Programs

Monthly Program - Generations in the Workplace

Three experts on workplace design and compatibility told members and guests of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter April 24 the four generations of employees that makeup the country’s workforce must work to understand each other so they are able to work together.

Speaking at the chapter’s monthly program at the Confluence Park Restaurant were Colleen McCafferty,  Hixson Architecture, Engineering and Interiors; Bettye Russell, Herman Miller; and Chris Dalambakis, Steelcase.

Alternating their comments throughout the presentation, they said the dynamics of multiple generations within the same workplace is a challenge that cannot be overlooked, and employers must understand how each generation operates.

This, they said, is critical for company executives in their recruiting and retaining employees if they expect their companies to continue to grow.

The four age groups are:  Silents (Veterans), those born between 1925 and 1943; Boomers, born from 1943-1960; Xers, born from 1960-1980; and Millennials (Gen Y), born between 1980-1994.

Each is strikingly different, and each has its own motivations and histories that influence and define work style and subsequently the workplace.

For example:

• Silents are those who witnessed the Great Depression, the collapse of banks, high unemployment, and the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.  This generation supports the nation’s war effort, and many learned their leadership skills from the military.  Their formative years in the workforce were characterized by division of labor and a pecking order that created distance between bosses and workers.
  
  Silents have faith in American institutions, loyalty, and willingness to conform, and have learned the importance of hard work — all traditional American values.  Silents are practical, dedicated, and respectful.
  
• Boomers witnessed the first television, the civil right movement, moon landing, assassination horrors of President John Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Woodstock, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Vietnam.  Cars became a big part of their social lives, and they were the first generation that worked for wages they could spend on themselves.
  
  Their relationships are about personal gratification.  They are idealistic, optimistic, driven in the workplace, have a love/hate relationship with authority, lead by consensus.  This is the “me” generation that grew up in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, and today represents self-fulfillment in the workplace.  Only 35 percent are computer competent, while their successors are 80 percent.
  
• Xers lack a defining life event but represented 33 percent of the workforce in 2004.  Xers will change jobs five times before the age of 40 and will change careers three times before retiring.  They believe the workplace should be fun and not too serious and formal.
  
  They are not intimidated by authority.  They are techno-literate and believe leadership should be given to the competent.  Xers witnessed the erosion of integrity with Watergate and President Richard Nixon’s resignation, women’s rights movement, explosion of Challenger on television, and they owned the first personal computers.  This group also watched their parents lose long-term jobs and retirements.  They do not expect to have a lifestyle as affluent as their Boomer parents.
  
• Millennials recognize they are growing up in a world of permanent war and even at 18 they have a five-year plan.  One of four lives in a single parent home.  This generation focuses on teamwork, achievement, modesty, and good conduct.
  
  Milennials are global and open to change as well as being honest and caring.  They won’t settle for “one-size-fits-all” and thrive for a challenge.  Millennials are hopeful, collaborative, community and globally minded, comfortable in teams, and seek the guidance of positive role models.
  
  They are confident, dedicated to equality in the workplace, and have a keen global perspective.  They are the most numerous generation, most affluent, best educated, and most ethnically diverse.

The panel offered these things to consideration in bridging the generation gaps:

• Older generations will remain in the workforce as their lifespan continues to increase.
  
• Eighty-five percent of the baby boomers plan to work during retirement.
  
• Older generations believe that young people abandoned traditional work values.
  
• The younger generations really value camaraderie and making the workplace a team friendly environment.
  
• Determining how generations can together and learn from each other.
  
• Determining how to deal with more vision and hearing difficulties, and mobility limitations since there are more aging employees, and the effects this will have on design.
  
• Determining how generations work together since they view each other so differently.