Fred Harteis News Articles - We're all part of a new-age experiment: four generations working side by side yet often speaking a different language. Think that's an exaggeration? Go ahead. Try to decipher this twenty something text message: WU CMIW that was CLM or maybe CS.
Boomers, the older "silent" generation, and younger ones known as X and Y bring vastly different histories, values and work habits to the job. These gaps have led to stereotypes that hinder our ability to get things done.
Nearly 60 percent of HR managers at large companies say they've observed office conflicts that flow from generational differences, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Tensions typically stem from perceptions of loyalty and respect - as in, we think the kids don't have any. Yet the latest research shows that we may be compatible after all. Debunking some key myths may help you get past the tattoos and belly buttons in your office.
Myth No. 1: Young workers love change
It's commonly thought that young people embrace change as enthusiastically as older workers resist it. Not so. In a study of 3,200 workers, only 12 across the generations said they liked change at the office, reports the Center for Creative Leadership.
"Resistance to change isn't about age, it's about how much you stand to gain or lose," says the Center's Jennifer Deal, author of "Retiring the Generation Gap: How Employees Young and Old Can Find Common Ground." In general, older workers have more to lose. But many younger workers have identical anxieties.
Myth No. 2: Gen X- and Y-ers lack a strong work ethic
Not true. But coming of age under very different circumstances has affected our work styles. Boomers had to scrape and claw for jobs and work long hours to keep them and get ahead because there were so many of us. Competition was keen. Work became central to our identities, and with two-earner households, we did much of our socializing in professional circles.
But Gen X is much smaller and has never known job scarcity. They can demand more or move on. They've seen their parents get downsized, seeming victims of company loyalty, and watched them strain to juggle career and family.
Myth No. 3: They disrespect elders
This gets back to the dress issue. When boomers entered the work force, tattoos and body piercings were for bikers and lowlifes. Yet Gen X and Gen Y see these expressions (in tastefully modest doses) as normal, even alluring - not a way to thumb their nose at authority.
Myth No. 4: Younger workers prefer to go it alone
"Boomers like to call a meeting," says Robert Wendover, managing director for the Center for Generational Studies. "X- ers would rather e-mail or text." But while younger workers are more accepting of technology, corresponding via text message and preferring to communicate online instead of in a meeting hardly qualifies as going it alone.
All generations value working with capable colleagues despite age, says Deal of the Center for Creative Leadership. Boomers accustomed to face time may misread young workers' preference for tech time as isolationist. It's anything but - if you know how to use the tools.
Source; Cnn.com
About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.