Generation clash can be soothed

By JULIE MIDDLETON

You can divide New Zealanders into four groups: the matures, born from 1920; the baby-boomers, born from 1945 to 1964; Generation X, born between 1965 and 1977 and Generation Y, born up to last year.

Baby-boomers make up most of our company heads and leaders, while Generation X are the majority of their staff. And here lies a problem that can have employers and staff tearing their hair out: they complain that they can't understand - or stand - each other.

Enter American expert Cam Marston, who can tell you why and how to understand the generation game.

Marston, of North Carolina and at 33 squarely a member of Generation X, says shoehorning them into the corporate culture moulded by their parents just doesn't work.

"Generation Xers can and do make demands of the workplace that have never been made before," he says. "Being able to manage, motivate and retain these employees is a skill that many managers just don't have."

The gap is fuelled by mutual misunderstanding, he says. Boomers have been brought up to believe that doing long hours and being seen to do so proves a work ethic. They also see value in loyalty to one company for years on end.

Boomers are optimists who automatically respect title and rank, but who are not necessarily comfortable with change.

Many Generation Xers grew up in two-income homes whose heads were into the good things money could buy.

Often latchkey kids who learned to be resourceful, they can't imagine life without computers.

They watched their parents, loyal for years, cut down by redundancy - so the corporate world was not to be trusted. Raised as drug use and divorce skyrocketed, they saw institutions that once occupied a trusted place - churches and Governments among them - discredited.

The outcome? Generation X is cautious and even cynical about investing in relationships, seeing investment in themselves as a safer road to economic security. They're into mobility, not stability.

They are loyal to individual bosses who treat them well, not the wider company - and respect has to be earned. They also demand a feedback-focused, mentor/advocate relationship with their boss; the no-news-is-good-news attitude their parents might have had to their managers doesn't work for them, says Marston.

Far better educated than their parents and fiercely independent, Generation X doesn't see the point in spending 60 hours at a desk if tasks are done well in 40, he says.

They are pessimistic and lack heroes, having seen too many of their parents' gods pulled off pedestals: think former US president Bill Clinton or any other icon who has suffered a recent and public fall from grace.

And this leads to culture clash at work: older workers are perceived as stuffy and rigid; younger workers are lazy, indifferent and disloyal.

Marston points out that population studies have already established that any society that experiences major trauma creates a Generation X, defined by characteristic traits, four generations later.

In the United States, it started with wars for independence in the 1700s; this century it began with the Second World War: "It's when there's a major trauma that these trends begin," he says.

The key to creating a corporate whole around such different cultures comes from education: both sides need to sit down together and learn about their respective workplace characteristics.

Managers need to understand what motivates boomers and their babies and adapt responses to suit: "People need solutions," he says.

A good start for managers is understanding that Generation Xers' independence, so often seen as a negative, "can also be one of the positives."

"They don't need a lot of constant chaperoning on how to do the job - they can figure it out for themselves.

"Getting them motivated to start thinking about it is the hard part but once they're motivated they'll sort it out pretty quickly.

"They're also a very creative group; they look at things and ask: 'Why is it done this way?' If it doesn't work they'll try and figure out another way to do it."

"Technology - the laptop, desktop publishing and so on - is very familiar to them. I keep citing their independence as a positive even thought many employers see it as a negative."

However, Generation X has to realise that baby-boomers will be in control of the workplace for the next 30 years: "There's no way around that."

They also need to learn that sacrifice is part of life, he says.

Boomers also have to adapt: "Generation X wants a mentor/advocate relationship [with their bosses]," Marston says, "which boomers find hard to do."

They might also find it hard to swallow resentment that the workplace structures and mores they have created are being challenged by younger colleagues.

If they understand the source of their resentment, it will fall away. That understanding includes recognition that boomers have to accept some responsibility for the way Generation X works in the office.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Marston's expertise arose out of "a classic Generation X-boomer scenario" in his first job in a demographic research company.

The boss "had no regard for me, paid me no attention, and expected me to just do my job and keep quiet," says Marston.

"I wanted more from him than he was used to giving.

"I was also the youngest in the office where I worked, so in his defence, he didn't know I needed something different because he had no one to learn from."

He left to set up his own research company.

After giving a speech on Generation X, the demand for repeats ballooned to the extent that he is now a full-time speaker and "interactive facilitator."

In New Zealand for the first time, Marston is appearing nine times in 10 days. Giving seminars about 65 times annually, he has visited countries as far apart as Australia, Argentina, Britain and Canada, talking to employees and employers in fields ranging from legal to high-tech.

It's a busy life, but Marston is happier that way. He reckons his attitudes to work are more boomer than any Xer: "I work a lot," he says.

However, his leisure habits are entirely Generation X: "If I can find a reason to take a vacation, I'll do it."

HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF GENERATION X


* Find value in difference.

* Invest in training. Generation X likes to be "thrown off a cliff," says Cam Marston - hit them with new learning opportunities and challenges frequently, especially in areas that interest them.

* Coach, don't discipline - and don't rant or micromanage.

* Generation X didn't get much discipline as kids compared to their parents, says Marston: "They were told to be themselves, but they do need to learn workplace accountability. Be very clear about parameters, deadlines, and end results. Give specific feedback."

* Encourage them to express opinions and value their ideas - Generation X likes to feel it has a say in how things are done.

* Understand that they seek a mentor/advocate in their immediate boss - which requires managers to share experiences, care about them and challenge them, says Marston. "If you feel that you're doing more parenting than managing, it's probable you are."

* Understand that their demand for flexibility works both ways, says Bruce Tulgan, author of Managing Generation X: How to Bring Out the Best in Young Talent. Someone who is allowed to leave early on Fridays will probably be quite happy to do the odd inconvenient job.