Mary found this article through the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) website...she thought it was interesting in describing our generation's values towards the workplace and I thought it was worth posting over on my site too:
HR must reach out to younger employees
By David P. Marino-Nachison
Younger workers worldwide have fundamentally different approaches to work and life than do their older counterparts, said consultant Cam Marston at Monday’s “Generational Challenges in the Workplace: An International Phenomenon” session here, requiring special attention from HR professionals if they are to be successfully recruited and retained.
The key, said Marston, president of consulting firm Marston Communications, is to understand the value “generation X,” born between 1965 and 1977, and the “millennials,” born after 1977, place on individuality, work-life balance and—perhaps most importantly—the ability to create a meaningful personal connection with their bosses, rather than the organization that employs them.
“The interpersonal dynamics [of the workforce] have changed radically,” Marston told the audience. “The bottom line: the ball is in your court.”
For employers, this may mean rethinking recruiting and retention practices. That’s because the aforementioned groups think very differently about work and life than do the so-called “matures,” born before 1945, and the baby boomers, born between 1945 and 1964. (These four generational groups exist in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere as well as in the United States, Marston said, though they are generally a few years behind.)
Matures, said Marston, moved into the workforce after World War II. They have a strong sense of sacrifice, pride, and a respect for tenure and experience. Baby boomers invented the word “workaholic” and came to value the outward trappings of success and tangible forms of recognition. Generation X, meanwhile, came of age as traditional societal institutions, such as government and corporations, began to show cracks, giving rise to cynicism and increased detachment from their employers and authority figures.
And while millennials—the next generation that will move into the workforce in large numbers—are more optimistic, they have taken that detachment one step further, considering work just one relatively small component of their lives. As a result, Marston said, employers should keep in mind two concepts when dealing with workers from the “Xer” and millennial generations.
• They want a boss they can trust. “The boss is the company,” explained Marston, who said younger generations prefer role models they know personally, such as mentors and family, to cultural icons. Establishing these connections should be a goal of the recruitment and training process; it also means, Marston said, that companies and managers experiencing high turnover may need to “look in the mirror” and ask whether they’ve failed to relate to their younger employees.
Younger workers “rarely quit the job or the company,” said Marston. “They quit their boss.” But this introspection, he admitted, can be challenging—particularly if the managers are baby boomers, who learned and work from markedly different professional and personal values. Still, Marston said, the challenge to organizations is to team young employees with managers with the willingness and capability to reach out and relate to their staff.
• They’re fiercely individual. Younger workers are as likely to think about the impact of a job on their lives outside of work as they are its impact on their careers. Millennials, for example, consider their jobs “gigs”—something to do “between the weekends.” Some will turn down promotions if they threaten their lifestyle. The motto, Marston said: “If I were to take that job, it will interfere with my lifestyle. I’ve seen my parents become their jobs, and it’s risky.”
Many employers and other organizations are addressing this in their recruiting pitches, Marston said: Consider, for example, the U.S. Army’s tagline “An Army of One,” which emphasizes personal goals and training rather than traditional military themes of unity and teamwork. This may jar some older workers, Marston admits, but he insists that the concept of teamwork has simply changed: “The definition of the team, for the millennial generation, has changed. The team is [now] where I separate myself.”
Organizations that succeed at reaching out to younger employees stand to reap substantial benefits, Marston said: While turnover among young workers is historically high, employees who stay three years are likely to stay even longer—particularly as employee needs change as they age.
David P. Marino-Nachison is manager of SHRM’s Global Forum.
Posted by tricia at June 30, 2004 09:21 PM