Business Management for Multiple Generations of Employees

Introduction

The degree of change that the planet has experienced over the past 50 years is a staggeringly high amount, and the speed at which many of these changes have come about is no less striking.

One area of life that has not escaped these vast changes is the business domain. Modern companies may operate within the same underlying principles of profitability that have governed business since it started, but many of the characteristics of a successful company trading in the contemporary world would seem foreign to businesses from years gone by.

An interesting problem that modern businesses face is how to handle the different generations of individuals who make up their staff.

This is partly due to the increasing life expectancy of humans, particularly in first world nations, which in turn prompts an ever increasing retirement age. As people work to a later point in their lives, they may remain with the same organisation into their late 60′s or early 70′s, and often 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 climate, triggered largely due to the quick development and extensive reach of computer technology. Corporate processes, both internal and external, have been subject to significant changes which require a new way of thinking. These new ways of thinking are most commonly found within the younger working age group.

Problems

One of the most typical problems that face a modern enterprise that is operating with a number of different generations in its workforce is related to technology. Computers are commonplace in each of our lives these days and they form a pivotal piece of the business puzzle.

There are also generational issues when it comes to external business factors such as the law. New laws and corporate best practices are being created all of the time and critical business decision makers must be aware of any that apply to their company.

Outside of this, there can be communication problems between different generations of employee, psychological limitations of the older personnel in an organisation and the need to satisfy a range of diverse wants and aspirations to keep an entire workforce content. In a warehouse environment it is crucial to utilise high quality industrial shelving off of an assured manufacturer to keep the workforce safe.

Many businesses find that they possess a demand of racking products over several departments of their organisation.

The Generations

The requirement to manage generations in the workplace may seem like an unneeded task, but the distinctions between the generations of worker that are often found in business are worth taking note of. The generations of employee that may be found in today’s business can be separated into the following four groups:

Traditionals

Senior, or “traditional”, workers are the oldest that would be found in a modern business environment. They’re 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 beneath the shadow of a global conflict, lots of the older generation still harbour this opinion in modern times.

Since many of the senior generation will hold senior positions within a company their views and beliefs will generally carry more weight than those of younger generations. Their judgements will often be fundamental to the business and shape the future success or failure of the organisation. This disparity between modern thinking and business control requires direction.

Baby Boomers

The Baby Boomer generation includes those born between the end of the war and the mid- 60′s, while there was a general decline in the birth rate around the world. Baby Boomers will be aged between 45 and 65 approximately and probably form the vast majority of management roles within a modern business.

This generation grew up without much of the oppression and discipline that was commonplace amongst previous generations. They are an aspirational collection of people that are highly family- oriented.

When it comes to the work environment, this group of workers will frequently be able to grasp the bigger picture while still maintaining a grasp on modern developments in terms of technologies and business procedures. Their family- oriented character tends to see them working effectively in teams, although it is often observed that they are not at ease when taking criticism(no matter how helpful) , and they are not good at providing feedback to other employees. These communication problems can become very disruptive in a corporate environment.

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 very demanding 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 young age. Many will have worked up through lower and higher education prior to working their way up within one or maybe two businesses.

Therefore, they are often very good at problem solving and meeting short- term objectives but can 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 group of people currently at work. They have borne witness to a changing social environment where being an extravert is seldom frowned upon. They are most open to radical concepts and processes and find hyper- consumerism and aggressive marketing to be second nature.

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The Working Environment

Technology

Everyone is familiar with the gap between the older generations and modern technical equipment. Whether it is a parent only just coping to operate a new mobile phone, or a grandparent being truly confused about what the world wide web is, the void between the old and the new becomes very apparent when it comes to technology.

In regards to the newer business, problems involving technology can have very far reaching implications. Computers are critical to many aspects of business, from managing payroll, to perform core tasks and even providing a channel for promotion. As such, an employee who’s not familiar with the systems being used by a company is likely to find problems in many parts of the business. This introduces the challenge of managing generations within the workplace.

The same principle may also be applied in the opposite direction. The younger generations might be very comfortable with emerging technologies and routines, but may lack knowledge of the other systems that still carry out many of the important functions of the business.

Physical limitations

There are clear physical aspects that may affect how a successful company manages its workers 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.

Luckily, most of the older generations of employee 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 conditions that companies of the past would not have had to confront. Complaints like RSI, or repetitive strain injury, have become much more frequent since the widespread launch and use of personal computer keyboards.

The desk environment itself may create a number of problems if the ergonomics of any particular workstation are not great. Back problems and joint problems can develop after long periods of sitting incorrectly, and long periods of exposure to computer screens can contribute to long- term eye damage. Tests are on- going to look into the full scale of the impact of the contemporary place of work on the human body.

Younger generations of workers are becoming used to fashionable office furniture within contemporary firms but older generations seem less bothered.

Solutions

The management of generations in the workplace has received greater exposure over recent years and many additional businesses have been made aware of the benefit of effective generational management. This has spawned a number of new ideas and routines that are in one way or another aimed at developing the working relationship between the business and its workforce, no matter how old they may be.

If there are specific roles within your business that are best suited to a particular generation then it is often beneficial to only get members of that generation to carry out the job. This kind of specialisation demands good organisational control. It will also be necessary to pass the knowledge on from generation to generation as your workforce ages.

There are a number of ways in which your company can learn about managing several generations of employee. Seminars dedicated to the topic have become a more common event in recent times, and the amount of practical information that can be obtained from these occasions can be of great benefit to your organisation.

There are also many resources available on the web that discuss the matter in more detail, and draw together a range of unique ideas for tackling various scenarios. Every business has individual needs and a unique workforce so it may take time before you uncover the correct management method for your company.

If setting your own managers the task of learning about generations within the office does not seem suitable there are many business consultants that now include the idea of generational management into their practice.

Conclusion

Different generations of employee can find that it is hard to work together. They have grown up in distinct times and learnt about a world that has been constantly changing. There are not simply issues when it comes to the terminology used for communication, but issues of manners and etiquette.

Each generation is also motivated by different things, and have come from various social upbringings. It will rarely be the case that one solution can be used across numerous generations but it is also important to make sure that your business does not micro- manage the different age groups working for it.

Modern organisations have a varied range of skills requirements and these requirements simply cannot be fulfilled by just one of the generations discussed in this article. As is so often the case, the route to success depends upon finding a balance between the generations- utilising the advantages, mitigating the weaknesses and motivating accordingly – through educated and empathetic direction.

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