How are you tailoring your management practices across the generations? Given the changed perspectives I wrote about in my last post, along with the two other workplace changes—one societal, the other market-driven—how do you manage and motivate Gen Xers?
Management Practices Changed by Society
In the late 60s and 70s, individual expression in dress and language appeared for the first time in the workplace. Gray flannel suits and button-down shirts, the de facto uniform for mature workers and older Boomers, fell by the wayside. Personal possessions began decorating work stations and cubicles.
Today, expressions of tastes and preferences are still alive and well within the context of most organizations’ HR rules. Although limited, individuals can express their tastes through personal styles in clothing and desk/cubicle décor.
Management Practices Changed by the Market
I think that we can all agree that the second sweeping change is less beneficial. Today’s workplace seems to be in constant turmoil because of demands for rapid change:
- Revolving-door management is endemic. CEOs frequently change, and mid-level managers are often eliminated. Work is regularly conducted by teams, in the absence of a readily identifiable hierarchy.
- Since 1998, more than 45,000 mergers and acquisitions of companies valued at $5 million or more have occurred. Job security is an obsolete concept.
While unemployment rates are a good indicator of the economy’s health, there is no real measure for job security. With such rapid changes, corporate culture doesn’t evolve quickly enough to meet most employees’ demands for satisfaction.
Vital Differences
Here we are, nearing the end of the second decade of the 21st century, with five different generations working together—often side by side, in overlapping cubicles and desks.
Most people are managed by someone older. Some exceptions occur in technology departments and industries. For the most part, however, the older generation manages the work life of its younger and newer counterparts.
Most managers assume their direct reports will be motivated by the same values and rewards they hold dear. But as someone once said, “This is not your father’s workplace.”
Each cohort, or age group, has uniquely different values and beliefs about how to work, relate to authority and best motivate people.
The following situations make today’s work force “not your father’s workplace.” Each generation has disparate attitudes and beliefs about:
- Time
- Technology
- Loyalty
- Individual expression
- Job security
What do you think? What management practices have you changed to reach across the generations? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here, or on LinkedIn.
