Bridging the Generation Gap

Intriguing article from the New York Times about how the different Generations are learning to work together

this is the first time in history that four generations — those who lived through World War II, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y — are together in the workplace.

Alot of the misunderstanding comes from what each group wants from their jobs… two quotes:

when the polling firm Roper Starch Worldwide did a survey comparing workplace attitudes among generations, 90 percent of Gen Yers said they wanted co-workers “who make work fun.” No other generation polled put that requirement in their top five.

and

the 20-year-old was explaining “that job interviews are a two-way conversation, where the company puts out what they want and expect from me, and I put out there what I want and expect from the company.”

Mr. Warden (the account director at the firm) didn’t think that’s what interviews were. “Maybe in 10 years you’ll get to state your expectations,” he said he told the intern. “Right now, you’re a box of cereal and you’re going to have to sell yourself and hope that someone decides to put you in their grocery cart and give you a try.”

I think I have observed this with several coworkers of the same age as me over the past few years. Many have felt like they put in their years of hard work at school, getting into college, doing well there and at grad school- in order to get cushy jobs. The job with little stress should be the reward- which is a sentiment echoed in the article:

These young employees, she said, had to overachieve to get through the most competitive college admissions process in history, so they don’t feel particularly inclined to pay their dues. “They have climbed Everest and excavated Machu Picchu,” she said, “but they have never had the experience of showing up for work at 9 a.m.”

The problem is that it comes off as snobby:

“They have an attitude toward work that looks like laziness and looks like impatience,” said Janice Smith, who leads the Ernst & Young seminar, carefully putting the best light on Gen Y qualities that are flummoxing managers, “but they don’t understand that’s how it looks.”

So, my suggestion is simple. Put in the extra effort at your job. Act a little bit more like the older people working there. You should always act like the people you want to be around. An old piece of advice I picked up is “if you want to seem like boss material, look and act like the boss.” Chances are in a short amount of time your peers will be answering to you.

The good news?

For all the talk of teaching Generation Y, with a worker shortage looming, workplaces everywhere are bending to their needs.