People are products of their history, their environment and all of their experiences. As a result, people from different generations often have very different life experiences that shape how they think, what they value, and what drives them. These influences affect people’s values and attitudes throughout their lives.
2. What makes a Generation?
“The events and conditions each of us
experiences during our formative years
determines who we are and how we see the
world.
As a result of these events and conditions, each
generation has adopted its own “generational
personality.”
- Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman
When Generations Collide
3. What is a ‘generatio gap?’
The term “generation gap” was created to
mean the empty space in which people
born of different times do not understand
each other because of their differing
attitudes, values, communication, and
interests.
4. Why Should We Care?
1. Increased interaction
2. The era we grew up in shapes us and gives
us our perspective.
3. Potential for increased conflict
5. How can understanding
generational differences help us?
Help people discover the values of each
group
Help different age groups relate to one
another better
Help us have more concern and appreciation
for the issues of each era.
Help us to learn what motivates the members
of each generation
6. Generation Types
Traditionals
Born between 1922 – 1945
Baby Boomers
Born between 1946 – 1964
Generation X
Born between 1965 - 1980
Generation Y
Born between 1981 – 2000
Homelanders
Born between 2001 – Present
7. Traditionals
(also known as the Silents or Matures)
Born Between 1922 - 1945
“The difficult we do at once; the impossible takes a
bit longer.”
- Motto of the Seabees
8. Events that Define Them
Stock Market Crash
Great Depression
FDR and the New Deal
The Dust Bowl
Pearl Harbor – enter WWII
D-day in Normandy
Korean War
9. What They Are Rebelling Against
Economic and national condition of the
country –responsible for responding
Generation battle cry of:
“Bear any burden, pay any price” …and “do
it big”
Re-build the U.S. back into a great country
11. What Other Generations Say About Them
Boomers say they are:
Rigid and resistant to change
Technologically challenged
Narrow in their view
Dictatorial
12. What Other Generations Say About Them
Gen X says they are:
Set in their ways
Need to learn how to use e-mail
The ones with all the money
13. What Other Generations Say About Them
Gen Y says they are:
Trustworthy
Good Leaders
Brave
14. Baby Boomers
Born Between 1946 and 1964
Those born during or after World War II and raised in
the era of extreme optimism, opportunity, and progress
Motto: Live to work
15. Events that Define Them
Television
Civil Rights Movement
Prosperity
Family Planning
JFK, MLK and RFK assassinated
Woodstock
Vietnam War
Kent State
Rock and Roll
16. What are they rebelling against?
Established social norms of the
Traditionals
Effective due to large number
17. Key Characteristics
“Me” generation
Competitive and hardworking
Get the job done at any cost
Live to work
Driven and service-oriented
Good team players
Like to avoid conflict
18. What Other Generations Say About Them
Traditionals say…
“They are self-absorbed”
“They talk about things they ought to keep
private…like intimate details of their
personal lives”
Generations At Work, Zemke, Raines, Filipczak
19. What Other Generations Say About Them
Gen X says…
“They are self-righteous.”
“They are workaholics.”
“They do a great job of talking the talk, but
they don’t walk the walk.”
Generations At Work, Zemke, Raines, Filipczak
20. What Other Generations Say About Them
Gen Y says…
“They’re cool. They are up to date on the
music we like.”
“They work too much.”
Generations At Work, Zemke, Raines, Filipczak
21. Gen X
Born Between 1965 - 1980
A generation born in the shadows of the
Boomers
22. Gen X
“It’s no wonder Xers are angst-ridden and
rudderless. They feel America’s greatness
has passed. They got to the cocktail party
twenty minutes too late, and all that’s left
are those little wieners and a half-empty
bottle of Zima.”
Dennis Miller
RANTS
23. Events that Define Them
Nixon Resigns
Energy Crisis
Divorce Rate + 2 Working Parents
Technology Revolution
Stock Market Crash
Corporate Downsizing
Fall of Berlin Wall
Challenger Disaster
Operation Desert Storm
Rodney King and L.A. Riots
24. What are they rebelling against?
Work/life imbalance of the Boomers
Motto: Work to Live
25. Key Characteristics
Latchkey kids
Digest information rapidly
Witnessed corporate downsizing
May not sacrifice personal life for a
company
Open to receiving feedback
Good at networking
Roamers
Able to do multiple things simultaneously
26. What Other Generations Say About Them
Traditionals say:
They don’t respect experience
They don’t follow procedures
They don’t know what hard work is
27. What Other Generations Say About Them
Boomers say:
They are lazy
They are rude and lack social skills
They are always doing things “their own
way”
They spend too much time on the Internet
and e-mail
They won’t wait their turn
29. Gen Y
(also known as Millenials, Nexters & Internet Gen.)
Born Between 1981 - 2000
A flip-flop wearing, I-pod toting, multi-tasking
generation that is optimistic and ready to
change the world and your organization!
30. Events that Define Them
Oklahoma City bombing
School violence
Technology
Busy, over planned lives
Clinton/Lewinsky
Multiculturalism
TV talk shows
September 11th
31. What are they rebelling against?
Complacency of the Gen Xers
They are ready to change the world… for
the better
…and they have the numbers to do it
32. Key Characteristics
Civic Duty
Achievement – in all aspects of life
Diversity
Confidence
Optimism
Goal Oriented
33. The Age of the “Helicopter Parent”
Hovers near at all times ready to swoop in and
save the child from whatever peril may face
him/her
Wants to contact professors, bosses and HR to
correct grades, salaries and working conditions
34. Gen Y – was bombarded with a unique set of
compelling messages growing up…
Be smart—you are special
Leave no one behind
Connect 24/7
Achieve now
Serve your community
35. Their Preferred Work Culture
“Gen Yers resemble the Traditionals in
many ways—they believe in collective
action, optimism about the future, trust in
centralized authority, a willingness to get
things done, and a heroic spirit in the face
of overwhelming odds.”
Generations At Work, Zemke, Raines, Filipczak
36. Their Preferred Work Culture
Collaborative
Diverse and Inclusive
Goal-oriented
Sociable
Civic focused – a company that cares about
social and/or environmental issues
Challenging
Lots of opportunity to learn and grow
37. What do They Want in a
work/community environment?
You be the leader
Challenge me
Let me work with my friends
Let’s have fun!
Respect me and my ideas
Be flexible
38. What Other Generations Say About Them
Traditionals say…
“They have good manners.”
“They’re smart little critters.”
“They watch too much TV…with
crude language and violence.”
Generations At Work, Zemke, Raines, Filipczak
39. Millennials
What Other Generations Say About Them
Boomers say…
“They’re cute.
“They can set the time on the DVD/VCR.” “They
need to learn to entertain themselves; they need
too much attention.”
Generations At Work, Zemke, Raines, Filipczak
40. What Other Generations Say About Them
Gen X says…
“Here we go again…another self-absorbed generation
of spoiled brats.”
“What do you mean, “What’s an album?”
Generations At Work, Zemke, Raines, Filipczak
42. What does this mean in practice?
As community cultures evolve with each
generation…
You have the unique challenge to ensure
that work teams become and remain
culturally and generationally diverse
because of the wealth of information and
experience that individual team members
can offer.
43. Managing the Generational Mix
Find out about the MEMORABLE EVENTS
that occurred as they were growing up.
AVOID assuming that because people are
a certain age they will act a certain way.
Find out how THEY like to be treated.
ACKNOWLEDGE the age difference.
44. Point to Remember
While it is helpful to know some of the
generalizations about different generations
as a starting point, the real learning and the
real bridging of age difference comes
through doing two things: suspending your
assumptions and judgments, and engaging
in dialogue across generations.
(Fifty percent of high school students reported volunteering in their communities—On one Roper Survey, Millennials were asked for the major cause of problems in the US, they answered--selfishness
You be the leader – grew up structured and supervised and are looking for a role model Challenge me Let me work with my friends Let’s have fun! Respect me and my ideas Be flexible – I have many other parts to my life I need to fit in