This paper will be analyzing how is the generational gap affecting our work? When people think about the generational gap in the workplace three questions tend to come to mind: 1. Is there a difference between the qualities of work being done? 2. Is there a different sense of loyalty towards employers? 3. Is there a difference in motivation towards getting the work done? Along with the analysis of those questions, this paper will also discuss the negative and positive aspects of the three questions above. (Carebridge Corporation, para. 1) produced a handout that Princeton University has published for their HR staff that states “there are four, and possibly five, generations that works side by side in today’s workplaces: • Veterans (born 1930-1945) • Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) • Generation Xers (born 1965-1976) • Generation Yers (born 1977-1990) • Millennials (born 1991-today)” These five generations will be a part of the discussion in this paper and for the purpose of this paper Generation Yers and Millennials will be grouped together in discussions. The first question that will be analyzed, is there a difference between the qualities of work being done? And does one generation work harder than others? Qualities of work can range from communication, computer and problem solving skills to teamwork, organizational and planning skills (Skills and Personal Qualities that Employers Want). Let’s analyze each generation’s strength and weakness toward quality of work. Then we can determine whether there is a difference in the quality of work being done. Veteran workers are team players and very effective at verbal communication. They prefer more “detailed direction and guidance” (Carebridge Corporation, para.2-3) and need more help ... ... middle of paper ... ...alty Saba, T. (2013, October 1). Understanding Generational Differences in the Workplace: Findings and Conclusions. Retrieved March 28, 2014, from Queens University IRC: http://irc.queensu.ca/articles/understanding-generational-differences-worplace-findings-and-conclusions Skills and Personal Qualities that Employers Want. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Dummies: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/skills-and-personal-qualities-that-employers-want.html Tolbize, A. (2008, August 16). Generational differences in the workplace. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from University of Minnesota: http://rtc.umn.edu/docs/2_18_Gen_diff_workplace.pdf Twenge, J. M., Freeman, E. C., & Campbell, W. K. (2012). Generational Differences in Young Adults' Life Goals, Concern for Others, and Civic Orientation,1966-2009. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 102 (5), 1045-1062.
Since both authors can relate to both age groups, they have written this article to describe the reasons behind Gen Y’s characteristics and allow older generations a chance to understand their younger counterparts. The article is written not towards Gen Y but instead is written for their critics. Since the article allows readers inside the lives of Gen Y members, it is directed at people who do not already understand this generation and all it has to offer to the world. The authors’ knowledge of the criticisms that Gen Y faces allows them to portray their purpose to intended audiences. They do all of this while remaining mindful of older generations that work full time and live busy lives by breaking the article up with headings and subheadings that allow readers to read only sections at a
The millennial generation is made up of people that were born from 1978-1999. People from older generations say the millennial generation people are growing up being unprepared for the real world. In an article titled “The Tethered Generation” written by Kathryn Tyler she talks about why the millennial generation is so different than any other generation. She also explains how they depend heavily on their parents well into adulthood. In this article Tyler allows the reader to see why HR professionals are worried about the millennial generation entering their work force. Using Toulmin’s schema the reader can judge the effectiveness of Tyler’s essay to the audience, and this schema is used to persuade the audience to
HR and talent management professionals who take the time to educate employees on generational issues will improve intergenerational understanding, multi-generational inclusiveness, respect, and productivity.
The main themes addressed in this article are the generational changes within the workforce, the advancements in the economy that are affecting the workplaces and the changes in the work ethic of employees.
Workers are often pitted against each other in the work place as a form of competition. One division that is commonly seen is gender and race, but there is also a divide concerning age that isn’t discussed as frequently. Baby Boomers are those who was born between 1946-1964, when WWII soldiers came back home, settled down and started the “Baby Boom”. While Millennials are those born around 1981-2000, and have a similar population size as Baby Boomers. In the workplace, Millennials are categorized as being bad workers due to how they were raised in sheltered lifestyles and require a different environment than the previous generation, but that is not accurate. Even though the two generations view work different, sometimes to the point of conflict,
These three generations: Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y all bring their own share of values, beliefs, thoughts and opinions, perspective and experiences to the workplace. The dynamics of the workplace is directly affected by the differences among these three generations. Today’s current managers need to understand how to efficiently manage and lead a multigenerational workforce in order to increase productivity and meet organization goals and objectives. Recently, there has been changes in the general management. From 2008 to 2013, there was some serious shift in Gen X and Gen Y moving into managerial roles. According to Matthew Golden from Biz Journals, the most prominent change was 87% of Gen Y moved into more managerial roles compared to
Blaising, Craig A., Kenneth L. Gentry, and Robert B. Strimple. Three Views On the Millennial and Beyond. Counterpoints. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999.
Smola, Karen Wey, and Charlotte D. Sutton. "Generational Difference: Revisiting Generational Work Values for the New Millennium." Journal of Organizational Behavior 23 (2002): 363-82. JSTOR. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .
Klobucher, T 2011, Characteristics of Generation 2020: Generations at Work, The Great Workplace Revolution, accessed 11 November 2013, http://www.thegreatworkplacerevolution.com/characteristics-of-generation-2020-generations-at-work/
In his May 2013 editorial for Time Magazine, “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation,” Joel Stein explains his viewpoint on millennials, defined as people born 1980 through 2000. Using an occasionally humorous tone, Stein summarizes the typical bleak view that older people have for the younger generation, before offering what he believes is closer to the truth. In the end, he decides that while millennials are not without their flaws and vices, a lot of the fears that older people are mostly due to the advanced technology that we are now dealing with. By the end of the article, it is my opinion that Stein makes a very fair summarization and is correct in his idea that to write off the entire generation is unfair towards younger people.
For the first time in history, there are four generations of people working side by side in the workplace. Think about your place employment and the different people who work there. It is sometimes hard to get your point across to someone in a different age generation. This especially becomes a problem in the supervisor employee relationship. In order to effectively communicate with your peers, you have to understand the context in which they view the world. This problem is a real concern for managers. There has even been a Center for Generational Studies created.
Rainer, Thom S. (2011). The Millennials: Connecting to America’s Largest Generation. Edition #1 . Pages 18-24.
Robbins (2013) recognizes that baby boomers have an enormous hard-working attitude with a definitive want to characterize themselves through their expert achievements. Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 value their achievement, ambition, loyalty to career and dislike to authority in competitive workplace (Robbins and Judge, 2017). Gen Xers, born between 1965 and 1977, who are independent-minded like work-life balance, team-oriented, loyalty to relationship and dislike of rules. The generation born between 1978 and later, known as Millennials value flexible hours, teamwork and collaborative culture, career development, loyalty to both self and relationships with employers and dislike the formality of regular meetings if there
Everyone sees the future in a different way; some see greater technological advances while others might see a more peaceful mankind. This indecisiveness leads to the ongoing debate as to whether or not this generation, Generation Y, has a role in America’s future. Considering our teenagers and children are the adults of tomorrow, I would argue that, in fact, they do have an impact. Every new generation has a role in the future of our country, as they fill the gaps of other people that can’t work anymore or have passed away. It just becomes a matter of how we use this power to impact society. Although the generation is very capable of producing great leaders, politicians, and a hands-on community, we cannot predict how those will choose to fill the gaps.
As the largest generation on the planet (Jenkins), the Millennials (otherwise known as generation Y) have faced plenty of scrutiny from the previous generations. A Millennial is the demographic group made up of anyone who was born between the years 1980 and 2000. This group of young people has proved to be a great contribution to society and also to the advancement of technology. They do things in their own ways and on their own terms, always approaching a problem in the most efficient way possible for everyone. Millennials have settled numerous issues in our society and they are expected to change our world exponentially. Millennials adapt to new technologies very quickly, however, while Millennials see themselves in generally positive terms such as ‘tech-savvy’ and ‘up to date’, many people from the older generations see them as ‘spoiled’ and ‘lazy’. The new technologies do make living everyday life easier and more functional, however, Millennials are not at all ‘lazy’ for taking advantage of them. Millennials use these new tools in incredibly innovative ways and they see the world in a completely different light.