Gen Y and Baby Boomers are Not so Dissimilar
Managing the Expectations of Two Different Groups of Employees
The war for talent was at the forefront for many executives prior to the global economic downturn, when emphasis shifted from talent to cost cutting and managing with fewer resources. However, when the recession ends, the emphasis will re-shift back to talent to ensure companies have the “right” type of employees to remain competitive.
A major human resource challenge which will need to be addressed is how to acknowledge the skills, competencies and experiences of the older working population i.e.: the Baby Boomers, as well as the ambitions of the younger group (Gen Y). This challenge is reserved for Gen X’s (who are now moving into executive positions) and other human professionals who have the responsibility of managing the expectations of both the Boomers and Gen Y’s in an ever changing globalised world
In an article by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Laura Shebin and Karen Sumberg, entitled “How Gen Y and Boomers Will Shape Your Agenda” in July/August, edition of Harvard Business Review 2009, the authors argue that post-recession, many organisations will realise that the talent landscape has been changed forever. Organisations will need to remain competitive whilst at the same time retain talent and nurture the new generation of employees in the workplace.
The authors also propose that both Gen Y and Boomers have more in common than immediately meets the eye. Both may be at different ends of the career ladder but they have many similarities in terms of expectations and career values.
Understanding the similarities will enable organisational talent management teams to align business needs whilst formulating effective employment strategies and helping them to navigate in an increasingly challenging working world.
Similarities Between the Boomers and Gen Y
Below are the most obvious similarities highlighted by the authors’ studies:
- Greater flexibility in terms of working arrangements
- Value social connections at work and loyalty to a company
- Personal growth
- Chance to give back to society
- Prize other rewards of employment over monetary compensation
- Opportunities to work in great teams
- Challenging assignments
- A range of new experiences
- Greater recognition of achievements
- Opportunities to take sabbaticals to explore their hobbies, good works
- Getting a better work life balance which leads to increased productivity
- Seeking greater accountability and responsibility
Interestingly, their research pointed out that the Gen Y’s were likely to be the offspring of the Baby Boomers and 42% of Y’s would readily turn to the Boomers for advice and mentoring, more so than the Gen X. This may be due to the different values of Gen Y and X. Not surprisingly, Gen Y’s values are not too dissimilar to the Boomers.
Values of Gen Y’s
Kevin Wheeler who is a futurist career trend consultant in the USA states that Gen Y hold the following values, according to the Future of Talent website:
- Resourceful
- Passionate
- Communicators
- Empowered
- Loyal
- Confident
- Ambition
- Ethical
- Optimistic
Kevin Wheeler further believes that Gen Y provides both challenges, yet equally just as many opportunities for human resource professionals, if they are able to harness the insights and ideas these young people have to offer, then they will stand to gain tremendously.
Factors Which Enables Gen Y to Stand Out From the Rest
- Hewlett et al further identified that Gen Y’s were great at being able to connect with people from different cultural backgrounds and had no problems working in cross border and cross cultural groups.
- Gen Y were noted to be great at networking and able to do it with great ease which fitted it very well with their values of openness and loyalty. This incidentally has been enhanced and further facilitated by the various advances in technology and various networking forum opportunities.
- As well as being ambitious, Gen Y’s were more likely to readily shift their working mindset from “me” to “we” and engage in collaborative team work, whilst staying true to their personal and individual ambitions.
In summary, as the recessionary cloud hanging over many parts of the world is lifted, countless organisations will be presented with additional challenges in terms of talent management in the 21st Century.
Human resource professionals have the challenge of managing two generational employees. On the one hand they have the Baby Boomers, who as a generation of workers still continue to play and active and important role in today’s labour market. On the other hand, there is an ambitious group of employees (Gen Y) who want to have much more in terms of challenges and working opportunities.
The organisations willing to accommodate the needs of the Boomers and Gen Y employees stand to gain in many ways than one whilst all the time increasing organisational competitiveness.
References
Simple Generational Aspirations
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