The title of this blog entry is taken from a song on one of my favorite David Bowie albums, “Scary Monster & Super Creeps”. If you own this album, there is a good chance you are a member of my generation (X). In my experience, knowledge of pop music and television shows is one of the single greatest differences between generations (at least in the United States). For example, most guys in my older brothers’ generation know the opening guitar riff from the song “Rock n Roll” by Led Zeppelin:
“hey hey momma say the way you move, gonna make you sweat gonna make you groove” – da na na nuh nuh nuh nuh, nuh nuh nuh nuch nuh nuh, da na nuh da na nuh nuh nuch nuh waaaaaaaaaaa!
In contrast, many guys in my younger nephew’s generation know the riff from Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes:
duhn, duh duhn duhn duhnnn duh, duh duhn duhn duhnnn duh duh duh duh!
But once you get past music and TV, generations tend to be far more similar than many “generational experts” would have us believe. By generational expert, I mean anyone who makes money selling books, workshops, or programs based on telling you how to manage different generations. Simply put, I don’t believe the hype that the work goals and expectations of the baby boom generation are somehow qualitatively different from generation X, generation Y, generation Z, millenials, or generation “insert the name of whatever book is next marketed on this topic”. This point was made quite nicely in a research book recently written by Dr. Jennifer Deal:
“Fundamentally people want the same things, no matter what generation they are from. You can work with or manage people from all generations effectively without becoming a contortionist”. From Retiring the generation gap: how employees young & old can find common ground, published by Jossey Bass, 2007.
I would argue that many supposed differences between the employee attitudes of generation Y and those of the baby boom generation can be boiled down to two basic factors.
Supply and demand: There are fewer skilled workers in today’s economy than there were in the 1970’s. If you graduated from college in 1978 you were competing against a lot of other people for fewer jobs so you had to put up with some pretty demanding requests from employers. The tables have turned for people graduating in 2008. Now the demanding requests are flowing the other way. Generation Y employees expect more from employers because they are more likely to get it.
People who are young act differently from people who are old. Here is a newsflash, people in their 20’s who are early in their careers, unmarried, without children, etc. just might be a bit more idealistic and optimistic than their older coworkers who have suffered more of life’s “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. Talking about generational differences without controlling for how people’s interests and needs change as we grow older is like talking about differences in fashion without taking into account the temperature where people live. Saying younger people have unrealistic expectations about work because they are more idealistic than older people is like saying people in Florida are more risqué because they wear skimpier clothes in the winter than people living in Minnesota. Its not about generational differences, its about differences between being young or old.
When putting together talent management strategies, don’t lump employees into broad generational groups and treat them as though they all want the same things from work based on some book you read. Ask them! You’ll probably learn that what employees want is remarkably similar regardless of their age: a challenging job where they feel appreciated and respected, have a reasonable sense of security and career growth, and believe they are making a difference in the world that they can be proud of. While there are some interesting generational differences in terms of people’s collective experiences, memories, and communication styles, when it comes to the basic things that make a job rewarding employees tend to be more similar than different regardless of the year they were born. But since I’m a member of Generation X you might just chalk my negative attitude toward generational differences as a result of the “fact” that people from my generation have a cynical, mistrusting attitude toward authority.
SuccessFactors Research is pleased to post this guest blog from our friend and Thought Leader Dr. Steven Hunt.