Introduction
Unlike a decade or two ago, organizations have several generations working side by side today. This is a challenge faced by many HR professionals and managers in managing a multi -generation work place and keeping them productive, satisfied and engaged (Knight, 2014). Hence this blog post is an attempt to identify how each generation shared life experiences and values will have an impact on the motivation of an individual at workplace and how to keep each generation engaged.
Generations
Defined
There are 4 broad generations of employees. Hart (2006), Howe et al. (2000) and Yu and Miller (2003), stated them as Veterans (1925-1944), Baby Boomers (1945-1964), Gen X (1965-1981), and Gen Y (1982-2000) (Wong et al. 2008). People born after the year 2000, who may just come in to work are called generation Z or Linksters (Blair, 2017).
Veterans or Silent Generation – As the name suggests, born to an era, they were taught to be silent about their view points (Barr, 2020). We do not see this generation at workplace any more.
Baby Boomers – The largest generation in the workforce at present. They are hardworking, loyal and committed to their workplace and self-motivated. Salary is a motivating factor. How ever they do not appreciate feedback on their performance and takes it negatively (Ritter, 2014). Hart (2006) and Loomis (2000) states, baby boomers are idealistic, optimistic and driven (Wong et al. 2008).
Generation X – This generation is perceived as cynical, pessimistic and individualist. They are not loyal to one work place or organization and seek out jobs with more challenge, higher salaries and benefits. They prefer continuous feedback and has less regard for authority. Attainment of personal goals are more important to Generation X than work related goals and they highly value the work-life balance (Wong et al. 2008).
Generation Y or Millennials – Are able to easily adopt to Technology and Social Media platforms, which makes them tech savvy and skilled at multitasking. Millennials have a very short attention span and because they appreciate diversity, they have many employers and multiple careers (Ritter, 2014).
Generation Z – As they were born in to a digital era, regarded as a very tech savvy generation (Barr, 2020). They would be the new entrants to the workforce at present.
Engagement by Generations
In
Video 2.0, Lisa Ryan, an award-winning key note speaker on Employee Engagement
explains how to engage baby boomers, making them feel their value to the organization
and how to connect them to Millennials and Gen Z employees.
Video
2: How Do Baby Boomers Impact Employee Engagement
(Source: Rayan, 2020)
To ensure engagement of Generation X employees , Johnson & Johnson (2010) states, that work has to be fast paced and challenging, must have opportunities to grow and must have a fun and energetic work environment. These Gen X tend to be very independent workers hence one downside which managers need to keep a look out for is burnout if they want to keep them engaged (Doe, Muselaire & Fong, 2016).
To
engage the Millennials and Generation Z, it’s important for organizations to understand
the motivational needs from their perspective. The 3 psychological needs of
autonomy, sense of belonging and mastery are looked at from different lens by
the millennials and Gen Z in the workplace (Oh, 2020). Figure 7.0 depicts these
3 needs as perceived by Millennials and Gen Z and what organizations can do to engage them and
the return thereafter.
Figure
7.0 – Psychological Needs from Gen Y and Z
(Source:
Oh, 2020)
Whatever
Generation is in the work, place, Knight (2014) states, there are certain
principals which all organizations and mangers must take note and practice when
working with multiple generations to engage as represented in table 4.0
(Knight, 2014).
Table
4.0 – Principals
|
Things to DO |
Things Not to DO |
|
Experiment with mixed age teams |
Don’t bother with generation- based
employee affinity groups as they will only reinforce stereotypes |
|
Implement reverse mentoring programs |
Don’t be a TOP down Manager – Rather mangers
should build relationships with different age group employees and get to know
their opinions |
|
Develop incentive plans that reflect their employees lives right now |
Don’t Assume you know how to motivate employees
older or younger than you are |
|
Conduct regular surveys to obtain the pulse of the employee’s
demographics and needs |
- |
(Source:
Knight, 2014, p.4 )
Conclusion
Understanding
the factors that affect different generations are imperative for organizations
in engaging their employees. Boomers are engaged ,when their needs and
expectation are met by the organization, Gen x values organizations that
challenge their work and Millennials and Gen Z are motivated by structure,
trust, and relationship (Doe, Muselaire & Fong, 2016).
References
Barr, S 2020, What
Generation do you belong to? Millennial, Generation X or Z, INDEPENDENT, viewed
1st December 2020, < https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/generation-definitions-what-am-i-millennial-generation-x-y-z-baby-boomers-golden-age-young-old-a8679741.html>
Blair, O 2017, What Comes
after Millennials? Meet the Generation known as the ‘Linksters’, INDEPENDENT,
viewed 1st December 2020, < https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/millennials-generation-z-linksters-what-next-generation-x-baby-boomers-internet-social-media-technology-a7677001.html>
Doe, M, Muselaire, Y & Fong, WSV 2016, A Change in Engagement: The Relationship between Employee Engagement and Generational Differences, Florida International University, USA, viewed 22nd November 2020, <https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-Change-in-Engagement%3A-The-Relationship-between-Doe-Fong/6cadd0423f9656765db0eaee69375ebc93be1710#related-papers>
Knight, R 2014, Managing People from 5 Generations,
Harvard Business Review Digital Article, Published 25th September
2014, p. 2-5, viewed 30th November 2020,
Oh, J 2020, 3 Rules for
engaging millennial and Gen Z talent in the workplace, World Economic Forum,
viewed 1st December 2020, < https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/millennial-gen-z-talent-workplace-leadership/>
Rayan, L 2020, How Do
Baby Boomers Impact Employee Engagement, Lisa Ryan, CSP, Online Video , viewed
1st December 2020, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F-GlsTErRg>
Ritter, N 2014, Multiple Generations in Today’s Workplace, Best Integrated Writing, Vol. 01,
viewed 23rd November 2020, <https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/biw/vol1/iss1/13/>
Wong,
M, Gardiner, E, Lang, W & Coulon, L 2008, Generational differences in personality
and motivation ; Do they exist and what are the implications for the
workplace?, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol 23, No.08, PP. 878-890
Hi Sonali, According to Gokula (2013) research, As far as the Age group is concerned, the 26-30 years grouped respondents are highly engaged with the mean 3.92, and they are followed by the 36-40 years, 31-35 years, 20-25 Years, above 40 years. So we may conclude that when respondents age increase the engagement level is decreased slightly.
ReplyDeleteHi Ranga, based on a survey conducted by Gallup on US workers, Gen X and Y were the most engaged with both having a 53% engaged. Then came in Baby boomers and lastly the traditionalist (Sorenson & Garmen, 2013).
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ReplyDeleteThe older an employee is, the more loyal they are to their companies. They believe in working long hours and over-time to ensure that the job gets done. They are also less concerned about their personal lives and making friends at work. Hierarchy and structure are a concern. The younger the employee, the more they need social interactions. Their perception on ethics also relates to their social life (Ritter,2014).
ReplyDeleteAs Ritter (2014), explains, it's more like people born during the time period of 1945 to 1964 that portray loyalty to the organization and are very hardworking (Ritter, 2014).
DeleteAccording to (Arsenault2004), asserts that the generational values and preferences are the effect of life experience and as such remain unchanged in time and resistant to changes de-spite social and cultural impacts (as cited by Hutchings and McGuire, 2006). Nowadays three generations meet in the workplace, of which the youngest, called Generation Y, de-fined also as Millennials or Echo Boomers, comprises people born in 1981 and later (Glass 2007). The basic differences between the generations of employees noticed in practice mean the differences in expectations of employees, their attitude to work, to duties, to superiors and to co-workers in organizational conditions.
ReplyDeleteWe might actually find the Generation Z joining the workforce just about now. And as you have rightly sated, by organizations need to correctly determine what motivates each generation of people and tackle it accordingly (Knight, 2014).
DeleteEmployee engagement can either benefit or harm organizations. High employee engagement results in more enthusiastic, satisfied, and committed employees. These types of employees are generally more productive and provide better customer service. Employee retention is also higher. All of these factors can lead to a satisfied customer. Satisfied customers become loyal customers, which can result in increased sales and profits. However, if an organization has unengaged employees, opposite results are likely to occur. A higher employee turnover rate, as well as declines in customer service and productivity often results in an overall lower customer experience, and consequently decreased sales, and profits (Birkman, 2013)
ReplyDeleteThough it's not really mentioned that much, engagement is linked to workplace safety as well. If the engagement levels are high, it leads to fewer safety issues with improved workplace safety. Th improvement in workplace safety can be attributed to enhanced employee feedback processes, comprehensive employee recognition programs, and more precise job expectations - all of which improve engagement rates (Wong, 2019).
DeleteTo engage employees from all generations, developing tactics to not only effectively communicate but also engage each employee is not a small task. Each generation has been shaped by starkly different circumstances, and comes with different understandings of their role in the workplace. The first step to crafting your engagement strategy is to step back and remember that the workforce is made up of people- not abstract generational categories. If you build your approach relying solely on insights from literature about millennials or boomers or Gen X, you would not have a strategy truly tailored to the needs of your workforce. What you would get is a strategy catering to someone else’s idea of what they think your workforce is like.( Ritter, N 2014)
ReplyDeleteWhile it's true that organizations must not solely rely on insights from literature, they do provide organizations with understandings of each generations perspective in the way they approach work/life balance, loyalty, authority, and other issues that affect the organization. Hence by having this knowledge organizations can cater the engagement programs that will suit all generations that are at work (Moody & O'Donnell, 2018).
DeleteThe variable “age “seems to play a key factor to be considered when it comes to employee preference for rewards. Research have shown that those who are after 45 tends more towards the intrinsic rewarding rather than on extrinsic rewards ( Nazzir, S et al, 2014). Research done by Wodak and Fairclough (2004) indicates that those after 45 does not want to be unemployed since they believe that unemployment could make them lose their social identity and social rewards. It is of paramount importance that organizations recognize that positive or negative impact this single aspect could cause on later generations within the context and work to balance the relationship amongst the generations ( Nazzir, S et al, 2014).
ReplyDeleteLikewise based on different age groups the level of engagement fluctuates. It has been identified that engagement was highest in those under 20 years old and those above 60 years, but dropped between 20 and 39 years old, before climbing again (Smith & Markwick, 2009).
DeleteFurthermore, brand alignment and visibility were both top global factors in Employee Engagement during 2009, with human/HR methods and corporate reputation replacing compensation and performance management in 2010 (Bedarkar & Pandita, 2014).
ReplyDeleteBased on recent survey conducted by 'Engage for Success’s Organisational Integrity and Values Thought and Action Group(TAG)' 3 factors have been identified. which are:
Delete1. People’s individual experiences in the workplace
2. Behavior and values alignment
3. How the organisation works in practice
(Engage for Success, 2020)
(Kahn,1990) describes employee engagement as when the employees are given an opportunity to express their views physically, emotionally and through actions. The emotional part of the employees could be classified as either negative or positive views about the organization.
ReplyDeleteThere are many definitions for engagement in literature and as explained by practitioners and companies. For example Vodaphone defined engagement as "an outcome “measured or seen as a result of people being committed to something or someone in the business – a very best effort that is willingly given”.’(Smith & Markwick, 2009).
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ReplyDeleteInteresting reading and I will add more on Employee Engagement across the different cultures. According to Munsterteiger (2019) noted that, Employee engagement, the level of connection and enthusiasm an employee has with their organization, is a widely studied variable both empirically and practically within organizations. Despite the variable’s popularity, across the world employee engagement is moderately low.Solow,Chheng and Parker (2020) notify that, culture and engagement play such a critical role in business performance, most organizations do a poor job of measuring their achievements or shortcomings. Historically, companies have relied on annual engagement surveys, often costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and taking months to deploy. And very few companies have a process or tools to measure culture and learn where it is strong, weak, or inconsistent. At a time when corporate cultures are being continuously debated, shaped, and redefined on social networks, the once-a-year survey is perilously obsolete.
ReplyDeleteWaiting a year to know how the employees feel is definitely a long period of time in this dynamic world. With the advance of technology, organizations must quickly adopt tools to gauge the behavioral changes of their staff that will impact the engagement and take measure to correct it ( Burnett & Lisk, 2019).
ReplyDeleteMoreover, John Storey et al (2009) discusses the importance of considering next-generation employees: they enjoy flexibility. The playlist generation of employees has been raised on choices through computer technology. In the work setting, flexibility about terms and conditions of work may help engage employees. Flexibility might include work hours, benefits,work location,work attire, office space, and other policies that give employees more choice over their work setting.
ReplyDeleteThese are factors that will primarily engage Gen X and Z employees. As i have stated in my conclusion, Gen x values organizations that challenge their work and Millennials and Gen Z are motivated by structure, trust, and relationship (Doe, Muselaire & Fong, 2016).
DeleteKeep posting such a interesting article with us! If you want to boost employee engagement, Then checkout our list of top 50 Online employee engagement activities that your work from home employees will enjoy!
ReplyDeleteAmazing Blog! Are you searching for a monthly engagement calendar? If yes, then you’re in the right place. This calendar is a way to communicate with your employees. It's a great idea to use this as a reminder of all your company events. It includes monthly ideas and activities to enjoy with your coworkers.
ReplyDeleteEmpower your employees and drive business growth with our customizable engagement strategies. Trust our expert team to create a workplace culture that inspires and motivates your employees to do their best work. For more details about our best Employee Engagement Company in India, visit our website!
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