Generational Differences

1. Generational Differences In the Workplace

2. Generations(Weston, Blauth, McDaniel, Perrin) • Group of people born in the same general time span who share some life experience • Historical events • Pastimes • Heroes • Work experiences

3. Roll the Dice • Roll the dice • Each will reveal a word • Use the word(s) to tell about yourself or someone with whom you work.

4. Who Are You? • Traditionalists (1900 – 1945) – Great Depression, WWII, Korean War, … John Wayne, Joe DiMaggio • Boomers – (1946-1964) – Suburban sprawl, television, Vietnam, Watergate, … Martin Luther King Jr. and Dr. Spock • Gen X-ers– (1965 – 1980) – Sesame Street, MTV, PCs, Divorce, latch-key kids, … Michael Jordan, Bill Gates • Millennials - Gen Y – (1981 – 2000)- digital cameras, social media, YouTube, 9/11, Katrina, … Mark Zuckerburg.

5. Fire Service and Union Leadership • Today, there are at least three distinctive generations in the workforce. • Boomers are team players, love social interaction at work and invest time to work their way up • Gen X-ersare sceptical, determined to do a good job but also go home and have a life • Millenials (Gen Y-ers) have little patience, if they’re not happy… They leave.

6. What is Your Perception of Work • Review the Quiz • Circle the description that best describes your perception of work • Add your points

7. Boomers (1946-1964) • Focus on the American Dream • Value loyalty • Equal rights • Team Oriented • Good communication skills • Live to work • Competent • Want to make a difference • Able to handle crisis • Ambitious • Ethical

8. Gen Jones (1953-1965) • As teens in the 1970’s—popularized the slang term “jonesin’” (meaning a craving or yearning)… • turned out to be a core personality trait of this generation of huge expectations left unfulfilled • Between the personality extremes of the Boomers’ idealism and the Xers’ cynicism lies the more balanced mainstream “Jones” quality • The “keeping up with the Joneses” connotation reflects a collective competitiveness of the Generation Jones birth years

9. Gen X-ers ( 1965-1980) • Latch-key kids • Angry but don’t know why • Confident • Pampered by parents • Results driven • Self sufficient • Project oriented • Strong sense of entitlement • Willing to take on responsibility • Work/life balance is important

10. Mil/Gen-Y Characteristics(1981-2000) • Refuse to work a job that does not bring them a sense of joy. • Care about the earth and servicing their community • Text one another, IM, watch each other on YouTube, and sometimes do all three at the same time! • Do NOT care about what you have to say unless you have been endorsed by their friends. • They care about what their community says, and they take each others recommendations VERY seriously.

12. Work Ethic

13. Gen Y Invented by the Boomers • Boomers raised Gen Y to believe that they can do anything and be anything. • Boomers made their lives easy enough that they now believe they deserve to live first and work second. (How dare them!) • So the first thing Boomers have to do is stop being pissed off at their own creation and embrace the brilliance of this Gen Y community.

14. Gen Y’s Four Main Motivators • Challenging, stimulating and varied work -work on a variety of projects ,learn and use new skills • Pay - high self esteem gives high expectations, and if they feel pay is low, they feel undervalued. May also be paying off school loans. • Career growth learning and development - need to know how the tasks they are assigned now will fit into the “big picture” of overall career. • Enjoyable work environment - all about interacting with their peers…don’t want to be isolated. Want their work environment to be fun.

15. Gen Y-ers • Demotivated by four factors: • boredom • a lack of respect or recognition • an inability to learn, grow and develop • having a bad boss

16. How Do You Reach Them? • Understand that Gen Y is an “experience” culture.  • Don’t want to be told what to like or what to do.  • Want to experience the world for themselves and pass their own judgment.  • Love to be in the trenches of life, and they want to be there with their friends. 

17. How to Earn Their Respect • AUTHENTICITY • They don’t waste time on people who are not being real with them. • Authentic is cool. • Authentic is truthful. • This generation has seen it all, from televised wars to 9-11 to the hanging of Hussein. • They know real when they see it, and it takes them all of three seconds to pass that judgment.

18. How to Connect with Millenials /Gen Y-ers • START by listening • Hang out with them. • Experience life with them. • Respect them. • Their outlook on life will change you. • --------------------------- • Note: Tattoo parlors (36 percent of them have at least one tattoo)

19. Txting: Can U Cnct? • Text codes used to communicate. • Try it • Complete the texting exercise

20. Generation Differences in the Military • Senior officers didn’t understand social media • Blocked access to MySpace, YouTube and other sites • Appalled to see junior officers still using Facebook to organize their squadrons • DOD Decision – • Forbid the behavior and lose benefits of online • Risk wrath of senior officers who didn’t understand it

21. Generation Differences in the Military • Traits of Millennials (Gen Y-ers) adverse to Military Tradition • Adoption of culture (baggy clothes, piercing, tattoos) • Casual indifference to distinctions (race, ethnicity, sexual orientation) e.g. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – feels absurd to them– there is no shame in asking or telling. • Most tolerant generation on record • The oldest members are Navy lieutenants and Captains in the Air Force, Army and Marines

22. Military: Millennials/ Gen Y-ers • Larger than Boomers • 50% larger than Gen –Xers • Committed to family/community/ teamwork • Volunteering for nonprofit work • Reversing trend toward drug use, criminal activity, and teen pregnancy • Can-do spirit

23. Military: Millennials/ Gen Y-ers • Communicate through text, handhelds, videos, audio mixes, blogs and social media pages. • They are adept at gathering and sharing information • They tend to be quick and effective decision makers • Amazing ability to multitask • Their openness can be used to break down barriers • Training procedures must address this issue if privacy or secrecy is necessary

24. Military: Opportunities to Grow • Inexperience in negotiating agreements • Deficient in face-to-face social skills • Inability to ‘win hearts and minds’

25. Military: Best of Both Worlds • Combine best aspects of networks and best aspects of ‘command and control’ • Infuse the organization with a sense of urgency and unified mission • Make people responsible for taking commonsense actions • Seamless communication, speed, agility, and ability to multitask • Balanced leadership should provide direction, discipline, and cohesion

26. Generation Gap Overemphasized Are we Victims of stereotyping ---- Blind to commonalities ? • Boomers, X-ers, and Millennials have same expectations from employers • Work on challenging projects • Competitive compensation • Opportunities for advancement and learning • Fair treatment • Work/life balance

27. Building Together • Sheets of paper • No other materials • Construct the tallest free-standing structure

28. Building Together • Planning/Timing – who planned/who ran out of time? • Pressure – what were the effects? • Innovation – Ideas? • Risk – who took risks? • Learning – could you do better if given another chance? • Best practice- Look around… what techniques could be combined to make it better/stronger? • Skills – what skills were valuable?– who had the skills?

29. The Mission: All Generations Must Fulfill the Mission • Differences can be tolerated as long as they do not interfere with the mission • Cell phones on emergency responses • Taking their time when alarm goes off (can’t get out of bed– or won’t stop task) • Disregarding a command because you don’t like the tone of the officers voice (or don’t like the officer) • Disregard policy • Wearing proper uniform – not FDNY t-shirts on duty (unless you work for FDNY) • Tobacco - (chew because you can’t smoke)

30. Focus on Shared Values • Similar ‘top’ values – Family tops the list for all generations • Everyone wants respect – though not defined the same way. • Boomers – “give my opinions the weight deserved” • Millennials/ Y-ers – “listen to me…pay attention to me” • Nobody likes change – age is not a factor… Has to do with what you will loose/gain

31. Focus on Shared Values • Loyalty depends on context – e.g. hours at work – older workers may spend more time because they are at a different level. • Everyone wants to learn – want to have the education needed to perform well • Everyone likes feedback – want to know how they are doing/ what they can do better

32. Ways to Minimize Differences • Avoidcharacterizations based on age – “Old Farts vs. Young Punks” • Focus on Similarities- use body part analogy • Recognize that change occurs – punch card, floppy disks, thumb drives wireless • Recognize value – keep what works from the past and be open to new ideas • Become curious for the unknown – desire knowledge

33. Ways to Minimize Differences • Ask questions rather than make statements – teachable moments (e.g. Do you think that was the best approach?) • Define acronyms – IT people have great difficulty talking with non IT people • Paraphrase before answering – (Your perception and their intended point may be very different) • Acknowledge when someone of a different age is correct – maturity, learning and experience can enlighten

34. Advice for Boomers • Get to the point • Avoid clichés – be genuine • Learn to use technology • When making assignments explain the expected endpoint (then let them figure out how to achieve it) … their ways may not be the same as yours • Communicate benefits • Lighten up!

35. Advice for Y-ers • Show respect for Boomers • Take your time- get to know people (not just the task) • Be friendly – relationships are important • Choose face-to-face conversation • Give your full attention – don’t do something else when talking to someone • Learn the job… don’t just want to LOOK the Part • Learn the structure/ politics of the organization • Learn the history– seemingly odd decisions are often based on history

36. Advice for Managers When Communicating with: • Traditionalist – words and tone should be respectful, good grammar, clear diction, no slang. • Boomers – words should be relational over coffee/lunch, ask about interests, get their input, link to mission and values.

37. Advice for Managers When communicating with: • Gen X-ers– don’t waste time, be direct/ straightforward, avoid corporate speak, send email with details • Millennials/ Gen Y-ers– be positive, send a text message, tie to personal goals or to goals of the team, don’t be condescending, avoid cynicism and sarcasm.

38. Ideal Leaderfor all Generations • Lead by example • Act as a coach/mentor • Be accessible • Encourage followers by helping them see how they contribute to organization • Challenge followers • Hold others accountable

39. Where and How did Kennedy Die? • In Dallas from a gunshot • In a plane crash in Martha’s Vineyard • Of a brain tumor at home • Who’s Kennedy