A Generational Primer

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Creating a workplace culture that celebrates generational diversity has become a necessity. There are more generations sharing a workspace than ever before. This puts employers in an interesting position. Key to leadership is understanding your workforce, but every leader has their own world view which can be in opposition to their employee’s view. To be effective, they need to develop tools that weave together the talents of each generation in ways that make their organizations successful. 

When the strengths of the multigenerational workforce are cultivated, they provide a wealth of opportunities for coworkers to learn from one another, stimulate innovation and increase productivity. Taking some time to learn the characteristics of each age group helps leaders respond in more nuanced ways and bridge communication gaps. 

An essential step is understanding and appreciating what each stage of life has to offer. Toward that end, G2 Solutions has created a short primer on the four generations with the most significant membership in the workforce. It is not meant to be an in-depth analysis, but a broad framework that lays a foundation for understanding the complexity of today’s employee landscape.

Here is G2’s Guide to the Generations:

Baby Boomers (1946-1964)

Cultural Influences: The Vietnam War, Civil Right Movement, black and white TV, radio

Motivations: Company loyalty, hard work, teamwork and duty. They tend to adhere to more traditional organizational values. They can be motivated by promotions, professional development and having their expertise valued. They like taking on more responsibility and can be inspired by a challenge. They often seek consistency with defined paths to promotion.

Communication Style: They focus on efficiency and appreciate direct communication. They see a value in a variety of forms of messaging, but often value face to face meetings over other forms. Showing that you respect their experience and knowledge fosters more productive conversations.

Generation X (1965-1980)

Cultural Influences: AIDS epidemic, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dot-com boom, color TV, early video games

Motivations: Work-Life balance, diversity, duty and independence. This generation has strong footing in the analog and digital worlds. They value self reliance and adaptable work places. They prefer to work independently with minimal supervision. They value opportunities to grow and value mentorship.

Communication Style: They are results driven like their baby boomer counterparts. They feel equally comfortable using traditional forms of communication as well as digital channels. They often prefer visual communication with clear and concise presentations allowing them to make decisions quickly. They value immediate feedback that respects their time.

Millennials - Generation Y (1981-1996)

Cultural Influences: Columbine, 9/11 and development of the internet

Motivations: Work-life balance, company culture and impactful work. They do not value company loyalty in the same way as previous generations which means creating dynamic cultures where they receive training, mentoring and social opportunities is essential to employee stability. They respond well to collaborative work experiences where they are recognized for their contributions and look for opportunities to grow and develop in their roles. They are open minded and look to achieve in the workplace in a way that allows them to find purpose in their work.

Communication Style: They look for open and honest communication. They prefer interactive, digital platforms. They look for convenient ways to facilitate quick collaborative exchanges. 

Generation Z (1997-2012)

Cultural Influences: The Great Recession, the rise of social media boom and early access to technology

Motivations: These are the true digital natives, never knowing an analog world. They are motivated by diversity, individuality, creativity and meaningful work. They look for their jobs to blend with their personal lives in ways that previous generations would not have considered. They are very entrepreneurial and want to learn new skills. They have strong feelings about inclusivity in organizational culture valuing honest and transparent leadership.

Communication Style: They have been immersed in digital technology from a young age and prefer using digital communication and collaboration tools. They want real time feedback with clear directions. They value rapid communication which can translate to brief, direct messaging.

It is important to keep in mind that one generation is not better than another. Leaders need to be aware of their own generational biases as they assess their teams.  As multigenerational workplaces are the norm, it is necessary to nurture a culture where generations thrive together. There is tremendous value in blending the vast experience of seasoned employees with the fresh perspectives of those new to the workforce.  

Check out our blog next week where we outline strategies that can be used to build this type of culture.