- Generation Gap at Workplace
- Generation Gap Workplace - Home
- Introduction
- Traditional Generation Employees
- Baby-Boom Generation Employees
- Generation-X Employees
- Generation-Y Employees
- Attitudes toward Work
- Loyalty toward the Employer
- Attitudes Regarding Respect
- Training Needs & Training Styles
- Generational Differences Activities
- Work-Life Balance Benchmarks
- Attitudes toward Supervision
- Generational Difference Functioning
- Management Styles
- Useful Resources
- Quick Guide
- Useful Resources
- Discussion
Generational Difference Functioning
Much of the change in the functioning and attitude towards work that we see in recent times in the working place has come because of the generation we call millennials. They have begun reshaping the functioning of the work sphere in many unprecedented ways.
In today’s world, the millennials have occupied nearly 40% of the working space. In those numbers, they are simply not a demographic that the company can afford to ignore. The average age of employees across numerous teams in many organizations is 29. The average age of one of the largest countries in the world, population-wise, India, is 29.
The future organizations will be run by young directors, who will be working with young managers leading young teams. These teams need to have team members who are dedicated to the company’s cause and are smart and emotionally stable enough to take a fair decision in the absence of an immediate supervisor.
Nurturing Generational Differences for Positive Results
Traditionally, employers have depended on youth to bring more energy and liveliness to the workplace. However, the young employees are not just fresh-faced recruits now. They bring more than energy and zing; they now bring the much needed smartness into their functioning.
Because of their constant exposure to the Internet, they manage to go through numerous references and resources on a given topic, irrespective of the working experience they have, and the position they hold in their organizations. These networking abilities provide them a unique skills-set, that of the social media. This helps them mobilize their learnings to help each other. In real time, this ability to connect and resolve an issue is more valued than experience.
Qualities of Gen-Y Employees
The most important feature about the Gen-Y candidates is their constant need to push the envelope and dislike of working in silos. This inter-connectivity of various working methodologies makes them vibrant and extremely handy in resolving work-time issues. They are recognized as the drivers of change in an industry that relies heavily on acquired knowledge.
The big drawback with the Gen-Y workforce is that they lack in commitment, and hardly look to work in one place for a very long period of time. One method to bring in this sense of commitment in them is to appeal to their skills of connectedness, encourage them to build a vast network of contributing resources.
Many organizations encourage their HRs to recruit as many resources from one point of contact as possible, so that the organizations can utilize their skills of social learning and team work. The real engagement in the work, for the Gen-y employees, is because of the trust they have on their co-workers and the resources at their disposal. The managers provide all resources for their young employees to directly engage with the customers and resolve issues by taking interactive steps.
They are a self-sufficient knit of performers, and that’s the main reason they resist any instructions coming from the higher management, whom they perceive as an outsider to their working circle. The only way a manager can connect to such a team in this scenario, is to delegate as much authority and power as is possible, so that these people can use their innovation skills and engage completely in the process.
The Positive Change using Generational Difference
The Gen-Y employees need greater access to knowledge and flexible working styles to enhance the collaborative nature of their working style. Their managers will do well to provide them the occasional permission to step out of the lines of formal engagement and organizational boundaries, and join forces with other team-members, so that they can work fluidly and respond to different scenarios.
It is further indicated that, if an employee is given accurate information about his job and the expectations of the organization, then he is more likely to stay for long as compared to an employee who is not given the correct information as above. This can be achieved by awarding a referral bonus to the existing employee for providing accurate information about the realities of their jobs to prospective employees.