Tricia's Partial Mutterings

Reaching out

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.

How YOU doin'?

I don't know what it is about the Boys and Girls Club over in Garden Grove... but everyone seems to give me the up and down in the morning. It started my first day when I got out of the car and Heidi did me a once over. She "claimed" she was checking out my shoes. I finally broke her of the habit and now I come over to admin and have to start all over again. So far... that I have totally caught... I have had 3 people on 3 different mornings give me the up and down. One was Megan and I called her on it... she just laughed. But man... just because you put me in some nice pants and "business casual" doesn't change the me inside. :o)

Say what?

So I go into the doctor (finally) for a cough, and I come out with a diagnosis for an ear infection...

Gay-Tastic

Well I hope no one gets "offended" by this... but I'm so going to make myself a "gay themed" CD. You might ask my inspiration? Well I was surfing the web and stumbled upon a fabulous (with a lisp) site with a countdown of gay songs. Now who can argue with me that this CD isn't going to rock! Just a full blow CD of happy tunes for my happy heart. Go Mr. Rob from the Netherlands!

Actually Eat Lunch?

So here's a little list I made on too much stuff to do on a one hour lunch break...

Go to Walgreens: pick up some needed items.
Go to bank: sign up for replacement ATM card, deposit 2 past pay checks, withdrawl cash.
Go to post office: sit in parking lot addressing the three care packages you are sending out, get your box taped up, have postal lady look up zip because you are dyslexic, weigh and pay for everything.
Go home: run through the house looking for your cell phone, call you cell phone, find your cell phone, find the note you realized you forgot to put into the care package, pee.
Go find food: drive up to Del Taco, order 2 chicken soft tacos... yumm...
Go back to work: sit back at desk and eat lunch.

Oh the joys of the 9 to 5.

My First Offical Day

One day down... no clue how more to go. Let's see... if I work until I'm 63 or so and there's 365 days in a year... ok, I won't dredge you through all that.

Today went well. I'm still digging through tons and tons of old files. It's really hard making an office your own when you don't know what half of the stuff in there is. Little by little I will get through it all.

Other than work, nothing much new is going on. My sister Nicole hosted poker night for Father's Day. That was pretty fun. We realized though it's really hard to play poker when you aren't playing for real money. We would call anything! When we ran out of chips, my dad would push some more over our way. So we decided we would have to start playing for real money. So everyone put in 10 bucks, well I got a loan because I still can't find my ATM card. Whoops. Yes, yes, I walked away as the poker champ. I paid back my loan and now I have a little bit of cash to hold be over until I can clean out my life. My car is SO frieghtening!

Long Time, No Write

Well... I'm sure you are all asking where the heck I have been... well, that's if any of you are still around now. Things have been crazy. I feel like all I have been doing is bouncing from admin to the club all day long. Oh yah, yay me, I got promoted.

You are now reading the blog of the Director of Communication for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Garden Grove.

I officially start on Monday. I'm bummed about leaving all the kids, but I think this will be good for me. Also bumming me out is that camp started today. So all my camp friends are up at Scherman where the pine trees smell of butterscotch and the thunder greets the rain. Well hopefully I will still be able to feel the joy of living everyday in OC.

That's the main news on me... sorry I haven't sent out one of those nifty mass emails on the changes in my life... maybe I'll get to that when things settle down a bit.

wrong!

you're both wrong...........I WIN!!

Disappointed?

White collar crimes first of all are the bestest! But you are my hero Heidi... I learned everything from you... well I learned all my hacking skills from Alex, but you I credit my morals and decisions... you just led me down the wrong path... tear tear...

Cooties?

You said you LIKED my COOTIES!

Ok, now don't bring the kids into it! You should see all our little spies all over the place.... :o) At least MY spies were fifth graders, not first graders!

10 Computers = WAR!

What ever Heidi! you can't complain that I stole your idea, because if I stole YOUR idea, you stole my webmaster!

The WAR is on!

King's Corners

Well the last week at work I've been playing a lot of card games, including the bringing back of Kings Corners.

I just want to say...

DON'T PLAY WITH


HEIDI!


SHE CHEATS!

Well, she's a fun cheater non the less. Hee, hee... and she threated to post it on her site that I cheat! No, no...

First Stallers

Well, I learned from my dear friend Bella that the first bathroom stall is usually the cleanest one. She said it's the least one used since most people move past it on to one further into the bathroom. Now this makes a whole lot of sense. She's a smart cookie. So me, now educated and knowing this, tries to go into that first stall, but somehow it's really hard to bring myself to do it. Granted I've only really tried at work where there are four stalls, but geez, there's something wrong with just picking the first one... am I wrong?

Tighty Whiteys!

Ok, I still haven't figured out what the WORST part of the idea of making a Spongebob Squarepants Pez dispenser in his underwear...

Is it just the idea of him in tighty whiteys? Is it the fact that it's targeted to children? Is it the poorly places "output" of the Pez? Is it that it came with yellow Pez? Or is it that my BOSS bought it for me and then refused to eat one out of the dispenser?!

Gargle and a Rumble

I feel like crap. I'm sorta, but not really, going on a hunger strike so my blood sugar is all low and I feel all depressed. Yah, let's just make life more interesting...