I was having a conversation with Tarek Chacra the other day. Tarek is the owner of a company called Media Dynamics. He is an audio visual whiz. He was recording a talk I was giving to the National Purchasing Management Association.
As we were waiting for the meeting to begin, we were talking about some of the projects he’s been working on lately. One them is a video series on generations at work – how to deal effectively with people from different generations. This is an old topic that has a lot of renewed interest.
I have vivid memories of a video called What You Are Is Where You Were When, by Morris Massey. I first saw it in 1977. It was a bit of a cult classic in business videos. Mr. Massey was amusing, he spoke very rapidly – and he made great points about different generations. 30 years ago, I was in the youngest generation – the baby boomers – he discussed. Today, I’m in the oldest generation people discuss when they focus on generations at work.
The other day, I saw an piece on Generation Y – people born after 1977. It included the results of a survey that asked “what do you want in your job?” Here are the top eight:
- A fun work environment.
- Growth opportunities.
- Competitive salary.
- A wide range of projects.
- Good benefits, including healthcare, profit sharing and a 401(k).
- Opportunities to learn and develop new skills, paid for by the company.
- Travel opportunities.
- Flexible work schedule.
This brought me back to the conversation I was having with Tarek. In our discussion of generations, I told him that that whole thing might be much ado about nothing. When I look at the list above, I probably would have answered in much the same way when I was
looking for a job back in 1972.
The point I’m trying to make here is simple. People are people. They want very similar things. Some members of Generation Y might look a little different than me – tattoos, piercings, hair combed to look as if it wasn’t combed, shirts not tucked in – but they still want the same things in a job I did when I was young, and still do today for that matter.
I chose to get what I want in a job by starting my own business. Members of Generation Y might be quicker to do so then the baby boomers. We were raised with the mantra “find a good company with good benefits and stay there”. As Gen Y people have seen their parents (baby boomers) caught in layoffs and mergers and corporate restructuring, they’ve come to realize that “find a good company and stay there” is probably not as good as option as it was 30 years ago.
The common sense point for leaders – worry less about whether someone is Gen X, or Gen Y, or a baby boomer. Treat people well. Respect them. And you’ll succeed as a leader.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
Hi, Bud,
I'm on the "much ado about almost nothing" side of the argument. We're inside of different organizations all the time. I'm just not seeing tension, and I'm looking for it. How about you?
There are obvious differences given the era, culture, and social norms of different generations. But I haven't seen it played out in any meaningful way.
BTW: When it's really rainy and cold outside, we light the fireplace and put the Morris Massey tape on. Things can get slow in the backwoods of South Jersey.
Posted by: Steve Roesler | May 22, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Good points Bud:
I think we latch on to a concept and then try and make people fit the concept rather than use it as a tool to understand. You would probably like the book Retiring the Generation Gap. I wrote a blog post on this at: http://davidzinger.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/generational-differences-a-bad-driver-in-employee-engagement/
David
Posted by: David Zinger | May 22, 2007 at 02:02 PM