Managing Generational Diversity: Boomers, X and Millennials

Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials have their preferences for how they like to work, which sometimes collide in the workplace. When handled with awareness and a lens of learning, age-diversity can become another strength in your team.

Harvard Business Review identifies four common areas of conflict between generations in the workplace:

• Choosing where and when to work;
• Communication among team members;
• Planning and scheduling; and
• Accessing information and learning.

Population density of Boomers in the United States is 78 million, Generation X has 51 million, and 79 million comprise the Millennial generation.

The Boomer generation, born between 1946 to 1964, comes from a background where work is done in a synchronous manner and tends to think of work as a specific time and place. Generation X, born between 1965-1979, and Millennials (also known as Generation Y)), born between 1977 to 1994, are accustomed to an asynchronous world where work can be done at any place at any time, due to the ubiquitous presence of technology. This inherent difference in perception can create misunderstanding and conflict between generations around what work really entails and how much effort is needed at the location site or in the office. There is no easy answer to the question of when and where to work, but it’s a major one to address proactively to eliminate unnecessary friction.

Communication styles have also been formed by the technologies prevalent in each generation. Generation X and Y are well adopted to advanced technologies, which makes communication faster. Boomers, however, matured when face-to-face interactions dominated, and many may still prefer that mode to email, social networking sites, and text messaging; some Boomers may consider electronic communication to be impersonal. Adjusting your communication method to the generational preference of the co-worker you are communicating with can facilitate smoother exchanges.

Technology can be a strong attractor for Generation X and Millennials. To motivate these generations, consider keeping technology up to date and relevant. Music at work, smartphones, IM, and fast computers will likely help them stay productive. Millennials are more comfortable with technology than any other group, so view differences as an opportunity to learn from them and let them help you stay on the cutting edge.

Boomers and Generation X are “linear learners,” meaning that when learning something new, they like to get all the information necessary before starting the task. Millennials, however, are more “on-demand” in their approach, learning as they go while asking questions about the task. Boomers and Generation X may not understand the way Millennials learn or work, which can lead to negative assumptions about their work ethic.

When planning and scheduling for business meetings, Boomers and Gen X prefer to stick with a pre-planned schedule, whereas Millennials are more likely to believe the amount of meetings in the workplace is unnecessary and inefficient. As an example, one Millennial in our network, after listening to a 45 minute company on-boarding session commented “that could have been 10 minutes.” When working with Generation X, limit in-person meetings and offer alternatives like conference calls, video and web conferencing when collaboration is truly needed. Keep face-to-face meeting as small productive groups and skip long planning sessions. Think about how to leverage online social networks to encourage team collaboration with Millennials.

Other typical differences and potential strategies include:

• Boomers operate by a set of corporate practices dealing with compensation, hierarchy, and expectations. Generation X less so, and may respond to perks like a better title or flexible schedule when compensation is limited. With Millennials, highlight the importance of building their resume and the value of impressive work history, particularly in a recessionary economy.
• Boomers believe that the internet has made it difficult to know which sources are legitimate because of the abundance of information from different sources. Generation X and Millennials think that the internet takes the abundance of information to be a way to interpret things differently.
• Boomers readily focus on the task at hand, understand status quo, and tend to be competitive. Generation X and Millennials value self-reliance, prefer many options, and welcome multiple perspectives. Understand these differences when facilitating meetings.
• Millennials seek immediacy and tend to get bored with processes, whereas Generation X and the Boomers lean toward processes to fulfill a task. Ask for opinions and be open to feedback. Millennials were born into the internet stage of technology and tend to spend more time online than Generation X and Boomers. Keep their plates full of activities to ensure that they are not bored and “surf the net”.
• Generation X prefers to work independently, while Millennials like an active work environment and enjoy teamwork.
• Encourage humor and laughter about the different preferences and facilitate learning from each other.

Generational diversity is not a new phenomenon, we are all just more aware of it. And given that we are more aware of the diversity, educate your staff collectively and dialogue amongst your team to engage them in creating a workplace where everyone is welcome and appreciated. Investing the time to facilitate understanding and learning will yield a more highly motivated team that can focus on each others’ strengths and be more productive in a highly competitive world.

 

Contact Software Consortium or call 1-877-850-9393 if you would like to discuss how to leverage our top-level talent to empower your business.

 

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