Businesses enter generation wars

Their ages vary widely, and various staff members communicate through text messages, e-mail, phone calls and even – gasp! – face-to-face conversations.

“I communicate mostly in person and on the telephone, and I’m not as committed to the computer,” said Facilities Director Elise Crain, 64. “(Younger generations) grew up with all of this information at their fingertips; I had to look it up.”

The communication issues Crain faces are continually crossing business lines as four generations are working side by side for the first time in U.S. history.

Business trainer and consultant Cal LeMon recently spoke to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s young professionals group, The Network, about the challenges they may face dealing with different generations and the accompanying variety of viewpoints and work habits.

Different ideologies

LeMon told the crowd that the differences are deep-rooted between the baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964; Generation X, born in the 1960s and 1970s; and Generation Y, aka Generation Next, born in the late 1970s and early 1980s. LeMon said the fourth generation, the Millennials – born in the mid 1980s and later – is also starting to enter the workplace, but the workers are young enough that they aren’t yet easily classified.

Those generational differences, LeMon said, stem from their upbringing – Generation X was the first “latchkey” generation, with two parents working long hours for many years and then getting laid off in time of economic downturn.

That, LeMon said, led to a general lack of optimism – and a generation that overcompensated by sending its own children to every possible social activity. That, in turn, creates a much more positive outlook on life – and often a sense of entitlement – for Generation Y.

The biggest issue, LeMon said, is the younger generations’ ability to deal with the work ethic of their bosses, the majority of whom fall into the boomer category.

“Boomers were taught that whatever it takes to get the job done, I’ll be here as long as it takes,” LeMon said. “For Gen X and Y, these are people who want a job and a future, but they also want a life.”

The differences often present themselves when dealing with technology.

“The vehicles that Elise uses to communicate are different than mine,” said 25-year-old Ryan Rust, Gillioz business manager. “I use text messages and e-mail a lot, because they’re a way of keeping records and tracking what I’ve done. But I don’t ever text with Elise. … When I talk to Elise, I have a pen and paper ready, because I’ll forget things.”

LeMon said communication is crucial to overcoming the generational divide, and the process starts with creating a company policy on what methods should be used to spread information.

“An organization must decide what are the communication loops are going to be that everyone must abide by,” LeMon said, adding that companies also should be aware that whatever form of communication is chosen is going to create difficulty for some.

Getting along

LeMon said that there are keys to dealing with each generation, and they all involve understanding each age group’s individual way of looking at the world.

For boomers, LeMon said it’s important to praise their experience, tenacity and organizational insight. Members of Generation X, he added, need to have others affirm their creativity, life-career balance and social honesty. And for Generation Y, the key is utilizing their technological skills and their positive outlook.

Springfield R-XII School District’s mentor program – STEP UP, or Supporting Teachers, Examining Practices and Uncovering Potential – helps new teachers get comfortable in the classroom, including tips on how to communicate with experienced teachers, many of whom are 20 to 30 years older.

Virginia Crawford, the district’s co-director of staff development, said the program can help prevent age-related communication breakdowns.

“We talk about where the teachers were in 1982, or in 1987,” Crawford said. “We tell the mentors, ‘Your new teacher was in a nursery back then.’ A new teacher has never heard a real phone ring, or lived without an (automated teller machine). What we do is help them identify the differences between those generations and that those aren’t necessarily good or bad.”

The staff of the Gillioz, meanwhile, thinks it has learned how to utilize the different generations’ varying skills.

“Sometimes, our experience makes our vision a little more narrow – bringing in new ideas and new energy helps us get back to the big picture,” Crain said. “What we’re learning is everyone brings skills to make that work. I think it’s about having the realization that we come from different places.”

Coffee Talk

Spotting the signals of organizational communication problems, LeMon said, is key to keeping a healthy workplace.

High turnover among younger employees can be a sign that they don’t feel appreciated at work. Also, boomers can indicate communication issues with complaints about the work ethic of their younger counterparts.

But the biggest sign, LeMon said, is around the coffee machine.

“Coffee conversation often gets reduced to one generation,” LeMon said. “The boomers get together and talk about the fact that Gen X and Gen Y aren’t producing. Gen X gets together and says, ‘This place is killing me,’ and Gen Y gets together and says, ‘Why can’t people just get along?’”

Generational Characteristics

Each generation has specific characteristics that almost always hold true.

Baby boomers …

• believe in growth and expansion;

• tend to be optimistic and have a developed social conscience;

• have a well-established sense of seniority and workplace etiquette; and

• pursue their own gratification.

Generation X …

• is committed to having a balance between work and life;

• believes that ideas have more merit than seniority;

• tends to make decisions quickly; and

• is committed to the deadline, sometimes at the expense of teamwork.

Generation Y …

• is optimistic about the future;

• works well in a team environment;

• is goal-driven; and

• has a strong desire to contribute new ideas.

Source: “Ending the Generation Wars at Work” by Cal LeMon

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