Hey...What’s the Matter With Kids Today?

or Managing today’s cross-generational workforce

By Vince DiCecco

Pop quiz: What is “What’s my age again?”

1. The mantra of a 55-year-old business owner going through a midlife crisis.
2. The title of a 1999 song by a popular punk-rock band.
3. The thing that comes to the mind of your 18-year-old employee when you tell him “You’re not done with your work until you’ve completed this job. Stay late, if you have to.”
4. The thought of a middle-aged production manager filling out a credit-card application when she realizes she doesn’t remember how many candles were on her last birthday cake because she worked late that night and missed her own party.

Although all of the answers could be correct, the definitive one is B. If you are a “40-something” business owner who has never heard of the band Blink 182, perhaps this is your first indication that you may not be as in-touch with your employees as you thought you were.

Today’s business owners would likely say that the current pool of job-seeking talent is shallow and markedly less loyal than they themselves were 20 years ago. True or not, the overwhelming challenge of finding and retaining dependable help will not go away anytime soon. All of which makes it incumbent on managers to better understand, motivate and reward their talented workers.

A workforce of old farts and upstarts

The retirement age in the United States is rapidly climbing. My 71-year-old mother, who actually enjoys working 50 hours a week at her job with a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, has only recently mentioned the thought of “hanging it up,” in a year or two.

Couple that fact with the extinction of newspaper routes and lemonade stands and kids applying for their first “real” jobs at age 14. Never before in the history of American business could we evaluate a particular company’s payroll list and note such a widely spaced age difference of people working shoulder-to-shoulder. Don’t believe me? Head down to you local supermarket or fast-food restaurant — or just take a look around your own shop.

The first key in managing this mish-mash of cultures, values, beliefs and ages is to understand what makes the different generations tick. Of course, this will require some stereotyping as you make broad-brush assumptions about certain people. But, in this case, the generalizations are better than assuming everyone operates the same way. If you think everyone who works for you is motivated by the same things that keep you going, wake up and smell the triple-shot Grande, low-fat, hazelnut latte.

What you are is what you were when …

An old proverb states, “People resemble their times more than they resemble their parents.” In the 1970s, Dr. Morris Massey was one of the first behavioral scientists to recognize and develop the concept that people adopt personal values that reflect the times that prevailed when they were in their early teens. If you wanted to begin to understand a person, find out what their life was like when they were about ten years old. Were economic times hard or was it an age of abundance? What current events of the time shaped the way they viewed the world?

Claire Raines, author of Beyond Generation X: A Practical Guide for Managers, classifies today’s current generations in the workplace into four groups—Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennia’s. Ms. Raines is quick to note the Millennial —people 18 and younger—are still in the process of defining behavior trends and work habits. Given what we know about the past 10 years of their lives—for example, a struggle to rid the world of terrorist threats and mind-boggling advances in technology and information-accessibility—we may be able to closely predict what that group will hold near and dear to their hearts. But, for now, let’s set them aside while they sort things out, and take a closer look at what the other three groups consider the desirable work environment, the ideal boss, and the preferred means of communication.

Who’s in charge?

If you are a business owner of an apparel-decorating or digital imaging enterprise, you probably are a member of the Veteran generation, a Baby Boomer or a hybrid of these two. Veterans were born before 1944. They prefer a stable, orderly and respectful work environment. Remember, their formative years saw “The War To End All Wars” along with fairly conservative thinking. Their ideal boss is directive, logical and, most of all, consistently fair. When communicating with members of this proud generation, they would prefer if you did so in a non-emotional manner using good grammar and diction. Making accurate references to history and “getting your facts straight” go a long way toward gaining respect from these folks.

Baby Boomers have lived through some very tumultuous, yet prosperous, times. If you were born between ‘44 and about ‘65, you are probably a member of this extremely optimistic, driven, somewhat selfish generation. (Author’s note: There is much debate about the dividing line between the Boomers and Gen-Xers. Some say it’s as early as 1960, but I find it difficult to call today’s 40 to 45-year-olds members of Generation X.)

Unless the world unrest explodes into a significant global war that would put their way of life at immediate risk, Baby Boomers have defined themselves by their accomplishments on the job front. We—this author included—prefer a more casual, team-oriented work environment. That way we can celebrate our triumphs together and no one person has to shoulder the blame alone for our failures. Besides, every failure is an opportunity to learn; Right? Our ideal boss is a friendly equal, smoothly fitting in as “one of us.” Otherwise, ours is likely a love/hate relationship with authority.

Baby-Boomer households are multiple-income with each contributor working upwards of 50 hours. When you can grab a minute to talk to one of us, be personable, be in touch with your feelings, and be sure to engage in two-way communication. Conflicts are usually resolved democratically and consensually. So what is it that today’s younger generation is rejecting?

Kids say (and do) the darndest things

First, do not attempt to adjust your set (of younger workers, that is). People in their twenties and mid-thirties have had multiple labels placed on them as a group: Gen-Xers, Post Boomers, and the 13th Generation — signifying the count of generations since the American Declaration of Independence — and so on.

And, this group is very independent. Remember, these are the kids early Baby Boomers made into latchkey children. They’ve had to make it on their own. No one was home to prepare a snack for them, let alone dinner, when their school day was over. They had to learn to fend for themselves. Utilizing the skill of being resourceful on the job is a secret to managing younger employees better.

According to Claire Raines, Gen-Xers view the work environment as one that is fun, functional and not necessarily located at your place of business. That could be a problem when your screen-printing presses and embroidery machines happen to be sitting in your plant. Their ideal employer is viewed as very accomplished in their eyes. That may surprise some of you that have the impression that younger people are unimpressed with authority. It is your competence they admire.

Gen-Xers also want to be offered choices. They revel in learning new things and nourish retention of skills and knowledge that they will need now and later in life. And, brace yourself — they probably don’t see their job with you as one they will hold, nurture and refine from cradle to grave. Most recent high school and college graduates fully expect to have more than eight different jobs in their adult working careers. That’s a significant increase over how my generation viewed work at that age.

How to work with Generation X

Business owners must learn to capitalize on the positive work traits—and work with or around the less desirable traits—of this younger generation. Raines cites the following workplace issues as characteristic of Generation X:

• Self reliance
• Technological savvy
• Acceptance of diversity
• Commitment reluctance
• Pragmatism
• Balance
• Flexibility
• Blurred lines of authority.

If you find the majority of the people in your employ are members of Generation X, or that you anticipate taking on new employees from this age group, take a moment to answer these questions:

• When you have an occasion to dole out salary adjustments, are they incrementally small (a few cents an hour) based mostly on cost-of-living increases?
• Do you frequently express appreciation for job effort with a casual “thank you” and pat on the back?
• Do you assign challenging jobs to people hoping they will learn and grow as they perform them?
• Do you allow the workplace to be disorganized, cluttered or dirty?
• Do you share—verbally or behaviorally—your stress of running the business with your employees?
• Do you find yourself answering questions with “because I said so”?
• Do you look the other way when staff members exhibit unusual, questionable or unacceptable behavior?
• Do you solicit but then generally ignore employees’ opinions and ideas?
• Do you skip giving regular; formal performance reviews because “there just isn’t time”?
• Do you tend to micromanage most aspects of your business?

On the surface, answering “yes” or “sometimes” to these questions may not seem especially inappropriate, but these are the Top Ten things managers do, according to Raines, that drive younger employees, first, crazy and, eventually, to other jobs.

Instead, become conscious of any outmoded ways you’ve run your company simply because “that’s the way you’ve always done it.” Hold firm to your entrepreneurial beliefs, but see how you can adapt the expression of them to appeal to this new breed of employee.

Changing with the times

Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, in his book Values of the Game, offers insightful comparisons with his experiences as a College All-American, Olympic gold medallist, Rhodes scholar and member of a world-championship NBA team with any individual’s everyday vocation and quest to be successful. In the book, he suggests thought-provoking ways to develop imagination, discipline, selflessness, respect, resilience and many other desirable traits in team members—all characteristics you should want to nurture in your employees.

If you believe you should run your operation with a team-oriented approach, you’ll be playing to the interests of your New Economy workers by trying out some of these practices. If you don’t think you need to change, remind yourself how much time and effort it took to replace the last talented Gen-X employee you either drove away or simply fired, because they didn’t fit your image of you, in your early working years.

Good luck and Happy New Year.

Vince DiCecco

Vince DiCecco is president and CEO of Your Personal Business Trainer, Inc., a Kennesaw, Georgia-based business training and development / consulting company specializing in coaching and inspiring mid-sized businesses to meet and exceed their sales and profitability goals while enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. His thought-provoking, high-energy facilitation style comes over 23 years experience in sales, marketing and training for the United States Coast Guard, two Fortune 200 companies and a growing list of clients looking to sharpen their competitive edge.