Learning to play nicely

Treat them all the same, or treat them differently -- is this a recipe for raising children or the latest management philosophy?

If you said "both" you'd be correct. More and more, companies (as do parents) seem to be getting past traditional practices of treating everybody alike. A recent Wall Street Journal article suggested that failing to recognizing generational differences is a problem that just won't go away.

We've talked about this before, but the controversy still remains bothersome. The Journal article noted that something as simple yet critical as passing along information became an issue. "The boomers preferred Power Point presentations, while younger workers favored more interactive learning methods," the article stated.

The whole theory of Social Capital comes into play here -- are you worth more as part of a team, interacting with others, than as an individual in the workplace? If you're a follower of the team concept, how do you learn to play nicely with others who are either older or younger?

If you can figure that out, here's your chance to test yourself. Tell us what you think is the answer, and we'll collectively tell you if you're right or wrong.

Communicating with Older Co-Workers

By Allison Jones

In response to an earlier post about being the youngest person in the room, someone made a great comment:

What do you suggest to do when it comes down to simple “chatting” or making friends? There seems to be so little in common with people who are 20-30 years your senior. I find that conversations start revolving around things that do not really matter to neither me (the youngest person) nor them. It’s definitely not a secret that if you are good company outside of work and can connect on something in common other than work, it will greatly benefit your business.

In my experience I find that people who are older than I am open up to me more once they see that I am a valuable employee who is interested in excelling and learning. However, making friends on the job never hurt anyone. So here’s how I managed to connect with the older people on my job:

1. Read the paper: Current events (especially local ones) are always spoken about at my job. It helps to be able to join the conversation.

2. Be genuinely interested: Ask questions about their professional life and slowly ask questions about their personal life. For example, “How did you get into this kind of work?” is a question that allows people to draw on professional and personal experiences. Once they share, highlight the value of what they say to you by offering a personal anecdote of how what they say applies to you or ask them to clarify what they say.

3. Be inclusive: Everyone likes lunch—so invite them out when you go grab some food. And if you are doing something new—whether you’re reading a book, taking a trip, or learning a new kind of technology—share! It’s wrong to assume that the generation gap is so large that you won’t find common ground or learn from each other.

4. Don’t be defensive: Every now and then a topic will come up and older employees will say subtly and not so subtly “You don’t know anything about this.” Children and marriage are the biggest culprits. Just excuse yourself from the conversation—you’ll only highlight how young you are. If the conversation is focusing on something you feel comfortable talking about, ask them why they think you can’t contribute and politely join the conversation sharing your experiences.

5. Accept the fact that the relationship may be more of a mentorship: While I understand that people our age have a desire to be friends with everyone, chances are someone who is 20-30 years older than you are is your supervisor thus making the friendship boundary a little difficult to cross. Additionally, think about what you talk about with your closest friends—now think if that would be appropriate for someone older than you. While you may not be buddy-buddy with the oldest people on the job it helps to have a positive working relationship with them that allows them to think highly of you in and out of the office.

Allison Jones graduated from Haverford College in 2007. She chronicles her life as a newbie in the professional world at Entry Level Living.

Banding together at work

OK, we thought we were hot stuff when we decided to team up to write a blog about three generations in the same workplace. Now we find out -- we got nothin’.

According to HR professionals, who say they’ve never seen anything like it before, companies are now seeing FOUR (count-‘em) generations of employees working together.

They say something interesting -- that HR departments better learn to do two things well: convince Baby Boomers to postpone retirement and adapt to working with the Gen Y’ers with their very different expectations. And that’s not even talking about the older “traditionalists” and the in-between Gen X’ers.

So how will this wash? A lot of BBs that I know are anxious to retire (yup, they’re the ones who bought into the idea of 60-80 hour workweeks for white-collar workers, thought it was a good idea for career advancement).

A lot of GYs I know are anxious to get ahead quickly. Traditionally, that was done by starting with a small (but diversified) job at a small company, moving up after several years to a larger company, and so on. Not so much anymore.

GXs and GYs say they look through the red tape, see the price their parents (and grandparents) paid for playing the corporate game, and are trying to short-circuit the process.

I know I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of an HR person, trying to avoid saying “no way, but please stay” to everybody in sight.

OK, so here’s a radical solution – let the BBs go. In fact, incentivize them. Yes, they’re often the mentors and the managers – so what!

Find ways to fast-track the GX and GY stars – the managers of tomorrow. Give them the career paths that they want, knowing that they’ll be ready to challenge and be challenged.

Do we have any votes for bringing the workplace all the way down to two generations – anyone? Or is a diverse workplace -- where colleagues learn from each other -- actually still worth something?

Photo by MissK1

From the corner office...

An article in the Washington Business Journal released the results of the Vintage CEO Confidence Index, a quarterly survey of U.S.-based executives' outlooks and habits.

What was the biggest finding?

Well, the executives surveyed said that their biggest business concern is recruiting and retaining talented employees. To solve this problem, these companies have been adjusting their management and corporate culture to meet the needs of Gen X and Gen Y, who collectively make up 58% of the workforce. 

Their reasoning?

These companies feel that by understanding these generations and their work habits, they will better be able to reach them. 

Makes sense to me. What do you think? Are their other ways for employers to recruit and retain employees? 

What Influences Your Employment Decisions?

If I had to guess, I'd probably go with money. But aside from universal factors like salary, benefits, and compensation, several other key criteria influence employment decisions. Some of which depend on your age.

Dave Sanford, executive vice president at a Boston-area staffing firm, claims that where job seekers sit on the generational continuum can affect how they make employment decisions. Sanford's article highlights the differences between what Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1964-1979), and Millennials/Gen Y (born 1980 or later) value in their careers and employers.

The Differences

• Baby Boomers value location, loyalty and work ethic, and financial security and stability.

• Gen X looks for employer stability, a forum for questioning authority, and flexible work arrangements.

• Millennials are interested in socially conscious employers, independent contributions wtihin a team environment, and flexibility in roles and schedules and a comfortable environment.

What do you think? Does this match up with what you value in your career and employers?