A Generation of
Differences
Or Why DO they act that way?
Objectives
O To introduce participants to the 4
generations in the workplace
O To discuss how to engage and
interact with each generation to the
benefit of everyone
O To understand it’s not just you who
thinks those people are crazy
What’s going on here?
Four generations in the workplace:
The Silent Generation 5%
The Baby Boomers 45%
Generation X 40%
Generation Y 10%
What shaped you?
 National
 Music
Events
 Technology
 Values
 Relationships
 Parenting
trends
What are Your values?
Family
 Work
 Free time
 School
 Church
The Silent Generation
Television
introduced
Silent Generation (1926-1945)
70-89 yrs young
Final solution
Radio primary technology
Roaring 20’s
Women enter
workforce
Stock Market crash 1929
The A Bomb
D-day
Great Depression
Amelia Earhart
World War II
prohibition
Soup kitchens
Pearl Harbor
New Deal
Ford Model A debuted
Sound movies
Beginning of Social
Security
Lindbergh flies
across Atlantic
Polio vaccine
Reign of FDR
Silent Generation –
Conformity
 Majority (95%) of them have retired
 Have strong work values and ethics
 See themselves as vigorous,
contributing members of the
workforce
 Silent stoicism (not much feedback
given or expected)
 Frugal, loyal, conservative
How to work with the Silent’s
 Respect the need for process
 Present new concepts from the
perspective of how it will best benefit the
organization
 Give time for ideas to be processed
 Use a respectful tone and posture
 Present the idea again with a different
approach. Keep it simple, cheap, and
beneficial to the workplace as a whole
Invite their opinion
The Baby Boomers
Early Boomers (1946-55ish)
60-69 years young
End of WW II and the Great
Depression
Something called “fiber
optics” was studied
Enter the Korean War
Cautious spending and
strong belief in government
Truman / Eisenhower are Presidents
1st transcontinental TV
broadcast
Brown v. Board of Ed
Zoot suit and Jazz
60% of Americans are
considered middle class
with income between $3,000
and $10,000
54% of American homes have a
TV
Cold War Begins
Rosie the Riveter
Late Boomers (1955-64ish)
51-60 years young
McCarthyism takes hold
Sputnik is launched
Civil rights movement begins
Berlin wall is built
Birth control pill approved
for use by FDA
Cuban missile crisis averted
Castro takes power in Cuba
Cold War escalates
60% of Americans own
their own home
90% of Americans own a TV
Vietnam – first televised war
Elvis
Martin Luther King, Jr &
march on Washington
Assassination of JFK
Space race underway
Boomers…
Optimistic
 Are committed and loyal, but overwhelmed by
life demands caring for two generations
 Question authority but value hard work
 Are the parents of the Millennials
 Are career oriented
 Desire the good life but work comes first
 Love job performance feedback
 Are driven and highly competitive
 Have high expectations in the workplace
How to talk to Baby Boomers
 Help them explore workplace options, and
demonstrate how you value and will continue to
use their talents.
 Recognize accomplishments publicly and
privately. Compensation is often more important
than time off.
 Walk the talk on work-life balance by recognizing
their desire to accommodate multiple life
demands.
 Encourage them to enrich their present job skills
and grow in place if they need to slow their
career pace to focus on their personal life.
Generation X
Generation X (1965-80)
The Pill is introduced
35-50 years young
The Beatles
Watergate – Nixon resigns
Civil Rights become law
Assassination of MLK, Jr.
Assassination of RFK
Introduction of the floppy
disk and microprocessor
VCR introduced
Worst recession in 40 yrs
First moon landing
PL 94-142 and Title IX
Drugs, sex, and rock and roll
Vietnam war ends
Burning bras and women’s rights
Roe v. Wade
Latch-key kids
Disco
Bicentennial
Saturday Night Fever
Jim Jones
Highest divorce rate ever
Forced school integration
Three mile Island
Gen Xers… Trust No One
• Prefer independence and little supervision
• Strive for balance between life and work – work to live
• Value process over product
• Want to have fun at work
• Good at multitasking
• The “Me” generation – fiercely self-reliant
• Technologically savvy
• Flexible, but untrusting of others
• Survivors
• Adapt easily to change
• Willing to challenge the status quo and those in power
• May lack tact and diplomacy
• High school diploma not critical for getting ahead
• Innovative
•Parents of Generation Z
How to talk to Gen X…
Talk to them about their reputation, not just
job tasks; they want your candid perspective
and feedback…a lot!
Acknowledge their ability to work
independently and encourage them to use their
leadership abilities.
Help them get the most out of every job
position by discussing what the job can do for
them and what they can learn from it.
Praise them a lot, publicly and privately. Time
off is valued.
Acknowledge their need for work/life
balance.
 Provide guidance and opportunity for shared
responsibilities.
The Millennials
Millennials (1981-1999)
First space shuttle,
Columbia, launched
AIDS
1st
15-34 years old
Stock market crash 1987
Reaganomics
Female Supreme
Court Justice
elected
A Nation at Risk
Challenger explodes
Just say NO campaign
Personal computers in ET
homes and schools
Increase in one
parent families
Geraldine Ferraro
Rubik’s
cube
MTV
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Digital Revolution Gulf War
Bush to Clinton
Millennials… Cooperative
• Feel wanted and indulged by parents
• Have a sense of entitlement
• Team player – love to work in groups
• Tecnologically dependent and multitaskers
• First generation of Digital Natives
• Lead busy, overplanned lives
• Want to fit in
• Have no problem addressing authority
• Most culturally diverse generation ever
• Want a voice in decision making
• Moving up quickly is expected
• Are wired differently
• Demand instant gratification
Enter the Digital
Natives…
Baby iPad
“…younger people have, in their intellectual style
and preferences, very different minds from their
parents and, in fact, all preceding generations”. Marc
Prensky, Digital Game Based Learning (2001) p. 17.
How Do You Cross the Digital Divide?
• Be flexible in your thinking
• Collaboration is critical. Make groups and teams a
part of the job
• Give them a voice, make it interactive
• Timely feedback is essential
• Remember, technology is like air to Gen Y, use it
• What you consider rude is the norm for them
• It is a 24/7/365 world. They are used to immediate
gratification.
• There is value in doing things out of the box
• Reality is relative. It’s all about perception.
• Listen to them and acknowledge their
accomplishments publicly
• Provide opportunity and support
• Mentoring is desired and necessary
Millennial Reality
Thank You!
Drew Dooley, PhD
[email protected]
Or
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