Making News

(Nov. 15, 2007)

CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?
Managing Generational Clashes in the Workplace
By Megan Webb and Lyndsey Forster

Generational gaps and conflicts continue to arise in today’s working environment. With four generations now co-existing, disagreements in style and substance are inevitable. However, now armed with your new-found generational knowledge, you’ll be putting out office staff fires in no time, simultaneously creating an open working atmosphere to help your company prosper.

Understanding the primary generational differences
Below are a few primary differences that your organization must address in order to maintain a successful workplace and a cooperative corporate culture with all generations in mind.

Work ethic
Boomers are typically known as workaholics, while Generation X and Y seek to achieve work-life balance. Instead of mandating which working environment you favor, rigid or relaxed, try creating flexibility. Offer the option for your employees to telecommute one day per week, or take one or two days off during the Monday through Friday grind in substitution for weekend hours. Better yet, hold a meeting and begin by asking your employees what they want in regards to office hours and schedules, and how you, as their employer, can best accommodate all working styles.

A Silicon Valley Web company, Slide.com, recently incorporated a more “relaxed” environment into its office space to cater to the needs of its employees - younger generations looking for something different. Complete with video games, drinks, food, pets, and other gadgets and toys, Slide has appropriately responded to its employees’ craving for an enjoyable, laid-back working environment. Kevin Freedman, vice president of Slide, wants to retain his employees, and treats them well so they’ll stay put. “You have to find ways to keep them engaged,” he said in a recent interview. Happy employees translate into increased creativity and productivity in the work force. Not to mention elevated competition. If they’re not happy in your company, they’ll go somewhere else.

Point being? Listen to your employees and be open to change that will accommodate their needs. If not, you could lose valuable resources to your competitors.

Lack of communication
An essential part of all successful relationships, communication is increasingly vital to your company’s success. Failed internal communications often points directly to technology solutions. Older generations, like the Boomers, tend to favor face-to-face contact and in-person meetings, while younger generations are accustomed to instant gratification over vehicles such as email or instant messaging. Growing up with the Internet, younger employees are privy to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, which provides them with immediate contacts and answers. And they certainly don’t want to wait for an “ok” derived from a burdensome and overly beaurocratic chain of command.

To incorporate improved communication skills within your company, consider a training seminar to help employees better understand how to efficiently communicate with one another. For example, Larry, one of your supervisors, may be more effective to reach if you just pop into his office or set up an appointment. While Susan, one of the new-hires, may prefer instead to receive an instant message from your company’s internal instant messenger site. Whatever communication style works best for those individuals is up to them, and you should be careful in mandating any specific rules. But, getting it all out in the open is an excellent way for each individual to respect the way each other prefers to communicate.

Handholding
Today’s older generations complain about the need of the younger generations to have constant supervision instead of just putting their heads down and getting to work. Recognize the younger generational need for mentoring programs and continual feedback. Older generations may be more receptive to younger generations if they understand that seeking out mentors and guidance from office predecessors is actually a sign of respect.

View of authority
Older generations, such as the Boomers and Veterans, who tend to hold higher-level corporate positions such as vice presidents, founders and CEOs, can sometimes lack respect for younger generations’ strengths and skills. Alternativly the younger generations, like Gen X and Gen Y, tend to be skeptical, unimpressed and sometimes resistant to authority figures. 

To address power issues, organize a ‘lunch and learn’ to discuss what each generation can gain and expect from one another. The older generations’ experience can often times surpass a younger employee’s amount of time on this planet, while younger employees can teach their employers how to build a Web site or virtual world in Second Life! Overall, being supportive of what each generation can bring to the table, and how valuable each individual is to your organization - despite age or title - will go a long way.

Education is key
Generation divergence will only increase if you ignore it, and may cause you to lose talented, valuable employees. Assemble regular training sessions, seminars and generation diversity classes where managers and employees can learn to appreciate one another, become informed about each group’s unique differences and develop central characteristics. This will allow your team to discover improved ways to collaborate with each other within your organization. Creating a corporate culture where staff members can express their concerns and learn about and from one another, is an effective way to enhance your company’s inter-office relationships while increasing your company’s success.


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