WEBINAR INFORMATION: In the contemporary U.S. workforce, four generations now often work side by side. They have had varied life experiences, are characterized by different levels of technological expertise and knowledge, and are often distinguished by racial, cultural, religious, and regional diversity. This webcast will address the implications of these differences for employers and managers. The primary focus is on the differences between generations and what they mean for managers who are trying to build teams and support the diverse needs of their employees. The webcast will also emphasize the technological divide that is at times a divisive element between generations in how they approach their work and personal lives. The effects of globalization and increasing diversity area also addressed. By the end of this webcast participants will be able to: • Identify the characteristics and work orientations of Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X’ers, and Millennials. • Understand intergenerational dynamics and the technological and social media divide between generations • Develop more cohesive, smooth functioning work teams • Appreciate and capitalize on the value of multiple employee perspectives and capabilities • Employ new strategies for overcoming differing generational perspectives at the workplace in order to increase productivity ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Bahira Sherif Trask, PhD., is a Professor and Associate Chair of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Delaware and a Policy Scientist in the Center for Community Research and Service. She holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from Yale University. Dr. Trask is a leading expert on globalization, work and families in Western and non-Western contexts. She has authored and edited a number of books in this area, including Globalization and Families: Accelerated Systemic Social Change (Springer, 2010). Her latest book (to be released fall 2013) is Women, Work and Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities (Routledge). Dr. Trask speaks on her research on work, family, and workforce development for the 21st century in a variety of venues including at the United Nations, corporations such as Gore and Microsoft, and academic institutions, including most recently Yale University. Watch webinar- http://careerminds.com/webinar/working-successfully-with-a-multigenerational-diverse-workforce-in-the-21st-century/

1. Working Successfully in
st Century:
the 21
Integrating a Multigenerational Diverse
Workforce and Understanding the Role of New
Technologies
Bahira Trask, Ph.D.
Sponsored by

2. Outline
Part 1:
• Our Changing World: Work, Technology, Diversity
& Globalization
Part 2:
• Identifying Age Cohorts & the Life Course
• Comparing Work Style Differences
Part 3:
• Technology and its Role in the Workplace
• Building and Managing Teams to work more
effectively together

3. Which generation do you
think you fall into?

4. By the End of this Webcast,
Participants will be Able to:
• Identify characteristics of different generations and why
this may matter in the workplace
• Understand the role of new demographic and
technological changes in the work place
• Incorporate those understandings into creating more
cohesive, productive work teams

5. Our Changing World
• Demographic changes
• Technology
• Generational changes

6. Role of Technology
 100 million knowledge workers
 Online resumes / job seekers
 Less contact in initial part of job process
 Usage of technology at work

7. Changes in the Workplace
• In traditional workplace, generations were separated by
hierarchy – status and rank
• In today’s workplace, generations often work beside each
other

8. Generations Working
Side by Side
• By 2014 nearly one-third of the workforce will be 50 or
older
• Median age of US worker is 40 – highest in US history
• 8 out of 10 baby boomers expect to keep on working at
least part time
• Millennials are the fastest
growing part of the society –
25% of workforce

9. Factors Affecting Changes
in the Workplace
o Labor shortages in certain industries
o Rising age of retirement
o Individuals changing careers /
trajectories

10. Some Results of Change
 In past, relatively stable organizational model for career
advancement
 Today, organizations come in many sizes, types, shapes
 Career paths vary (average 25 year old is expected to
experience anywhere from 3-5 careers in lifetime)
 Work-life expectations have changed with the generations

11. Competition for Talented
Employees is Increasing
• Cost of replacing experienced workers can range from 50 –
150 percent of their annual salaries

12. Productivity is Related to
Work Environments
• Need engaged employees
o Must be valued, respected, feel they
can contribute
• Generational differences can lead to:
o Conflict
o Frustration
o Poor morale
• 60% of employees feel there is
intergenerational conflict at the workplace

13. Why Do these Differences
Matter?
• Varying perspectives on work-life balance
• Often have generational issues at core even though
identified as personal
o “She has a poor work ethic”
o “He is not committed to his job”
• Life course concept

14. “””People resemble their times
more than they resemble their
parents.”
—Arab proverb

15. Polling Question: Which
event do you most identify
with ?

16. Traditionalists
“Looking back, I can recall that the grownups all seemed to have a sense of purpose
that was evident even to someone as young
as four, five, or six. Whatever else was
happening in our family or neighborhood,
there was something greater connecting all
of us, in large ways and small.”
—Tom Brokaw, The Greatest Generation,
Random House, 1998.

17. Traditionalists
• Born between 1900 and 1945 (approx. 75 million)
• Loyal -- often found to have worked for only one employer
• Many of the men have military background and are
comfortable with a top-down management style
• Strong work ethic

18. Compelling Messages From
Their Formative Years
• Make do or do without.
• Stay in line.
• Sacrifice.
• Be heroic.
• Consider the common good.
• Radio was main technology

19. Baby-Boomers
• Born between 1946 and 1964 (approx. 80 million)
• Typically respond to symbols of recognition: enhanced
titles, more money, special perks such as parking spaces,
and other status symbols
• Optimistic and idealistic.
• As result of their large numbers, tend to be extremely
competitive

20. Baby Boomer Defining
Events:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1954 First transistor radio
1960 Birth control pills introduced
1962 John Glenn circles the earth
1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. leads march on Washington
1963 President Kennedy assassinated
1965 U.S. sends troops to Vietnam
1966 Cultural Revolution in China begins
1967 World’s first heart transplant
1969 U.S. moon landing
1969 Woodstock
1970 Women’s liberation demonstrations

21. Main Messages During Their
Formative Years
•
•
•
•
•
Be anything you want to be
Change the world
Work well with others
Live up to expectations
Main technology: TV!

22. Generation X
o Born between 1965 and 1980 (approx. 46 million)
o Typically have little trust in “the system”
o Want training that enhances their skills, and portability of
benefits like 401Ks that can be taken elsewhere.
o Characterized by skepticism, self focus, lack of loyalty to
employer
o Work is means to an end

23. Generation X Defining
Events:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1973 Global energy crisis
1976 Tandy and Apple market PCs
1979 Three Mile Island accident
1979 Margaret Thatcher becomes first female British Prime Minister
1979 Massive corporate layoffs
1981 AIDS identified
1986 Chernobyl disaster
1986 Challenger disaster
1987 Stock market plummets
1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill
1989 Berlin Wall falls
1989 Tiananmen Square uprisings

24. Main Messages During Their
Formative Years
•
•
•
•
•
•
Don’t count on it.
Heroes don’t exist.
Get real.
Take care of yourself.
Always ask “why?”
Main technology: Personal computer

25. Generation Y/ Millennials
• Born between 1981 and 2000 (approx. 75 million)
o One in three is not Caucasian
o Two in four come from a single parent home
o Four in five have working mothers
• Perceived as wanting to make a difference and
knowing that their work has value
• Characteristics include sociability, civic duty, and
morality.
• Grown up with group work, athletics and team sports,
and personal recognition

26. Generation Y Defining
Events:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1990 Nelson Mandela released
1993 Apartheid ends
1995 Bombing of Federal building in Oklahoma City
1997 Princess Diana dies
1999 Columbine High School shooting
2001 World Trade Center attacks
2002 Enron, WorldCom and corporate scandal
2003 War begins in Iraq
2004 Tsunami in the Asian Ocean
2005 Hurricane Katrina

27. Main Messages During Their
Formative Years
•
•
•
•
•
•
You are special.
Leave no one behind.
Connect 24/7
Achieve now!
Serve your community
Main technology: Social Media

28. Polling Question: I am most
comfortable working with
someone who

29. Polling Question:
What are some of the
challenges you have faced
in working with others
from different
generations?

30. Differences between the
Generations
(*Eric Chester, Employing Generation Y)
Topic
Boomers
Gen X
Gen Y
Work style
Get it done – no
matter what it takes
Find fastest route to
results; protocol
secondary
Work to deadlines
not schedules
Authority/ leadership
Respect for power
and
accomplishments
Rules are flexible;
collaboration is
important
Value autonomy; less
inclined to pursue
formal leadership
positions
Communication
Formal and through
structured network
Casual and direct;
sometimes skeptical
Casual and direct;
eager to please

31. Motivating Different
Generations
• Baby Boomers:
o Authority, prestige, status markers, professional
networking
o Work for work’s sake
• Generations X and Y:
o Work is means to an end
o Needs to be fun, special, flexible
o Teamwork and the “why” count

32. Points to Keep in Mind!
Common experiences of each generation frequently define their
assumptions and perspectives
However
Never generalize from a few to the whole - there are ALWAYS
exceptions
Stereotype: “Millennials have a sense of entitlement”
Workforce survey showed that Millennials are entrepreneurial
and self-reliant
Stereotype: “Older employees are not as productive”
Several studies have found no real relationship between
productivity and age as measured by work output and
supervisory ratings

33. Improving Work Climate
• Analyze the generational composition of your
workplace
• Is there a concentration of people of a certain age in
certain stages?
• Is there a higher attrition rate amongst any one group?
• Are people of different generations involved in hiring? /
succession planning?

34. Building and Managing
Teams
• Identify your own generational assumptions:
o What do I believe are the most important attributes of an
employee?
o How loyal do I believe an employee should be to an
organization?
o What balance do I maintain between my work and
personal life?
o Do I feel most comfortable with people of a certain age
group at work?

35. Working More Effectively
Together
• Personalize your style – be
creative; find out about other’s
preferences
• Build on strengths – recognize the
unique talents that others bring to
the table

36. Working More Effectively
Together
• Initiate conversations about generational differences
o Key to get issues out in the open – become less personal
• Ask about people’s needs and preferences instead of
assuming
• Offer options for getting tasks done

37. Working More Effectively
Together
• Respect the different values held by
various generations
• Encourage generational partnerships
and collaborations
• Maintain Communication
• Remain flexible

38. Case Study: Scripps Health,
San Diego, CA
• Developed a life cycle employment and benefits program that
included what employees needed at certain stages of life and
work
• Created work/life and wellness programs
• Training and re-skill coaching
• Mentoring program – senior employees with junior employees

39. Similarities Across Groups
• Individuals of all ages view work as a path to personal
fulfillment – but they also expect compensation that is
equivalent to the marketplace
• Workplace culture matters!
• Employees value an environment where they are heard
and valued
• Flexibility helps people balance work-family obligations

40. Lessons To Keep In Mind
•
There is more diversity than just generational diversity
and we are all more similar than different
• We can learn from each other - everyone brings
something to the table
• Everyone wants to succeed
• Motivation and investment matter

41. Managing the Generational
Gaps
• Ongoing training / education: now life long skills gathering
• Mentoring teams composed of younger and older
individuals especially around social media use
• Managers need to learn positives of social media:
information gathering;

42. Thank you!

Bahira Trask, Ph.D.
Human Development & Family Studies
University of Delaware
bstrask@udel.edu