Employee
satisfaction and retention are growing issues that corporate
leadership can no longer ignore. Turnover and involuntary
separations affect profits and the ability of companies
to attract qualified workers. One major source of employee
dissatisfaction and turnover is the stress created by generational
differences.
During
the last half of the 20th century, employers were able to
avoid major workforce upheavals because Baby Boomers were
(1) the bulk of the workforce and (2) willing to work in less
enjoyable jobs in exchange for financial incentives and perceived
job security.
In the 21st century, the employment market has changed drastically.
For example, in February,
2007, Salary.com released their Employee Satisfaction and
Retention Survey completed by 11,852 employees and 311 human
resources (HR) professionals. A whopping 66%
of employees surveyed said they planned to look for
a new job within the next 3 months.
As
Generation X has matured and moved up the corporate ladder,
its members are taking a hard look at Baby Boomer
work values and are finding them lacking. Generation
X is living in the present, while the majority of Baby Boomers
are clinging to the past.
What
valuable lessons can the Baby Boomer generation learn from
Gen Xers? Why should they even care what Gen X thinks?
Survey and other information:
In her recent book Radical Careering (1) , Sally Hogshead shared the results of a Gen X survey regarding career and employment attitudes. Here are a few survey statistics:
Most important factor in success......Natural talent 9%......Hard work 91%
Would rather have a job with.............Security 16%...............Opportunity 84%
More important from employers.......A fat paycheck 11%.....Respect 89%
Preferred work environment.............Structured 19%...........Entrepreneurial 81%
Another notable statistic revealed in this survey is Gen Xers would prefer to take a 50% pay cut for a job they love (87%) rather than accept a 200% pay increase for a job they hate (13%). This demonstrates the younger generation desires more career satisfaction. Gen Xers are willing to work hard at their jobs, but they are not willing to stay in bad job situations that Baby Boomers found tolerable.
In
Coaching Generation X (2), Terri Nagle
stated that "The fact remains that Generation X are the
employees that are entering the workforce today; they are
the future. They aren't going away, nor are they likely to
conform to the previous generation's definition of work. Boomer
managers cannot continue to ignore Xers' differences and try
to manage them according to their own mindset."
Likewise,
Gregory P. Smith observed generational frictions and concluded
that "Many good employees are quitting traditional organizations
because the older workforce does not know how to manage them
properly." (3)
Suggestions for Baby Boomer management:
So,
what are Baby Boomer managers and executives to do? Here
are some ideas worth considering:
* Gen X is taking over the workplace and management roles. It is time to overhaul the corporate cultures that Baby Boomers imposed upon themselves.
*
Gen X wants to be treated with respect. It is time to abandon
the traditional "do it my way because I am the boss"
and sincerely embrace emotional intelligence.
*
Gen X wants enthusiastic, entrepreneurial leadership. It is
time to jettison those Baby Boomer executives and managers
who aren't up to the task.
*
Gen X wants a vision and guidance for their personal development.
It is time to bring back talent/career development programs
that were eliminated by Baby Boomers. It is also time
to implement corporate "mentoring" and educate the
mentors properly on how to become an effective mentor.
* Gen X is not looking for the next big salary increase. It is time to inject more appealing people into the hiring process and woo Gen Xers with a company culture that attracts top young talent . . . without increasing costs!
Considerations for Gen Xers:
Beyond
the corporate organizational implications, Gen Xers are contemplating
questions that are equally relevant for all Baby Boomers who
want to continue to be valuable to their employers.
A few such questions are:
* Do I really enjoy my current profession? If not, what would be best for me?
*
Do I really enjoy my current corporate culture and boss? If
not, what do I want?
* Am I in a financial
position to make a career change that improves the quality
of my life, such as searching for a better
job or becoming an entrepreneur?
Conclusions:
Baby Boomers are expected to live into their 80's and beyond. Many have financial needs that will require them to work into their late 60's. They increasingly find themselves managed by Gen Xers. The growing job outsourcing trend is reducing the demand for permanent employees and diminishing Boomer expectations for job security. Mergers, acquisitions, and widespread corporate downsizings continue to reduce middle and senior management positions typically filled by Baby Boomers. The traditional unwritten contract between Baby Boomers and their corporate employers has been round filed.
So,
what can individual Baby Boomers learn from Generation X?
They may benefit from a serious reexamination of their
long-held assumptions about corporate employment.
They may discover there are many fulfilling career options
available to them if they will simply get in touch with their
motivations and have the courage to take reasonable career
risks. For many Boomers who work for larger employers, they
may determine they are rearranging the deck chairs on sinking
ships. Overall, Boomers who begin to think more like Gen Xers
will find they can benefit from proactively taking control
of their future.
Talented,
motivated Baby Boomers don't have to fade into the sunset
and accept jobs that are beneath them. They just
need a second mid-life crisis that gets them in touch with
their true passions and launches them into a rewarding new
career. Also, it would help them to wake up and smell
the GenX coffee.
Postscript:
There are a lot of Baby Boomer managers who complain that
younger people aren't motivated and don't have a work ethic.
This is not true. The issue is that, unlike most Baby Boomers,
they want to have motivating work in a motivating atmosphere.
Managers who give them what they want find that Gen X workers
demonstrate high motivation and a great work ethic. Remember
all the late 90's Silicon Valley startups who got their people
to work 14 hour days by providing free soft drinks, snacks,
and ping-pong tables? That was not a fluke.
(1)
See Radical Careering © 2005 Hogshead Media,
published September, 2005 by Penguin Group
(2)
See Coaching Generation X at http://www.coachingandmentoring.com/Articles/x's.html
(3)
See Baby Boomer Versus Generation X, Managing the New Workforce
at . http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/genx.htm
CTP Enterprises,
Chandler-Hill Partners, McKenzie-Scott, Allen & Associates,
Allen and Associates
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