, and experiences its own special challenges. While some generations may appear incompatible with others due to a wide generation gap, the reality is that all gaps can be bridged and a true intergenerational workplace and culture can be achieved. Managing the five generations of workers that can be found in today’s workplaces presents certain obstacles, particularly those related to communication, understanding, collaboration, and cooperation. However, with the right approach, all five generations can be effectively managed so that they can work well together, learn from one another, and provide the kind of support and assistance required in any successful workplace. This paper will describe the five generations, discuss the impact of diversity on how to manage them, answer the question of how diversity benefits the workplace, and explain why it is important to understand the generations and provide them with opportunities to interact with one another.
The Five Generations
Traditionalists
The oldest of the existing generations, traditionalists are those born between 1922 and 1946, whose values most resemble the conventional, old world values that our grandparents cherished. Though typically retired as a whole (there are approximately fewer than 20 million Traditionalists still in the workforce today), in many organizations some traditionalists can still be found in the workplace and their traditional orientation to work and work ethic can be described as committed (Hillman, 2014). Traditionalists believe that the worker and company have a special relationship that should be valued and not disrespected as both rely on the other to achieve common goals. The traditionalist embraces the idea of being a worker and does not view a job primarily as just another rung in the ladder but rather as an opportunity to create a long-term relationship with the place of employment, develop with the company and bring home a salary. Traditionalists are grateful for the opportunity to work and do not try to disrupt their sectors or workplaces by innovating or challenging the status quo. They are not well-versed in digital technology and prefer old school ways and values when it comes to life, expression, and goals.
Baby Boomers
Born between 1946 and 1964, this cohort makes up the second largest population in the workforce today (Hillman, 2014). Boomers are typically set in their ways, like Traditionalists and can be resistant to change, unlike the younger generations that welcome it and are aware of the fast-paced nature of development and technological advancement that occurs in today’s industries. Boomers are on the brink of retiring en masse, but since the 2008 economic crisis they have been holding on more and more to their jobs. They serve as a half-way point between the Traditionalist perspective and the Generation X perspective: they are neither wholly committed to serving the company nor to serving themselves. They understand the way of the world, yet they also grew up with the idea that the company should look after its employees. Baby Boomers value incentives and they appreciate the idea that an organization is willing to offer benefits, such as health insurance, stock options, sick days, vacation time, and reimbursements for education. Baby Boomers recognize these incentives as a major factor in their willingness to work for an organization (Hillman, 2014). Younger generations are less impressed by them and are not as fulfilled by them as the Baby Boomer generation is—primarily because they do not recall, as Baby Boomers do, a time when organizations did not offer these types of incentives.
Generation X
Born between 1964 and 1980, Generation X workers number approximately 50 million in the workforce (Hillman, 2014). Generation X views the younger generations mainly with disdain, seeing them as self-centered, ignorant, entitled, arrogant and too enamored of social justice concepts (Laird, Harvey & Lancaster, 2015). Generation X is more comfortable with being politically incorrect as they came of age at a time when most people their age rejected the political establishment and the so-called virtues it espoused as characteristic of a programmatic way of thinking that prevents common sense from taking seed. For Generation X workers, personality is what matters most in terms of their orientation and long-term commitment to the company: if they feel the company is led by leaders with good personalities, they are more likely to be committed than the next generation (Agrawal, 2017). For Generation X employees, incentives like the benefits that motivate Baby Boomers to be committed are less meaningful. They do not find such perks to be as important as they can likely be found at almost any place of employment: rather, they respond to who they work with and what those around them are like.
Millennials
Also known as Generation Y, these workers were born between 1980 and 2000 and number approximately 80 million workers (Hillman, 2014). This was known as the youth generation—the “first wave of the digital generation born into the world of technology” (Bencsik, Horvath-Csikos & Juhasz, 2016, p. 92). They are defined as being short-sighted in terms of how they think about their future; they live for the present and do not plan long-term. For that reason, they do not feel beholden to companies the same way Traditionalists or Boomers do. They know they have the technical skills to take their talents anywhere they want to go. They feel they have put in the work and now it is time to reap the benefits; thus, they tend to place preference over commitment: they would rather be happy with what they do than take a job that makes them unhappy. At the same time, they are adaptive and do not mind change. They tend to work mainly with Generation X individuals and as Gen Z is only just now finishing with high school and entering into college (Bencsik et al., 2016). Millennials are able to multi-task well; they embrace diversity and view Traditionalists and Boomers as rivals in the job market and tend to view the ideas and ideals of the older generations as old-fashioned and out of place the modern world. For Millennials, the personality of the company leaders is less important than the organizational structure of the company: they are not so beholden by the personalities of managers as Generation X is; instead, they base their commitment preferences on how the organization is structured, whether it offers the chance for growth, development and upward mobility, and where the company is likely to be in 10 years (Agrawal, 2017).
Gen Z
Gen Z workers are those born after 2000. They are mainly in college today but many are accepting co-ops with companies that enable them to get experience in the job market while still going to school. They are eager to learn and to develop a relationship with a company; however, they are also mindful of the utility of networking and of leveraging their experience to obtain better and better positions with various companies. They expect to use their training and skills to climb the corporate ladder and they are “linked in” so to speak when it comes to using their education and experience to create a profile for themselves that can further their careers. Gen Z is highly involved in Internet functioning and these individuals tend to be online more than any other generation (Bencsik et al., 2016). The first place they go to when they have to solve a problem is the Internet and generally they feel confident that all answers can be found there. They are thus more likely to use digital technology to become informed than they are to ask older workers for guidance. They are self-learners but lack the social skills that most older adults develop at younger ages (Bencsik et al., 2016).
The Impact of Diversity on How to Manage the Five Generations
Diversity plays a large role in today’s organizations and when there are five different generations of workers involved in the workplace, there are sure to be confrontations. Diversity has both its positive aspects and its negative aspects—if diversity itself is not managed effectively. The negative impact of diversity can be that it taxes the time of the manager as he attempts to figure out how to get so many different generations of workers to collaborate and work together. It can lead to stress on everyone’s part, turmoil, miscommunication, and high turnover rates (Moore et al., 2016). The less prepared a manager is to handle the diversity of the workplace, the less likely the impact of diversity on how to manage the five generations is to be positive and facilitative.
For that reason, the manager should be prepared to handle diversity by being trained in the use of emotional and social intelligence tools. This is a way for the manager to demonstrate empathy towards the various generations and to help them break down the generational barriers that may exist between them. For instance, the Traditionalist generation may view the Millennial generation as hard-working but too self-serving to be counted on as reliable or valuable team members. The manager would have to be sensitive to both the emotions of the older and the younger generation, listen to what they are saying, understand the things they are not saying, and then provide new ways of looking at the issue that provides a more positive interpretation (Cacamis & El Asmar, 2014).
Every generation is going to have its own perspectives on life, and every generation is going to bring its own unique skill set. Generation Z and Millennials are more likely to understand the power and utility of social media and the Internet as a source of invaluable information in the workplace than are Baby Boomers and Traditionalists. Generation X may be indifferent to personal goals and incentives but may find that if they have a good leader they will stand by his or her side come what may. Traditionalists may come to work with the kind of determination to carry out the organization’s objectives, whatever they are, that the younger generations may not understand. Boomers will bring with them a sense of practicality that the other generations may lack. Each one can be seen as offering the others something they don’t have—and by getting them to work together as a team, the manager can effectively utilize diversity in the workplace and help to develop a workplace culture where there is respect and appreciation on all sides, tolerance in terms of accepting the fact that not every generation is going to be the same or hold the same values, and a collaborative spirit based on the willingness of workers of each generation to come together and learn what the other has to offer.
To succeed, managers will need excellent communication skills, social and emotional intelligence skills, and the ability to understand where difficulties may arise (Cacamis & El Asmar, 2014). The manager will not be able to sit back and take a hands-off approach. Rather, the manager will have to get engaged and exercise a more servant style of leadership than what he or she may be used to: the reason is that by putting him or herself at the service of the multi-generational workers in the organization, the manager effectively becomes the support upon which good will and positive social interaction can take place.
How Can Diversity Provide Benefits in Terms of Unique Backgrounds and Perspectives that Each Generation Brings?
Diversity provides benefits in terms of unique backgrounds and perspectives that each generation brings. Every generation can learn something from the other and each generation lacks something that the other has. Generation X lacks the motivation and gumption of the Traditionalists. Millennials may have the gumption but they lack the belief in commitment and loyalty that Traditionalists and Generation X may have. Baby Boomers will be practical in their orientation but they may lack the spirit of innovation that the younger generations have. Traditionalists will have commitment but may lack the technical understanding of today’s tools to be relevant. Each stands in the other’s shadow at some point and each can provide something to the other that the other does not have.
Thus, every generation of worker presents a unique opportunity for the other generations to learn something new. A diverse workplace of multi-generational workers is one where there are likely to be numerous bridges constructed that can help younger generations understand the worldview, perspective, and work ethic of the older generations, and where the older generations can learn the technical skills and innovative thinking of the younger generations. The trade-off makes both generations much more robust overall and can even contribute to a reduction in turnover rates as well as a boost in job satisfaction for one and all. So long as the diversity of the place is managed effectively and the different generations of workers are organized to work together, collaborate, communicate and cooperate, the benefits of multi-generational diversity will be felt not only by the workers but also by the organization as a whole (Hillman, 2014; Moore et al., 2016).
Diversity of background and perspective also improves the organization’s depth, just like a good sports team is improved when it has a deep roster or bench consisting of a variety of different players with a variety of different talents and specialized maneuvers. Having workers from all five generations together in one room can be, if managed well, like coaching the Golden State Warriors: there is someone to represent every aspect of the modern world and its needs. No single generation can be discarded or discounted based on age or background: every single one has something to offer, whether it is in terms of work ethic or in terms of tolerance or in terms of digital and technical knowledge.
For diversity to most fully benefit the organization and the stakeholders within the workplace, it has to be recognized for what it brings. Managers have to be mindful about celebrating the achievements and accomplishments of workers who represent each generation—and they have to be mindful of how they explain these accomplishments to the other workers. They must be sensitive of feelings and not put another generation down by praising or uplifting another generation. It is simply a matter of highlighting the good so that it may be emulated by one and all. The manager must encourage the generations to talk to one another, get to know one another, praise one another, and assist one another. It is only through this type of interaction that a true workplace wherein diversity is celebrated and beneficial can come to be attained. Understanding is key to this venture and giving workers opportunities to interact with one another is also essential to its success.
Why It is Important to Understand and Provide Opportunity
Culture is critical to success in the workplace. Creating a good culture depends upon everyone getting along and upholding the same values and ideals that the organization reflects within its core vision and mission. To create an effective, supportive and inclusive culture, respect for diversity must be achieved. Part of the problem that workers can encounter when facing the generational gap, is that the gap creates confusion and resentment when the different generational workers feel they are being misunderstood or neglected (Moore, Everly & Bauer, 2016). For that reason it is vital to understand the different generations, their perspectives, needs and strengths, and use this information to create opportunities for collaboration, mentoring, and cooperation in the workplace. Techniques that might be utilized to foster inclusion and improve communication and collaboration among intergenerational workers include: 1) the introduction of intergenerational mentoring and 2) training on intergenerational strengths. These two techniques can help workers and managers to better understand one another; develop better communication and collaboration among intergenerational teams, so as to be able to deal with the common issues of the workplace that are likely to come up; and increase job satisfaction across all personnel. If workers can come together as a team and recognize the merits of one another no matter what generation they are in, they will be more inclined to talk, assist, and support one another in a positive manner; and the workplace culture will improve as a result.
Intergenerational mentoring focuses on pairing younger workers with older workers so that the latter can provide wisdom gained from experience on the job that the younger workers will not possess simply because they lack the experience. Another approach to giving workers opportunities to interact with one another is that of the educational tutorial—i.e., the lesson or training on intergenerational strengths, which can help raise awareness about the skills that each group of workers possesses and can in turn provide to the other groups to help ease their burden and make their work easier in the long run. For instance, younger generation workers are more likely to be interested in computers and will have far more understanding of the latest in advancements than the older generation (Hillman, 2014). As technology is rapidly changing the face of all industries and organizations and the way in which workers are expected to perform their jobs—for instance with people working from home or from remote locations using laptops and even mobile phones—younger workers can be of great assistance in helping older workers to adapt to this kind of innovation. Older workers, on the other hand, can possess commitment skills and ideals that the younger generation is not likely to have as these were not values that were impressed upon them during their time growing up—at least not in the extent that older workers received these values. Thus, each generation brings with it some knowledge and skill set and value that can benefit the other generations and by being aware of how they can all work together to achieve a common objective, they take a strong first step in opening the lines of communication, fostering the respect we all deserve and desire, and being there for one another so that they all in turn can be there for the customer or client. By giving room to understanding and providing the different generations the opportunity to work together and to learn from one another, the manager can most effectively manage the diversity of the workplace and use it to the company’s advantage.
Underlining these techniques will be the servant leadership style that allows the manager to place himself at the service of others, so that when a workers makes a need apparent to another the manager can rise up to the challenge and help that worker. When the manager makes this kind of commitment to this kind of service, then the entire department is better able to deal with the issues it faces. There is nothing like a good example of leadership to inspire workers to achieve common ground and provide support for one another, no matter how different they all are (Cacamis & El Asmar, 2014).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the issue of how to manage five generations of workers can best be simplified when one examines the strengths and weaknesses of each generation and sees how the five generations can actually all work together in complementary ways, with one generation supplying something the other lacks. When a manager is aware of the ways each generation of worker can actually benefit in some way from what another generation of worker brings to the workplace, the manager is better positioned to help the organization succeed and perform to the maximum of its ability. Every generation stands to learn something from the other—and all the manager has to do is use his or her emotional and social intelligence and communication skills to bring the groups together so that they have opportunities to learn and grow as one.

References
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Bencsik, A., Horváth-Csikós, G., & Juhász, T. (2016). Y and Z Generations at Workplaces. Journal of Competitiveness, 8(3), 90-106.
Cacamis, M. E., & El Asmar, M. (2014). Improving project performance through partnering and emotional intelligence. Practice Periodical on Structural Design & Construction, 19(1), 50-56.
Hillman, D. R. (2014). Understanding multigenerational work-value conflict resolution. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 29(3), 240-257.
Laird, M. D., Harvey, P., & Lancaster, J. (2015). Accountability, entitlement, tenure, and satisfaction in Generation Y. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(1), 87-100.
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