Generation Next -- The Workplace

Roger Terry shared this with me today.. looks like something anyone dealing with Gen X or Y should watch...

Gen X vs. Gen Y - Hype

In an earlier post, I raised issues with Gen X and Gen Y stereotyping and taking the hype beyond what the data really says. I was happy today to see that the Society for Human Development has put out a publication on Generational Differences that goes even further than my warning. The publication, which is based on a seven year study by the Center for Creative Leadership, lays out the following on Gen Y:

• Employees of different generations actually actually want a lot of the same things from their work.
• Global demographics, education levels, living costs, economic issues, and labor market conditions may have the strongest influence on the way different generations view work.
• Other findings.. regardless of age,
  
• Resistance to change is more about what you stand to lose or gain.
• Loyalty to the employer is more about your place in the company hierarchy than your age.
• most employees seem to what security and a balance work and personal lives.

My hat is off to Jennifer Deal who is the study's lead author!

BIG QUESTION: Top Reasons People Consider Leaving Their Jobs?

If it is not succession planning.. it is retention that seems to be getting the most attention among HR and T&D experts these days. Leaders know that a huge workforce is retiring and that there will not be as many workers to replace them. Human capital may be more valuable than oil in 15 years....

A colleague of mine and I are working on some research related to retention. We know from previous research that most of us have thought about leaving our current job at least once or twice. Of course, we often do not act on these thoughts, but the thoughts themselves tell us something about retention.

You can help out a great deal by either responding to this blog with a comment, or sending me a private e-mail. Please feel free to respond to the blog in an anonymous post. It should not take you long to answer just one question.

The last time something happened that made you think your current job is not the one you want to be in... what was it that made you think about leaving that job?


Please share this post with as many people as you can.. I would love to get as many people as possible to respond.. If I get a good response, I hope to post a summary of the best of the posts and the most dominate themes..

Gen X, Gen Y, Failure of T&D?

I had a profound fear strike me on the issue of differences across the generations. Anyone who has read on this topic knows that there will be challenges in leading a diverse workforce made up of different generations. I alluded to this in an earlier post. The short issue statement is that generations differ on values due to the significant events we experience. Examples include the depression, WWII, Vietnam, Columbine, 9/11. The earlier post goes into it more, but an example would be G.I. Generation was known for their selflessness and commitment to society.

So what was so profound.. that I am now feeling inadequate as a leadership development expert. First what lead me to this thought... I have been reading and listening to famous speeches, stories and history on WWII, the pacific & D-Day for several days(See my last post). Coupled with some additional reading I had been doing on Martin Luther King and his Birmingham letter from prison... it struck me as strange the impact these stories had on my sense of who I was. I was too young or not even born then, but somehow I was able to relive these events. My sense of sacrifice.. what someone should face for the good of others was changing. Through study and experience with history, I was embracing the same values of the GI Generation.

My Fear: Are we missing this in programs we offer to young employees?

We know that these events helped form the value system of their generations. Values that future generations do not necessarily understand. For example, WWII vets came home with a new sense of citizenship. I am reminded of the story of John Brady, one of the flag raisers at Iwo Jima. He came home believing he an obligation to others because he survived when 1000s died taking the island. The question is why shouldn't other generations be exposed to these stories in a way that instills in them the same sense of citizenship. The same sense of it is not all about having fun.. or being able to do what you always want.

These significant events have taught their generations what is important to success and happiness. They have raised a consciousness among the generation.. but the lessons should be shared. Are we digging deeply enough in the personal development of these young employees? Will it will be years before they go through a leadership program where they are challenged by these sorts of stories? Are we even considering how important these stories are in our current leadership programs?

Gen X vs. Gen Y?

Thanks to Be Excellent blog for their post on Gen X vs Gen Y... It is a new study and they report the following:

• More Generation Y owners say 'having fun is a priority in my business' (75% Generation Y vs. 66% Baby Boomers)
• Generation Y business owners are more likely to find it 'very difficult' to leave their work to go on vacation (39% vs. 26%)
• They are also more likely to put in the long hours - 10 or more hours a day (66% Generation Y vs. 58% Baby Boomers)
• Surprisingly, Boomers also report having more natural energy than their younger peers (60% vs. 50% Generation Y)
• Despite Generation Y's perceived greater ease with technology-- two-thirds (66%) of Generation Y entrepreneurs consider themselves tech savvy compared to less than half (47%) of Baby Boomers--both age groups agree that experience trumps tech savvy in terms of business success.
• Passion is the leading driver for both Generation Y and Baby Boomers in starting their businesses (55% Generation Y, 40% Baby Boomer)

It is interesting data. I have to think that on most of these points the difference is not cultural.. but rather related more to life stage. It is fair to say that as we all get older, for most of us, our priorities shift a bit. For example, I am more likely to go on vacation today than I was 10 years ago. I know the business will survive without me... I like to think that has a bit to do with maturity. Not sure understood myself and the world this well back in my 30s..

I think we have to be careful not to read too much into this data. There are a ton of consultants out there trying to sell the concept that you have to manage Gen Xs and Gen Ys differently most I have heard are good, but they take the data too far sometimes. As we think of how we supervise and manage our employees, this is just one aspect of what a leader needs to consider.

For example, I don't know an employee who is going to say "please don't make my work fun!" And yet, we all know, there are parts of every job that can not be made fun. If Gen Ys have less tolerance for those tasks, the grungy part of work, this will present a new challenge for leaders. Either through good selection practices, or through internal coaching, today's business leaders need to address these challenges. Balancing the needs of your workers at their lifestage is just one more skill today's leaders need!