Four Generations and What to Do About Them

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Four Generations and What to Do About Them

• Kelli D. Peck Parrott, Ph.D.
• Director and Associate Clinical Professor,
  Student Affairs Administration in Higher
  Education
• kpparrott_at_tamu.edu
• Texas AM University

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Theory to practice

• What were the national events you remember as you
  were growing up?

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Generations The History of Americas Future,
1584-2069 (Strauss Howe, 1991)

• Generations
• Length is approx. the phase of birth to
  adulthood, 22 years.
• Boundaries are fixed by peer personality
• Four primary types of generations Idealist,
  Reactive, Civic, and Adaptive

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Two Important Social Moments

• Secular Crisis
• Focus on reordering the world of
  institutions and public behavior

• Spiritual Awakening
• Focus on changing the inner world of
  values and private behavior

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Types of Generations

• Idealist - increasingly indulged youths
  after a secular crisis
• Reactive - grow up under-protected and
  criticized youths during a spiritual
  awakening
• Civic - Increasingly protected as
  children after a spiritual awakening
• Adaptive - Overprotected and suffocated
  youths during a secular crisis

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Generations
Lost Generation 1883-1900 Reactive
GI Generation 1901-1924 Civic
Silent 1925-1942 Adaptive
Boom 1943-1960 Idealist
13th/ Gen X 1961-1981 Reactive
Millennial 1982-2003 Civic
Homeland 2004-2024? Adaptive
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Our Upper Level Administrators Co-workers
Silents or Traditionalists (1925-1942)

• Spent their youth in the great depression and
  WWII
• The in-between generation
• No US president (If Mr. McCain had won, he would
  have been the first)
• Very protective parents, who were sacrificing for
  them

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Our Upper Level Administrators Co-workers
Silents or Traditionalists (1925-1942)

• After all their parents sacrificed and went
  through and having experienced the Depression,
  they still feel somewhat lucky to have jobs.
• Have seen so much change so quickly in the
  workplace.

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Our coworkers supervisorsBoomers (1943-1960)

• Looking for spiritualism, flocked to drugs and
  religion most active era of church formation in
  the 20th century
• Redefined Gender roles gender was their issue
• A generation that when young trusted nobody over
  30 today trusts nobody under 30.
• Issues remember when seen a great deal of
  change, especially in the workplace raised with
  the work ethic of parents who survived the
  depression and WWII.

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Our coworkers supervisorsBoomers (1943-1960)

• Work is a dominant force in their lives they
  often sacrifice far too much for the good of the
  employer.
• One Benchmarks leadership study was full of
  largely Boomer execs lamenting over sacrificing
  time with family, spouses, and personal interests
  for the sake of work (Downing, 2006).

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
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Our coworkers and mid-managersXers (1961-1981)

• True children of the 1960s and 1970s
• Awakening period to their parents for them was a
  nightmare of self-immersed parents,
  disintegrating homes, AIDS, and a Me economy
• Find a world of more punishing consequences than
  anything the Silent or Boom generations ever knew
• Knew that where the Boomer children had been
  worth the parental sacrifice of prolonging an
  unhappy marriage, they were not

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Our coworkers and mid-managers Xers (1961-1981)

• Not shielded, so adult life held no
  secretsbelieve they need to keep their eyes
  open, expect the worst and handle it on their own
• Two-thirds have found they have to work harder
  than other generations to enjoy the same standard
  of living
• Try to call as little attention to themselves as
  possible, really have not come together as a
  generation. You can find anything in this group.
• FEAR
• Race was their issue

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Millennials The Next Great Generation (Howe
Strauss, 2000)

• Young Americans born 1982 or after
• Most numerous, affluent, and ethnically diverse
  generation in American history
• Largely the children of Boomers, pre-teens are
  the children of Xers.

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Millennialsour colleagues???

• Conventional turning back toward
  traditionalism, but with a modern twist very
  rules oriented and highly moral
• Confident very optimistic about people and
  themselves
• Special have been perceived as special since
  birth

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Millennialsour colleagues???

• Sheltered sheltered and protected in ways that
  prior generations have not
• Pressured feel more stress than any other
  generation has
• Achieving group is perceived as achieving so
  individuals feel pressure to keep up
• Team Oriented oriented toward teams rather than
  individuals

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Millennialsour colleagues?

• Very close to their parents. You are not just
  getting an employee, but parents too.
• Helicopter parents
• Family oriented 71.3 considered raising a
  family to be an essential or very important
  objective
• These parents provide a great deal of support,
  but also intrusion and annoyance as well.

ACE UCLA Higher Education Research Institute,
The American freshman National norms for Fall
1999.
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Millennials

• Candidates are stalling on job offers to consult
  with their parents. Parents are calling hiring
  managers to protest pay packages and trying to
  renegotiate.
• Numbers of companies are involving parents in the
  recruiting process with welcome packets and
  including them on informational sessions, but not
  beyond.

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
18
Millennialsour colleagues?

• Very technologically savvy, though there are
  socio-economic differences.
• Often form initial opinions of organizations
  based on their websites.

Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
What leaders need to know about Millennials.
Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
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Our work and workplaces

• By 2010 will see an exodus of Boomers 2 leaving
  for every one new hire (Gerdes, 2006)
• 85 million Baby Boomers, 51 million Xers, 75
  million Millennials

Theilfoldt, D. Schief, D. (August 2004).
Generation X and the Millennials What you need
to know about mentoring the new generations. Law
Practice Today.
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Issues and areas of conflict

• Issue Silents and Boomers have sacrificed all
  for the company/organization, Millennials appear
  to have no loyalty to the organization.
• Common Ground This is not new. Xers were not
  loyal either. Millennials and Xers seem to form
  more loyalty to the project, their co-workers,
  and perhaps the values of the company. Are
  looking for companies that value social
  responsibility, diversity, and the environment.

Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
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Issues and Areas of Conflict

• Issue The generations share a similar language
  with totally different meanings. Ex. Broken
  record technique, OMG, BFF
• Common ground Find means for keeping up,
  Facebook, MySpace, blogs

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Issues and areas of conflict

• Issue Silents and Boomers feel devalued, as if
  their experience and contributions are no longer
  important. Millennials are not willing to pay
  their dues.
• Common Ground Millennials are impatient to make
  an impact, but they are eager for feedback.
  While they want to be respected, they are also
  looking for leadership. Several orgs are giving
  new employees senior level mentors.

Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
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Issues and areas of conflict

• Issue Silents, Boomers, and especially Xers are
  highly independent. The Millennials involvement
  of parents and need to work on teams is seen as
  childish. They just need to grow up!
• Common Ground The biggest complaint about Xers
  was their inability to work with others.
  Millennials do this well and can teach us all.
  The truth is teams do accomplish more than
  individuals.

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Issues and Areas of Conflict

• Issue Authority Silents respect it, Boomers
  have a love-hate relationship with it, but now
  are the authority. Xers are unimpressed with it
  and Millennials do not see the need for it.
• Common Ground They are used to instant answers
  and the internet, the great equalizer. They will
  seek out the most knowledgeable and influential
  person regardless of rank. Training and
  information are key.

Robinette, K. (July 24, 2009). Millennials in the
workplace challenge managers. Daily Journal of
Commerce.
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Tips for working with Millennials

1. State desired outcomes clearly and specifically,
   then get out of the way. Allow freedom to do it
   how, where, and when they prefer if possible, but
   with clear quality/volume expectations and
   timelines. Time is a 24/7 resource. Tell them
   when its due, not when to do it.
2. Put it in writing they are rules oriented.

Heathfield, S. (n.d.). Managing the Millennials
11 tips for managing the Millennials. Retrieved
November 1, 2009. http//humanresources.about
.com/od/managementtips/a/millenials.htm Shepard,
S. (2004). Managing the Millennials. Retrieved
April 28, 2008. www.shepardcomm.com/managin
g-millennials-wp.pdf
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Tips for working with Millennials

1. Have the work be meaningful help them see
   meaning and impact KEY
2. Provide continuous feedback, but be as positive
   as possible Oreo or sandwich method
3. Experiential learning is preferred use different
   learning techniques, multimedia, activities, etc.

Phillips, C. (February, 2008). Get the best out
of Millennials by tweaking habits.
Advertising Age, 79, 6.
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Tips for working with Millennials

• Be prepared to train them about EVERYTHING
  assume nothing about behavioral norms
• Cross-train keeps them engaged, challenged, and
  helps them to form attachments to the work and
  colleagues (train them to get a job somewhere
  else)
• Provide work-life balance important to them and
  all of us.

Heathfield, S. (n.d.). Managing the Millennials
11 tips for managing the Millennials. Retrieved
November 1, 2009. http//humanresources.abou
t.com/od/managementtips/a/millenials.htm
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Tips for working with Millennials

• Provide leadership and guidance they want to
  look up at you, be connected, and learn mentor
  and coach.
• Play to their strengths, let their creativity,
  technological skills, and brainpower loose and
  they will do amazing things.
• Remember we were all young toothey are in the
  process of becoming.

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The Most Important Tip for working with
Millennials

• People are like onions, they have lots of layers.
  Generation is only one layer and this information
  may or may not apply. There is criticism of these
  generational images.
• Treat everyone as the INDIVIDUAL they are.

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Generational Views

• Children nowadays are tyrants, they contradict
  their parents, chatter before company, gobble
  their food, and tyrannize their teachers.
• attributed to Socrates

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Questions? Comments?

• Thank you!

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References

• ACE UCLA Higher Education Research Institute,
  The American freshman National norms for Fall
  1999.
• Downing, K. (July/August 2006). Next generation
  What leaders need to know about Millennials.
  Leadership in Action, 26, 3.
• Gerdes, L. (September, 2006). The best places to
  launch a career. Business Week, 4001.
• Hallon, J. (March, 2008). Millennials at the
  gate. Workforce Management, 87, 4.
• Heathfield, S. (n.d.). Managing the Millennials
  11 tips for managing the Millennials. Retrieved
  November 1, 2009. http//humanresources.about.com/
  od/managementtips/a/millenials.htm
• Howe, N. Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials
  rising The next great generation. New York
  Vintage Books.
• Phillips, C. (February, 2008). Get the best out
  of Millennials by tweaking habits. Advertising
  Age, 79, 6.
• Robinette, K. (July 24, 2009). Millennials in the
  workplace challenge managers. Daily Journal of
  Commerce.
• Shepard, S. (2004). Managing the Millennials.
  Retrieved April 28, 2008. www.shepardcomm.com/mana
  ging-millennials-wp.pdf
• Strauss, W., Howe, N. (1991). Generations The
  history of Americas future, 1584-2069. New York
  Morrow.
• Theilfoldt, D. Schief, D. (August 2004).
  Generation X and the Millennials What you need
  to know about mentoring the new generations. Law
  Practice Today.