SEPTEMBER 2016
6 6
Can't we all just get along? Bridging
the generation gaps at work
By George Pearson
Whether you belong to the Baby Boomer Generation (now applied to
people roughly 52 to 70 years of age), Gen X (35 to 51) or Gen Y (16-
34), you've likely experienced workplace attitudes or practices that
just don't square with your own approach.
Generational differences can be formidable, says business
analysis trainer Bob Prentiss, but they need not throw a
spanner in the gears of an organization. In fact, recognition of
differences can lead to a strengthening of business processes
and the general organizational fabric – if the generations are
open to learning from and accommodating each other.
Prentiss spoke to delegates at the Administrative
Professionals Conference earlier this year in Toronto. On this
page AAU presents some of Prentiss's characterizations of the
Boomer Generation, Gen X and Gen Y, and his suggestions as to
how to open lines of communication among them.
Credit: Andre Adams/Shutterstock
Baby Boomers
(age 52-70)
• 39 per cent of the workforce
• Pushed for women's rights, racial
equality
• Created Rock 'n' Roll
• Lived through Viet Nam, Cold War
• Intolerant of those who don't think
like them
• Occupy most senior level
management
• Strong work ethic
• Want recognition
• Loyal to company
• Work comes first
• Afraid to teach Gen X what they
know because they fear for job
stability
• Their voice is being discounted
despite experience
• Most likely to read and pray to
manage stress
Gen X
(age 35-51)
• 32.2 per cent of the workforce
• Feel undervalued by Boomers
• Embrace diversity
• Hold supervisory roles, entering
management
• Seen as arrogant
• Influenced by MTV, 18% interest
rates in the '80s, tech boom and
dotcom boom
• Job insecurity
• Loyal to manager, not company
• Life comes first and work second
• Accustomed to being downsized
• Not afraid to lose job
• Afraid of boredom, lack of creativity,
rigidity
• Turn to alcohol to manage stress
• Fighting against Boomers for their
voice and against radically different
Gen Y
Gen Y (New Millennials)
(age 16-34)
• 24.7 per cent of the workforce
• Bigger boom than Boomers due to
pregnancy postponement, second
and third marriages, fertility drugs
• Truly green
• Forced to become entrepreneurs or
face careers in retail
• Goal oriented, collaborative by nature
• Influenced by technology, reality
tv, Boomer divorce, multicultural
classrooms where creativity is
taught, social networking
• Parents told them they could do
anything
• Loyal to friends, not company
• Dislike boss? Quit with little concern
• Live at home until 35?
• Most likely to smoke to manage stress
• Believe their ideas should be heard but
do not necessarily respect experience
