Future Work: A Generational Perspective

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Future Work A Generational Perspective

• 2nd Annual International Summit on Achieving
  Workforce Excellence
• IHI/AHA/ASHHRA
• Breda Murphy Bova

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Work underlies the very concept of who we
arechanges in society, technology and life
expectancy have influenced how, where and why we
work. The workplace is now our most diverse
national institutionand its diversity will only
grow.A Nation at Work, 2003
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Pigeonholing

• If this information is used to
• pigeonhole people,
• it will become a dangerous weapon.
• When we use it to ask ourselves,
• How can I be more effective? or
• How can I better understand behavior?
• it can be a valuable tool.

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Key Demographics

• 11 of the active workforce is over 56.
• Between 2002 and 2012, almost 50 of the current
  workforce will be eligible for retirement.

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Key Demographics

• Over the past decade, the 50- to 54-year-old age
  cohort expanded by 55 percent, making it the
  fastest growing age group.
• The second fastest growing age group was between
  the ages of 45 and 49, which swelled by 45
  percent.

• Source American Demographics, January 2002

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Key Demographics

• 70 percent of employees dont think theres a
  healthy balance between work and personal life.
  (True Careers survey, 2002)
• 70 percent of employees say that family is their
  most important priority. (Ranstad North America
  survey, 2002). This compares to 54 in 2000.
• 46 percent of employees either feel overworked,
  overwhelmed by the quantity of their work, or
  lack the time to step back and reflect on their
  work (Families and Work Institute, 2002).

• Source Workplace Visions, No. 42002

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Key Demographics

• More than 20 of households indicate they are
  responsible for some or all of the care of
  elderly relatives.
• There has been a 7.9 increase in the average
  hours of work in the private sector per adult
  between 1960 and 1998.

Bailyn, 2001
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Between 20 and 40 percent of todays workers are
ready to leave their employers. In 2010 the
female to male ratio of bachelors degrees will
be 1.421 and for masters degrees the ratio will
be 1.511.Peters, 2003
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Key Nursing Demographic

• Two-thirds of the nurse force is over the age of
  40 average age is 45.2 years.
• Generation X comprises between 10 to 15 of
  current nursing workforce.
• Today new BSN graduates can look to a bright
  future with multiple options.

• Source Journal of Healthcare Management
  Chicago,
• Jul/Aug 2002 Judy A. Cordeniz.

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Leaving Their Jobs

• One out of every 3 nurses in the U.S. under the
  age of 30 plans to leave their jobs in the near
  future due to
• Dissatisfaction with scheduling
• Mandatory overtime
• High stress
• Poor management
• Source Journal of Nursing Administration, Volume
  32(2), February 2002 Marilyn Kettering Murray,
  MN, RN.

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A Generation Defined

• Generation is defined as a group of people who
  share the same formative experiences. These
  experiences bind people that are born in
  continuous years into cohorts--a group of
  individuals that have a demographic statistic in
  common.

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Birth Year

• Most frequently, demographers use birth year as
  that common statistic.

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Generational Traits, Characteristics and Values
Are Not Universally Shared

• Not every member of a particular generation will
  share everything in common with other members of
  that generation.

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The Generation Gap
The Generation Gap is most apparent in the
workplace. Other than the family, it is the
place where we interact with our generations.
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The Challenge May Come from Interactions with

• Your boss
• An employee
• Co-worker
• Client or even a vendor
• As with other diversity issues such as
• age, gender, ethnicity and race,
• examining and understanding generations has
  become an increasingly important part
• of maximizing organizational effectiveness.

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A Few Specific Differences Between Generations
Include

• Communication styles and expectations
• Work styles
• Attitudes about work/life balance
• Comfort with technology
• Views regarding loyalty and authority
• Acceptance of change

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The Four Generations
The Four Generations that remain in the workplace
today are

• The Silent Generation (1925-1942) Approximately
  63 million
• The Boom Generation (1943-1961) Approximately 77
  million
• Generation X (1962-1981) Approximately 44
  million
• Generation Y (1982-1998) Approximately 70
  million

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Generations

• Silent Baby Boomer Gen X Gen Y

Practical Dedicated Respectful Hierarchy Self-s
acrifice
Optimistic Driven Challenge Pay your
dues Personal gratification
Skeptical Free Agent Unimpressed Competence Rel
uctance to commit
Outlook
Cautious ? ? Inclusive
Work Ethic
View of Authority
Prefer Leadership by
Relationships
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Approach to Change

• Silents
• Ready-Ready-Ready-Aim-Fire!

Boomers Ready-Aim-Fire!
Xers Ready-Fire-Aim! (Learn Experiment Adapt)
Ys Fire-Fire-Fire-Aim-Fire!
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Silent Generationaka

• Veteran Generation
• WWII Generation
• Seniors
• Geezers

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Seminal Events

• World War II
• The Great Depression
• The New Deal
• Korean War
• Rise of Labor Unions

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Characteristics of Silents

• Postpone Gratification
• Risk Aversive
• Loyal
• Family
• Country
• Job
• Respectful Communication
• Adherence to Rules
• Detail Oriented

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Paying Your Dues

• They were prepared to endure situations or master
  a body of knowledge.
• They were willing to demonstrate respect for
  those who came before them.
• Age and experience counted.

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Career and Family

• For all the years that I was working, I was
  trying to achieve a particular goal. So I wasnt
  interested in balance. I didnt sail very much. I
  didnt play any golf. I didnt take much time
  off. I ran American Airlines and it pretty much
  took up my whole life. Which suited me fine. I
  was having a great time.Now you read a lot about
  balance. In todays world people say, I have to
  have a more balanced life. I have to have time
  for my kids and my job and my hobbies. Thats
  all well and good. But people who worry about
  balance have no overriding passion to achieve
  leadership.
• Robert Crandall, retired chairman of the board
• of American Airlines
• Source Geeks Geezers How Era, Values, and
  Defining Moments Shape Leaders by Bennis and
  Thomas

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Baby Boomer Characteristics

• Largest Generation 77 Million
• Optimistic
• Redefined Roles
• Management by Buzz Word
• Skewed Work/Life Balance
• Brought Up in a Competitive Environment
• Will Revolutionize Retirement
• Work Ethic and Worth Ethic Are Synonymous

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The Baby Boomers

• Seminal Events
• McCarthy HCUAA hearings begin
• Salk Vaccine tested on the public and Rosa Parks
  refuses to move to the back of the bus in
  Montgomery, AL
• First nuclear Power Plant and Congress passes the
  Civil Rights Act
• National Defense Education Act
• Birth control pills introduced and John Kennedy
  elected

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The Baby Boomers (continued)

• Kennedy establishes Peace Corps
• Cuban Missile Crisis and John Glenn circles the
  earth
• Martin Luther King leads march on Washington,
  D.C. and President John Kennedy assassinated
• United States sends ground combat troops to
  Vietnam
• 1965 Higher Education Act
• National Organization for Women founded

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The Baby Boomers (continued)

• Cultural Revolution in China
• American Indian Movement founded
• Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy
  Assassinated
• First Lunar landing and Woodstock
• Kent State University shootings

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What the Other Generations Think About the Baby
Boomers

• Silents say
• They talk about things they ought to keep
  private like the intimate details of their
  personal lives.
• They are self-absorbed.

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What the Other Generations Think About the Baby
Boomers

• Gen Xers say
• Theyre self-righteous.
• Theyre workaholics.
• Theyre too political, always trying to figure
  out just what to sayto whomand when
• Theyre clueless.
• Get outta my face.

• They do a great job of talking the talk. But
  they dont walk the walk.
• Lighten up its only a job.
• Whats the management fad this week?

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What the Other Generations Think About the Baby
Boomers

• Gen Y say
• Theyre cool. Theyre up to date on the music
  we like.
• They work too much.

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Managing Baby Boomers

• Recognize their experience as a valuable asset
• Use them as mentors
• Recognize role overload and conflicting demands
• Assist with time demands
• Offer part-time opportunities

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GENERATION X

• Twentysomethings
• Baby Busters
• The Thirteenth Generation

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Gen X Update

• Generation X is moving into its peak family
  raising years
• Census data shows an increase in stay-at-home Gen
  X moms
• The increase is most pronounced among college
  graduates
• Many indicate they are looking for a less
  frazzled lifestyle
• Census data shows percentage of moms with
  children under 1 in the workplace fell for the
  first time in 25 years

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Gen X Seminal Events

• 1971 Intels first chip developed
• 1972 First e-mail management program
• 1975 Personal computer introduced on the consumer
  market
• 1981 Centers for Disease Controls first
  published report on AIDS
• 1981 Reagan assassination attempt
• 1984 Extensive corporate downsizing begins

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Generation X Characteristics

• Dedicated to people, projects, ideas and tasks,
  not to longevity and lifetime employment
• They are parallel thinkers
• They are independent and resourceful
• They are accepting of change
• They Want it now!
• They are comfortable with diversity
• They have expectations of balanced lifestyles
• They are technologically literate
• They have a free agent approach to careers

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What Xers Want in the Workplace

• They want flexibility
• They want to be developed
• They want to be engaged
• They want affiliation
• They want us to lighten up
• They want to be appreciated
• They want balance

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Managing Gen Xers

• Frequent Feedback
• Limit the Bureaucracy
• Give them plenty of elbow room
• Understand your overall employee motivation
  package
• Give them work they can juggle

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GENERATION Y

• Also known as
• Net Generation
• Echo Boomers
• Digital Generation
• Generation Next
• .com Generation
• Point and Click Generation
• Generation Why
• Digital Natives

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Gen Y Update

• 72 million, second in size to the Baby Boom
  Generation
• 90 say they are close to their parents
• Most ethnically diverse group in U.S. history
• 78 believe religion is important
• 30 say they want 3 or more children

U.S. News and World Report, November 2003
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GENERATION Y CORE VALUES INCLUDE

• Optimism
• Volunteerism
• Inclusiveness
• Collective Action

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The oldest Millennials were born in 1980, the
year

• John Lennon is assassinated by Mark David
  Chapman.
• The U.S. Supreme Court allows patents on living
  organisms.
• Mount Saint Helens erupts, killing 60 people.
• CNN is launched as the first all news network.
• Japan passes the U.S. as the largest automaker.
• Bill Gates licenses MS-DOS to IBM, makes next to
  nothing on the deal.

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Mindlist to assist managers in thinking about
what their new employees have experienced and
what they have never experienced

• The Kennedy tragedy was a plane crash, not an
  assassination.
• A 45 is a gun, not a record with a large hole
  in the center.
• They have no clue what the Beach Boys were
  talking about when they sang about a 409, and the
  Little Deuce Coupe.
• They have probably never lost anything in shag
  carpeting.
• MASH and The Muppet Show have always been in
  reruns.
• There have always been automated teller machines.
• Bottle caps have always been screw off.
• The only host of the Tonight Show they have known
  is Jay Leno.

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Mindlist to assist managers in thinking about
what their new employees have experienced and
what they have never experienced (continued)

• There has always been a national holiday honoring
  Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Bear Bryant has never coached at Alabama.
• Elton John has only been heard on easy-listening
  stations.
• Most have never seen a black and white T.V.
• They have never used a bottle of White Out.

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Generation Y Characteristics

• Using computers since Pre-Kindergarten
• E-Learners
• 75 have working moms
• Used to instant communication
• Accustom to giving feedback
• Many are into Extreme Sports
• Expect frequent and/or constant feedback
• Optimistic
• Speed is valued more than attention to nagging
  detail
• Oriented toward collective action

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Career Development Trends

• More people will be free agents.
• Retirement will evaporate. Traditional retirement
  will continue its metamorphosis. Retirees will
  move into jobs in other fields, start their own
  businesses, and engage in other activities to
  remain active and productive.
• Young adults entering the workforce will change
  jobs approximately every 2-4 years.
• In the future, employees will look to work for
  8-10 years, then take time off, like a
  sabbatical.
• A hop-scotch approach will replace linear career
  pathing.

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Future Work

• What Is and Will Be
• Loyalty to projects, ideas and people
• Seamless organization
• Client/Patient/Customer centered
• As needed
• Doing, Testing, Adapting (fast)

• What Was
• Loyalty to organization
• Silos and stovepipes
• Procedure centered
• Meetings ad nauseam
• Planning, Planning, Planning

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Future Work (continued)

• What Was
• Stability sought
• A job for life
• Command and control management
• Pay your dues

• What Is and Will Be
• Ambiguity rules
• A life full of jobs
• Connect and engage
• Promotion based on competence

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MAJOR ISSUES FOR MANAGERS

• Management Forgetfulness
• Loyalty
• Training
• Work Life Balance
• Managing and Encouraging Creative Abrasion
• Outdated Leadership Tracks

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Where do we go next?
Consider

• Building Communities
• Developing Relationships
• Organization Structure
• Dont Isolate yourself
• Leverage Connections in the Workplace
• Professional Development of Managers
• Conduct a Demographic Audit of the Workplace
• Develop Critical Friends Groups
• Source Seminars for Nurse Managers, September
  2002 Nancy Wells, et al.

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QUESTIONS