Reduce generational conflicts at work through greater understanding
Stress for Success
March 28, 2006



Tom, a 62 year-old manager, locks horns frequently with John, a 34 year-old colleague, who seems so impatient and impersonal. It really bugs Tom when John rudely continues to work on his computer even with Tom standing right there talking to him!

Rachel, a 22-year-old new hire enthusiastically emails her new boss, Jennifer, a 55-year-old, her best ideas on how Jennifer can make her project even better. Jennifer rolls her eyes with each email thinking, “Who does she think she is? This is probably her first job out of college!” Rachel, never getting a response for her hard work, assumes Jennifer resists any idea that isn’t her own.

Do you think it would help if these employees could understand why those who frustrate them behave as they do?

My mother would answer an enthusiastic “yes”. She encouraged all of us kids in my family to challenge our negative judgments of people by exploring why they behaved as they did. Develop greater understanding of each generation and why each is the way it is and you can judge less thereby remove an important building block of conflict.

For example, what in each generation’s background might explain why older workers get irritated when their younger colleagues aren’t willing to work late? Would greater generational understanding help younger workers be more patient with older workers who resist change? Could Boomers resent Xers less for demanding life balance, something a Boomer only dreamt of? And could Gen Yers, the youngest employed generation, gain more perspective with the older generations for getting the world into such a mess?

Generational diversity is the hottest diversity issue in today’s workplace. With the four generations working side-by-side with their significantly different values, expectations and assumptions, it’s easy to understand why there’s frustration between them. How each individual workplace handles their generational conflicts will determine whether they have more conflict or creativity.

If you’re a business owner or manager, why should you care? Because if the predictions of the worker shortage are anywhere near accurate you’ll have to compete with all other employers to recruit and retain the best and the brightest. Veterans and Baby Boomers, the largest generation of all times, have their eyes set on retirement and there simply aren’t enough Gen Xers, the smallest recent generation, and Yers to take up the slack, especially the leadership slack.
This is a huge challenge to all employers. If you have a business-as-usual attitude you’ll be scratching the bottom of the barrel for employees. The organizations that manage the four generations the most creatively will have a competitive edge in recruitment and retention of talented people. By making your organization a great place to work you can hold on to more Veterans and Boomers, even if just for part-time help and attract more Xers and Yers whom some have accused of having “just in time loyalty”.

Over the next weeks I’ll give you a thumbnail sketch of each generation:

• The Veterans, born 1922 – 1942
• The Baby Boomers, 1943 – 1960
• Generation X, 1961 – 1980
• Generation Y, 1981 – 2000

I’ll briefly describe the historic events that shaped each generation, which helps to explain their values and why they behave as they do. Hopefully the understanding this creates can help decrease intergenerational conflicts just like my Mother taught me it would.

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., of InterAction Associates, is a trainer and a Professional Coach in Lee County. E-mail her at www.jackieferguson.com or call 239-693-8111 for information about her workshops on this and other topics or to invite her to speak to your organization.