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Dr. Grier blogs about Narcissism and other current topics.>
Part Seven -- Generational Change
December 29, 2009
When Baby Boomers entered the workforce, there were only three generations: The Silent Generation, Traditionalists, and Baby Boomers. Because of increased life expectancies, most workplaces today have members from four generations -- Traditionalists, Boomers, Gen X and Millennials -- and a very few even five.
Boston's College Center on Aging and Work reported in 2007 that The Silent Generation makes up less than 1% of the workforce; Traditionalists about 8%; Boomers 40%; Gen X 36%; and the Millennials about 16%. The oldest Americans are entering retirement, and the number of Millennials is rapidly increasing.
Randstad's USA 2008 survey reports that the different generations rarely interact with each other in the workplace and do not acknowledge each other's skills or work ethic. Randstad suggests that this lack of interaction has the potential to limit the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next. This is particularly worrisome as the Baby Boomers, perceived as America's Institutional Brain Trust, gradually depart the workplace for good. The solution, Randstad says, is for employers to focus on building professional relationships amongst workers from different generations.
Human Resources experts have already stereotyped the three youngest generations: Baby Boomers are good communicators and workaholics willing to take on responsibility; Generation X is self-reliant and entrepreneurial, mistrusts institutions, and comfortable with technology; and the Millennials are made up of outgoing, optimistic, multi-tasking, high performing, high maintenance, digital junkies.
The Boomers put a high priority on career, often putting work before the family.
Generation X, on the other hand, values relationships more than achievement. Xers expect ongoing and frequent feedback. Their commitment is to the people they work with and not "the company". They require little supervision, have a thirst for learning and training, and they dislike rigid office environments. They like variety and expect to be heard.
The Millennials are team oriented, like a structured workplace, and want a relationship with the boss. The Millennials's wireless devices and iPods are appendages. They want and need mentoring, and being mentored in groups offers the opportunity for interaction with "peer mentors". Gen X's preference for independence can be at conflict with the Millennials's preference for teamwork and desire for attention.
There is lots of advice from the experts about how to bridge the generation gap. One expert suggests that Boomers and the Millennials get along better with each other than either with the Xers. Another suggests that Gen X is the key to transitioning the workplace from one dominated by Boomers to one composed of Xers and Millennials. Still another expert tells us that the restlessness of Gen X makes them a poor candidate for filling key jobs vacated by Baby Boomers.
My conclusion is that each of you will have to be aware of the differences between generations and will have to adopt a flexibility that will challenge the corporate structure. I will not speculate how this might be done -- that's beyond the scope of our discussions.
My interest is how this diversity affects an interview where you want to hire the right people -- people who can work with others and fit into your environment. Broad stereotypes won't cut it. Not all members of Gen X are independent anymore than all members of the Millennials are team oriented and all Baby Boomers are workaholics. Exceptions may be the rule in certain environments.
Can we use the same interview process for members of any generation when they apply for a job? Will we use a different process for our younger workers who may not have a long track record?
What role does age play in mental health? Do older workers have less mental stamina? How do we separate youthful brashness from a tendency for narcissism? Will all young Millennials have some degree of narcissism because of the way they have been raised and their penchant for telling everyone everything about themselves on social networks as if the world is waiting to learn what it can about their personal lives? (70% have a Facebook account according to researchers.)
Or do we concentrate on asking the right questions, regardless of the age of the applicant applying for a key job?
It is something we are going to have to think about and grapple with as we develop the context for the 21st century interview and fashion the questions that should be asked.
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