Introduction
The extent of change that the world has seasoned over the past 50 years is a staggeringly high amount, and the pace at which many of these changes have come about is no less striking. These shifts have touched nearly every aspect of our lives beyond our fundamental physical needs and have had a profound impact on how we live our everyday lives.
One area of life that has not escaped these broad changes is the business domain. Modern businesses may operate within the same underlying principles of profitability that have governed commerce since it started, but many of the characteristics of a successful organisation trading in the contemporary arena would seem alien to businesses from years gone by.
An interesting issue that modern businesses face is how to handle the different generations of individuals who make up their staff. This problem has been about for a long time, but as the needs of organisations change and the skills necessary have evolved, the differences between workers have become more obvious.
This is partially due to the ever increasing life expectancy of people, particularly in first world countries, which in turn prompts an ever increasing retirement age. As people work to a later point in their lives, they may stay with the same company into their late 60’s or early 70’s, and sometimes as hands- on workers rather than merely sitting on the board.
There is also a demand for a more diverse set of skills in the modern business surroundings, triggered largely due to the swift development and wide reach of computer technology. Corporate processes, both internal and external, have undergone significant changes which require a fresh way of thinking. These new ways of thinking are most commonly found within the younger working generation.
Problems
One of the most typical problems that face a modern enterprise that is working with a number of distinct generations in its workforce is related to technology. Computers are commonplace in each of our lives nowadays and they form a vital piece of the business puzzle.
There are also generational problems when it comes to external business aspects such as the law. New laws and business best practices are being created all of the time and key business decision makers need to be aware of any that apply to their company. This can be said of sales and promotional options that have emerged with the rise of the World Wide Web.
Outside of this, there can be problems with communication between different generations of worker, psychological limitations of the older personnel in an organisation and the need to fulfil a range of diverse wants and aspirations to keep an entire workforce happy.
Whilst an office workspace should be smart they could additionally contain industrial shelving within certain circumstances in office storage needs.
The Generations
The requirement to handle generations in the work environment may seem like an unneeded task, but the distinctions between the generations of worker that are commonly found in business are worth taking note of. The generations of employee that may be found in a modern business can be split into the following four groups:
Traditionals
Mature, or “traditional”, workers are the oldest that would be found in a modern corporate environment. They are the people who were born before the Second World War, and will be in their late 60’s or early 70’s.
Their approach to business and life in general is one of organisation and obedience. They were expected to make personal sacrifices for the greater good, and while this belief was nurtured under the shadow of a global conflict, many of the older generation still harbour this opinion in modern times.
Since many of the mature generation will hold senior positions within a business their views and opinions will generally carry greater weight than those of younger generations. Their decisions will often be fundamental to the business and sculpt the future success or failure of the business.
Baby Boomers
The Baby Boomer generation includes those born between the end of the war and the mid- 60’s, when there was a general down turn in the birth rate around the world. Baby Boomers will be aged between 45 and 65 roughly speaking and probably form the vast majority of management jobs within a modern company.
This generation grew up without much of the oppression and discipline that was commonplace amongst earlier generations. They are an aspirational group of people that are very family- oriented.
When it comes to the work environment, this group of workers will often be able to grasp the bigger picture whilst still maintaining a grasp on modern advances in terms of technologies and business procedures. Their family- oriented character tends to see them working effectively in teams, although it is often noted that they are not at ease when taking criticism(no matter how helpful) , and they are not good at providing feedback to other workers.
Generation X
Members of Generation X were born between the mid- 60’s and the late- 70’s. They will be currently aged between 30 and 45 and will be distributed amongst the various tiers of management within a modern company.
Socially they grew up in extremely stressful times. Careers were an ever more important and defining part of people’s lives and this was pointed out to Generation X from a very early age. Many will have worked up through lower and higher education prior to working their way up within one or perhaps two businesses.
As such, they are often very good at problem solving and achieving short- term objectives but may struggle to grasp how their contribution influences the big picture. They will be motivated by financial benefits rather than a sense of duty since they feel they have paid their dues through a life of study and work. Generation X need close management to ensure their efficient contribution to the organisation.
Generation NeXt
This generation were born since 1980 and are the youngest collection of people currently at work. They have borne witness to a changing social environment where being an extravert is rarely frowned upon. They are most open to radical concepts and procedures and find hyper- consumerism and relatively competitive promotion to be second nature.
The smooth day to day running of a company can often depend on uninteresting components akin to storage bins that are overlooked far too frequently because they are mundane.
The Working Environment
Technology
We are all familiar with the gap between the older generations and modern technological equipment. Whether it is a parent struggling to operate a new mobile phone, or a grandparent being truly confused about what the Internet is, the void between the old and the new is made very apparent when it comes to technology.
In regards to the modern business, issues involving technology might have very far reaching consequences. Computers are vital to many aspects of business, from operating payroll, to perform core tasks and even providing a route for promotion. As such, an employee who’s not familiar with the systems being used by an organisation is likely to find problems in many areas of the corporation. This introduces the challenge of managing generations within the work environment.
A similar principle can also be applied in the opposite direction. The younger generations may be very comfortable with emerging technologies and routines, but may lack knowledge of the other systems that still carry out many of the critical functions of the organisation.
Physical limitations
There are obvious physical factors that may influence how a successful company manages its workforce in regard to age. Older generations will by and large by physically inferior to their younger counterparts, and consequently they will be less suited to roles that involve physical exertions. There will be exceptions to this in lots of companies, however as a generalisation it is true.
Fortunately, most of the older generations of worker will have advanced to senior levels of management within the business they work for, and these roles reward based upon knowledge and experience rather than physical capability.
Modern ailments
Modern companies are faced with physical problems that companies of the past would not have had to confront. Complaints like RSI, or repetitive strain injury, have become more frequent since the widespread introduction and use of personal computer keyboards.
The desk setting itself may create a number of problems if the ergonomics of any particular workstation are not good. Back problems and joint problems can develop after long intervals of sitting incorrectly, and long periods of exposure to computer screens can contribute to long- term eye impairment. Tests are on- going to investigate the full scale of the impact of the contemporary workplace on the human body.
Far too frequently, business workers believe desk chairs barely impact their health in any negative way which is not always true.
Solutions
The control of generations in the workplace has obtained more exposure over recent years and many more businesses have been made aware of the benefit of effective generational management. This has spawned a number of new ideas and practices that are in one way or another aimed at improving the working rapport between the business and its workers, no matter how old they are.
If there are particular roles within your business that are most appropriate for a particular generation then it is often beneficial to only use members of that generation to perform the job. This kind of specialisation requires good organisational management.
There are a number of ways in which your business can learn about managing different generations of employee. Seminars dedicated to the topic have become a more common event in recent times, and the amount of helpful advice that can be obtained from these events can be of great benefit to an organisation.
There are also many resources available on the Internet that discuss the problem in greater detail, and draw together a range of different ideas for tackling various situations.
If setting your own managers the task of learning about generations within the office does not seem appropriate there are many business gurus that now incorporate the idea of generational management into their practice.
Conclusion
Different generations of worker can find it difficult to work together. They have grown up in different times and learnt about a world that has been continually changing.
Each generation is also motivated by different things, and have come from various social upbringings. It will rarely be true that one solution can be used across a multitude of generations but it is also important to make sure that your company does not micro- manage different age groups working for it.
Contemporary businesses have a diverse range of skills requirements and these needs simply cannot be fulfilled by just one of the generations discussed on this page. As is so frequently the case, the route to success depends upon discovering a balance between the generations- employing the advantages, mitigating the weaknesses and encouraging accordingly - through informed and empathetic direction.
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