Introduction

The degree of change that the world has seasoned over the past 50 years is a staggeringly high amount, and the pace at which a lot of these changes have come about is no less impressive. These changes have affected nearly every aspect of our lives beyond our fundamental physical needs and have had a profound impact on how we live our day to day lives.

One part of life that has not escaped these vast changes is the business domain. Modern companies may operate within the same underlying principles of profitability that have governed commerce since it began, but many of the traits of a successful company trading in the contemporary world would seem foreign to businesses from years gone by.

An interesting issue that modern businesses face is how to manage the different generations of people who make up their staff. This problem has been around for a long time, but as the needs of companies change and the skills necessary have evolved, the differences among workers have become more obvious.

This is partly due to the ever increasing life expectancy of humans, particularly in first world nations, which consequently prompts an ever increasing retirement age. Since people work to a later point in their lives, they may stay with the same company into their late 60’s or early 70’s, and often as hands- on workers rather than simply sitting at the board.

There is also a need for a more diverse range of skills in the progressive business surroundings, triggered largely due to the swift development and extensive reach of computer technology. Business processes, both internal and external, have undergone radical changes which require a new way of thinking. These new ways of thinking are most commonly found within the younger working generation.

Problems

One of the most typical challenges that face a modern enterprise that is working with a number of different generations in its workforce is related to technology. Computer systems are commonplace in each of our lives nowadays and they form a pivotal piece of the corporate puzzle. This computing power can help businesses to run more efficiently, but they are only as able as the individuals who operate them.

There are also generational issues when it comes to external business aspects such as the law. New laws and corporate best practices are being created all of the time and important business decision makers need to be aware of any that apply to their business.

Outside of this, there can be communication problems between different generations of employee, physical limitations of the older personnel in an organisation and the need to satisfy a range of different wants and aspirations to keep an entire workforce content.

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The Generations

The requirement to handle generations in the work environment may seem like an unneeded task, but the differences between the generations of worker that are commonly found in business are worth taking note of.

Traditionals

Mature, or “traditional”, employees are the oldest that would be found in a modern corporate environment. They’re the people who were born before the Second World War, and will be in their late 60’s or early 70’s.

Their approach to industry and life in general is one of organisation and obedience. They were expected to make personal sacrifices for the greater good, and while this belief was nurtured beneath the shadow of an international conflict, many of the older generation still harbour this opinion nowadays.

Since many of the senior generation will hold senior positions within a company their views and beliefs will generally carry more weight than those of younger generations. Their decisions will often be fundamental to the business and shape the future success or failure of the business. This disparity between modern thinking and business influence requires management.

Baby Boomers

The Baby Boomer generation includes those born between the end of the war and the mid- 60’s, while there was a general decline in the birth rate around the world. Baby Boomers will be aged between 45 and 65 approximately and are likely to form the vast majority of management roles within a modern business.

This generation grew up without a lot of the oppression and discipline that was commonplace amongst earlier generations. They are an aspirational group of people that are highly family- oriented.

When it comes to the workplace, this group of workers will often be able to grasp the bigger picture while still maintaining a grasp on modern developments in terms of technologies and business procedures. Their family- oriented character tends to see them working effectively in teams, although it is often noted that they are not comfortable when taking criticism(no matter how helpful) , and they are not good at giving feedback to other employees.

Generation X

Members of Generation X were born between the mid- 60’s and the late- 70’s. They will be presently aged between 30 and 45 and will be distributed amongst the various levels of management within a contemporary business.

Socially they grew up in very demanding times. Careers were an ever more important and defining part of people’s lives and this was pointed out to Generation X from a very early age. Many will have progressed through lower and higher education before working their way up within one or maybe two businesses. They are expected to work long and hard hours and frequently both parties in a marriage or relationship will have careers.

As such, they are often very good at problem solving and meeting short- term objectives but may struggle to grasp how their contribution influences the big picture. They will be motivated by monetary benefits rather than a sense of duty since they feel they have paid their dues through a life of study and work. Generation X need close management to ensure their effective contribution to the company.

Generation NeXt

This generation were born after 1980 and are the youngest collection of people currently at work. They have borne witness to a changing social environment where being an extravert is seldom frowned upon. They are most open to radical concepts and procedures and find hyper- consumerism and aggressive promotion to be second nature.

One of the largest change management challenges for contemporary companies can be office refurbishments since large numbers of computer systems need to be moved.

The Working Environment

Technology

We are all familiar with the gap between the elderly generations and modern technical equipment. Whether it is a parent struggling to operate a new mobile phone, or a grandparent being truly confused about what the Internet is, the void between the old and the new is made very apparent when it comes to technology.

In regards to the newer organisation, problems involving technology might have very far reaching consequences. Computers are vital to many aspects of business, from controlling payroll, to perform core tasks and even providing a route for promotion. As such, an employee who is not familiar with the systems being used by a company is likely to find difficulties in many parts of the business. This introduces the challenge of managing generations within the workplace.

A similar principle may also be applied in reverse. The younger generations may be very comfortable with emerging technologies and routines, but may lack knowledge of the other systems that still carry out many of the important functions of the business.

Physical limitations

There are obvious physical aspects that may influence how a successful company manages its workforce in regard to age. Elderly generations will by and large by physically inferior to their younger counterparts, and as such they will be less suited to roles that involve physical exertions. There will be exceptions to this in many companies, however as a generalisation it’s true.

Luckily, most of the older generations of worker will have advanced to senior levels of management within the organisation they work for, and these jobs reward based upon knowledge and experience rather than physical ability.

Modern ailments

Modern companies are faced with physical problems that businesses of the past would not have had to face. Complaints like RSI, or repetitive strain injury, have become more common since the widespread introduction and use of personal computer keyboards.

The desk setting itself can create a number of problems if the ergonomics of any particular workstation are not good. Back problems and joint problems can develop after long intervals of sitting incorrectly, and long periods of exposure to computer screens can contribute to long- term eye damage. Studies are on- going to look into the full scale of the impact of the contemporary place of work on the body.

There have been several studies regarding desk chairs which state chairs important in terms of worker health and happiness.

Solutions

The management of generations in the workplace has obtained greater exposure over recent years and many additional companies have been made aware of the benefit of good generational management. This has spawned a number of new ideas and practices that are in one way or another aimed at improving the working rapport between the business and its workers, no matter how old they may be.

If there are specific roles within your business that are best suited to a particular generation then it is often beneficial to only get members of that generation to carry out the job. This kind of specialisation requires good organisational control.

There are a number of ways in which your business can learn about managing different generations of employee. Seminars dedicated to the subject have become a more common event in recent times, and the amount of useful information that can be obtained from these occasions can be of great benefit to an organisation.

There are also many resources available on the Internet that discuss the matter in greater detail, and draw together a range of different ideas for tackling various scenarios.

If setting your own administrators the job of learning about generations within the office does not seem appropriate there are many business consultants that now include the idea of generational management into their practice. Employing their services may be the most prudent way to address your own corporate situation.

Conclusion

Different generations of worker can find that it is hard to work together. They have grown up in different times and learnt about a world that has been constantly changing.

Each generation is also motivated by different things, and have come from various social upbringings. It will rarely be true that one solution can be applied across a multitude of generations but it is also important to make sure that your company does not micro- manage the different age groups working for it. The company must do what is optimum for its own success.

Modern organisations have a varied range of skills requirements and these needs simply cannot be fulfilled by just one of the generations discussed in this article. As is so frequently the case, the route to success depends upon finding a balance between the generations- utilising the strengths, mitigating the weaknesses and encouraging accordingly – through educated and empathetic direction.