Clash of the Generations

There are more generations actively working today than at any point in history. The United States workforce is in an age where four generations are working in the same workplace. The Senior generation is not quite ready to quit, and the Baby Boomers have not reached the full age of retirement. Generation X is beginning to move up into management positions, while Generation Y is looking to make an impact in the workplace. Each group has its own set of values, attitudes, capabilities, and biases. One style of leadership is not effective with these four different generations. These four generations will clash in the workplace unless there is a present unifying force. The challenge that organizations face is find that unifying force that will foster employee engagement. Work values are dominant forces that influence the four generations. “Younger employees, for example, tend to focus more on intrinsic motivators and satisfiers, such as freedom and autonomy, task identity and task significance than older employees” (Moore, 2007, p. 4). Older workers tend to focus more on identity to their career and keeping up with the rapid-fire technological changes that may have a direct impact on their employment. Many organizations struggle with the generational aspect of building capacity with such a diverse team. It is the responsibility of the organization to bring out the strengths and advantages of each generation and to work together as an effective team. The organization is also responsible for resolving conflicts, removing distractions, and reducing turnover due to generation differences. Companies are recruiting, selecting, and retraining employees from different generations and by understanding differences and similarities,...

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...force. The imbalance of the age distribution creates challenges for today’s organizations. Each generation has its own work behavior and attitudes that are influenced by social events, the economy, politics, and progresses in technology, and experiences.

As the Seniors and Baby Boomers are exiting the workplace, companies are seeing a void with applied skilled labor. Some of the new generation of employees is lacking basic knowledge skills such as writing and grammar, but even more are lacking skills, such as professionalism, teamwork, punctuality and common courtesy.

Multiple generations working together with abundant competencies and experiences produces an opportunity for a company to grow and sustain business growth. Increasing the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) of its human talent will help the organization succeed in the 21st century.