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The Multigenerational 21st Century Workplace: Understanding the “Older” Generations

Veterans and Baby Boomers, who sometimes get lumped into one category when people talk about the multigenerational workplace, represent employees who were born before 1964. Although there are quibbles over exact dates, Veterans (or Traditionalists) include workers born by the end of World War II, while Baby Boomers are – you guessed it – the product of the famous postwar baby boom that spurred population growth worldwide.

But although these two groups make up the older end of the current workplace spectrum, this doesn’t mean they are identical. Just as it can be easy to see the differences between these two generations and the two younger generations in today’s workplace, at one time during the 1960s and 1970s, these two groups were the younger generations themselves – and they have their differences, too.

An article in the CPA Journal Online lays out some of the differences between the two generations:

Traditionalists drove the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. work schedule and are “frugal, hard-working conformists who respect authority and put duty before pleasure.” They typically have had only one or two employers, and their wives were likely to take care of the home.

Baby Boomers, on the other hand, brought their strong work ethic to their jobs but do not share quite the same deep respect for authority as their Traditionalist parents. “Baby Boomers value personal growth, hard work, individuality, and equality of the sexes.” In addition, they are much more likely to be in dual-career relationships.

Now that Traditionalists and Baby Boomers comprise the upper half of the multigenerational workplace, the differences between them seem less pronounced to younger workers, who may not distinguish between these older groups. And, after so much experience in the workforce, the differences in these two generations may matter less. What does matter, then? If the differences between Traditionalists and Baby Boomers now seem to have collapsed, it’s time to focus on their career needs in particular.

With so many years of experience under their belt, Traditionalists and Baby Boomers often comprise the management or higher-paid sectors of the workforce. As they find themselves increasingly surrounded by younger and younger colleagues – or supervisors, in many cases – these workers are apt to be concerned about job stability. And, as they move closer to retirement, many are opting to continue their careers longer, raising the retirement age on average and raising the question: “Why?” Are career longevity and retirement delays resulting from an overall desire to continue being economically productive, or from financial need?

There may be no one answer, and certainly, there may be other issues your Traditionalist and Baby Boomer staffers face. The only way to find out is to open the communication in your company, and find out just what’s on your employees’ minds.

Part one of the Multigenerational Workforce.

Written By: lrussell
Date Posted: 10/30/2008
Number of Views: 384

Comments

Trudy Marshall Says:

10/31/2008 8:51:32 AM

Very interesting article. I was glad to see this is only Part one of the topic. Looking forward to more data.