Rethinking Your Work

I recently completed a national study for an organization where, in addition to assessing member spirit at work and how to increase it, we considered the impact of the generations. While dissimilarities were noted, I was taken aback by the similarities.

Diversity at work has been a longstanding concern. Religion, ethnicity, gender. And now generations. Never before have we seen four generations working alongside with each other or employees of older generations reporting to employees of younger generations in such numbers.

Managing this mixture of ages, values, and views has become increasingly difficult. In their book Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace, Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak describe it as “diversity management at its most challenging.”

A quote from the Harvard Business School “Working Knowledge” Newsletter: “Can you manage generational differences?” describes the dilemma.

“Managing multigenerational workforces is an art in itself. Young workers want to make a quick impact, the middle generation needs to believe in the mission, and older employees don’t like ambivalence.”

Successful management of the multigenerational workforce demands a rethinking of work. Unfortunately, most attention is placed on the differences between the generations. Understanding these dissimilarities will go a long way to bringing out the best in all employees. By gaining such clarity we can appreciate how these differences influence our view of work, our preferred work environment, how we approach work and what we expect from work.

What we seldom hear about are the similarities or positive outcomes resulting from multiple generations in the workforce. One positive outcome of generational blending is creativity. Any time people with different perspectives are brought together, creativity is a possibility. Knowledge exchange occurs. History informs the project. The advantages of technology are tapped. New ideas are generated. Yet, we focus on the differences and conflict.

Read the complete newsletter where I examine the profiles of each generation, look at the similarities, comment about the relationship between spirit at work and the multi-generations, and focus on strategies to bridge the gap.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will explore this topic in more detail. Read the book Rethinking Your Work and learn how to create spirit at work.

Val Kinjerski, PhD, is a leading authority in the field of employee engagement and on the topic of “spirit at work.” A consultant, agent of change and professional speaker, she helps companies and organizations increase employee retention and boost productivity by reigniting employees’ love for their work. Check out her Spirit at Work Program and Inspired Leadership training at www.kaizensolutions.org. Val is the author of Rethinking Your Work and Rethinking Your Work Guidebook. Available now at www.rethinkingyourwork.com.