Managing across generations

Much is made of the distinct differences in attitudes about life and work between the generations. Some of these arise from their reaction to the lessons their parents have attempted to teach them, or their conclusions about the kinds of lives their parents live. Others are simply the consequences of the very unique cultural, societal, and technological environments in which these varying generations developed.

These factors do indeed seem to have produced workplace dynamics that managers should be aware of. Not only do people within one generation interact differently and respond to different cues from those of another, but these sometimes aren’t recognized or understood by people interacting across these perplexing boundaries.

This cross-generational interaction - and the misunderstanding that accompanies it - occurs with increasing frequency with the aging of the Baby-Boomers. Combined with advances in medical and other technologies, this is generating a mix of the generations in the workplace that does not hierarchically coincide with their age differences. Retirees are returning to local employment as part-timers or to their past employment as consultants; alternatively, they are reappearing as entrepreneurs. Whatever the specific case, they often find themselves interacting with - or even working for - younger people to a degree that neither side had encountered previously.

Certainly, managers should be more than merely aware of these demographic trends both in the workforce and among themselves. They should examine the issue with some diligence and acquaint themselves with expert findings regarding the depth and extent of the issue, as well as its potential import in their work.

At the same time, however, they should be cautious about exacerbating the potential for difficulty in this area by exhibiting an undue amount of sensitivity over it. Consider this:

I once interviewed an American manager of a large retail establishment in the Middle East. He had people working together that came from the Philippines, the Indian subcontinent, throughout the Arab world, and from many corners of the West. These workers came from extraordinarily diverse religious, cultural, ethnic, and national backgrounds, some of which differences are steeped in considerable mutual animosity.

When I asked him how he dealt with this potential minefield of cross-cultural confusion, his answer was immediate and simple. “I treat them the same, and I expect the same from all of them.” He was fully aware, of course, that the matter required some subtlety in application, but it was his starting point, and the foundation on which his policy rested. And it worked. It should be your starting point, as well, when managing a diverse workforce.

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Roundup: Managing better by managing less | Managing Leadership on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 12:37 pm

[...] Multigenerational management. It can seem, sometimes, that the PC machine rolls relentlessly on, finding new groups to identify in new ways, requiring new accommodations that are directed at their peculiar needs. These needs may thus become institutionalized, perhaps even pathologically, rather than relieved in the broader genius of society. And yet, like many things, this subject is legitimately debatable, and every position is laden with difficult to identify and assess advantages and disadvantages. Managers cannot escape the need to figure out how to deal with it. We have discussed here both the unfortunate tendency to differentiate disparagingly between the generations, and some of the issues associated with managing across generations. Now, take a look at this article describing some ingenious ways managers are successfully dealing with “multigenerational” workforces. [...]