Putting age gaps to work

To some workers, staff aged over 50 are seen as old fuddy-duddies who have been left behind with technology and the latest industry trends. Others believe Generation Y employees are slack, dress sloppily and spend too much time social networking on the internet.
Gen X workers are perceived as wanting more leave entitlements and flexible work hours to spend more time at home with the children and not enough putting in the hard yards at the office.
PKF Organisation Development director Scott Way says the workplace has never before been so generationally diverse, with so many different generations holding different priorities and different roles within the company. Some organisations, such as family businesses, might have up to four generations on the books, with the traditionalists employed in advisory or board positions, baby boomers working in senior management and Generations X and Y making up the rest of the staff.
Generation Z now is starting to enter the workforce.
But Mr Way says rather than conflicting in ideals, everyone can use each other’s experience and skills and create high-performing workplaces.
“If organisations are smart then I can’t think of a time when there’s been such a rich work environment, if organisations harness all these experiences and various generations,” he says.
“We need to remember that each generation has different sets of expectations of what is appropriate conduct in the workplace.”
He says Gen Y workers want to speed up their career to be as successful as they can get.
“They want interesting work sooner rather than later, higher salaries sooner rather than later and greater responsibility sooner rather than later,” Mr Way says.
“That certainly differs from the Baby Boomers, who are often their managers or supervisors.” But it drives them to perform and their skill for technology can be passed on to those above them and used to the company’s advantage.
He says Gen X workers are getting squeezed from all directions, with many in middle management jobs and trying to juggle their career with their family.
“They are getting squeezed from above, by their partner, squeezed with their income with pressures on childcare and school and the middle management position is probably the worst in an organisation, getting it above and below and sideways,” he says. “But they don’t necessarily have to tough it out on their own.
“If they are smart, then they go to their supervisors who are 10 to 15 years older and ask for help.”
Those Baby Boomers have the extra experience having spent their working life with their “heads down and bottoms up”, putting in extra hours to perform consistently and their experience from decades of employment is invaluable to their employer.
Finlaysons workplace partner Grant Archer says each generation has a different need in terms of a rewards structure, with baby boomers wanting more leave entitlements and younger workers wanting more money.
“Employers need to look at workplace demands, rather than adapt to one size fits all – because it doesn’t,” he says.
He says employees need to understand why their boss is treating those in another generation differently and employers need to communicate their policies.
“The first step is to appreciate the headspace of Generations Y and X is different, as is X and Baby Boomers,” he says.
“It’s about culture and we need to address it as a cultural issue.” Mr Way says a key way for generations to better understand each other is to spend more time mixing together and exchanging information.
“If we do that well, we have the best not of both worlds but of all worlds,” he says.
Sound Diagnostic Radiography general manager Nicole Sykes says that each generation brings certain qualities to the team to provide a mix of stability, experience, progressive thinking and technological knowledge.
“(Generation X) want the career progression and have many of the technological skills that Gen Ys possess, together with much of the loyalty and historical knowledge that the Baby Boomers have,” she says.
“We’ve found that many Baby Boomers – and, to some degree, Generation Xers – struggle to embrace change, where as the Gen Ys almost crave it.
“It is crucial to have members of the team with a positive outlook and who can help others to adapt easily.”
Ms Sykes says staff communicate, for example, through email as well as at staff meetings to meet the needs of different generations.

GENERATION Y
– Want a fast-tracked career.
– Tend to be more casual in the way they dress and communicate at work.
– Define a career as with themselves rather than a career with a single employer.
– Are inclined to job-hop every three to five years.
– Want environmentally friendly workplaces.

WHAT THEY OFFER
– Bring enthusiasm to the workplace.
– Are technologically savvy.
– Desire staff wellness programs, which helps improve the overall workforce.
– Are driven to perform to get ahead.
– Fresh ideas and innovation.

GENERATION X
– Are working their way up the career ladder.
– Seek work/life balance to juggle their career and children.
– Want to spend more time with family.
– Are prepared to forgo a pay rise in return for additional annual leave entitlements.
– Believe staff have to earn everything they get.

WHAT THEY OFFER
– Loyalty.
– A combination of experience and technological knowledge.
– Seek flexible hours, which benefits the overall workforce.
– Are capable and hard working.
– Can embrace and accept change.

BABY BOOMERS
– No longer want to burn their way up the corporate ladder.
– Now want the work conditions and entitlements negotiated by younger generations.
– Look to scale back from the workforce to have more time to care for grandchildren.
– Can lack technological skills.
– Have a more formal attitude.

WHAT THEY OFFER
– Industry and work experience.
– Loyalty.
– Have a strong work ethic.
– Want to pass on their knowledge.
– Seek lifestyle change rather than more pay