Each generation can teach others new ways to work

That 20-something with the ear buds is too busy rattling her keyboard to smile. Is she a brat with no social graces? Or a co-worker, neck deep in a project? The young man who questions a procedural point — is he a troublemaker? Or an innovator? That 50-year-old man, with his stories about the “old days.” Is he just a geezer, resistant to change? Or is he the voice of experience, with a valuable lesson?

America’s workplaces have a diversity gap we seldom consider, though it figures in every part of our working lives. It’s a gap that can swallow group initiatives, water down morale, foster misperceptions between managers and subordinates, and co-workers themselves. It’s a gap we need to bridge to be more effective as workers, and more understanding as people. And it isn’t a race or gender gap. It’s age.

THE COMPANY MELTING POT

Most modern workplaces are chronological melting pots. Generation Xers, who shop at Ethan Allen, and Gen Y’s — often named Ethan or Allen — share cubicle space with boomers and radio babies, who seem old enough to remember Ethan Allen. We tend to ignore the different tendencies of age, until the old guy in accounting freaks out about the new software, or the new girl down the hall loses her mind with her MP3 player. But Robin Throckmorton, co-author of “Bridging the Generation Gap” (Career Press, $14.99), says many workplace ventures can run aground for lack of generational perspective.

“You have four different generations sharing the work force now,” says Throckmorton. “Each one of them is trying to get the product or service out the door. But each generation perceives and defines the work ethic differently.” The four generations include radio babies, Depression-era infants in the twilight of their careers; baby boomers, postwar children raised on television; Generation Xers, the MTV kids who remember the emergence of computers; and Generation Y, the Web-savvy souls who can’t recall a life without computers. Divergent histories, and different levels of ex- perience, can produce a wide variety of perspectives.

“For example, boomers often feel that Gen Y’s have no work ethic,” says Throckmorton. “But the boomer generation has a different way of measuring productivity.” Younger workers are often technophiles, choosing to work off-site, through PDAs and Internet connections.

“Boomers are more prone to measure dedication by chair time,” she says. “As in, ‘how late do you stay at the office?’ ” Radio babies and boomers hail from a more soldierly corporate culture, where “you worked within the system. And if your boss didn’t complain, it meant you were doing something right,” she says.

“Generation Xers and Generation Y have almost the opposite approach. They like to understand why things are done a certain way, and they need positive reinforcement. If the boss isn’t communicating with them, they will often assume something is wrong.”

The corporate mentality suffers in translation, too. Older workers often buy in easier to concepts like company loyalty. “They come from a background where you didn’t change jobs nearly as much,” says Throckmorton, whereas younger workers see a more mercurial career path. “They regard this job as one of several. So, in an application process, Gen Y’s are just as likely to interview the firm to see if it’s a good fit for them.” In such circumstances, concepts like “teamwork” and “this is the way we do it” can be a harder sell across the age line.

MINING DIVERSITY OF AGE

These distinctions can seem like minor matters. But they figure prominently in issues like productivity and work force retention. “I help a lot of small to medium-sized companies recruit and retain the most qualified work force,” says Throckmorton. The generational differences she observed in research led her and co-author, Linda Gravett, to conduct a three-year study of workers from each age group. “We found you needed different strategies to attract and keep employees from different generations.”

The best corporate strategies encourage the Old Guards and the iPods to educate each other. “It’s called ‘reverse mentoring,’ ” says Throckmorton. “Each group draws from the other’s wisdom. Boomers and radio babies know how things get done, and have the experience that comes from years inside the system. Generation Xers and Gen Y’s have a lot of new ideas and technological expertise. And those born on the cusp of each generation are vital because they communicate well with both sides. It does work, and we found that the generations born furthest apart have the most to teach one another.”

This kind of understanding will become crucial in the near future, as qualified employees grow increasingly rare and a fifth generation, the millennials, enters the workplace. “Once people start learning from each other, it combines the best elements of experience and innovation,” says Throckmorton. “You can increase morale and productivity, and reduce friction and miscommunication. The more we talk to organizations about this issue, the more we hear: ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ ”

Knowing your Xers and shmoes

Robin Throckmorton doesn’t believe in defining people by their birth date. “You can go too far the other way, and start stereotyping,” she says, “and that’s the kind of thinking that leads you to ‘all older workers hate change,’ or ‘young employees are not dependable.’ ” The categories below, she says, are more like guidelines. “It helps to understand where each generation came from, and appreciate the qualities that shaped them.”

RADIO BABIES, BORN 1930 TO 1945

Background: Children who remember the Depression and/or World War II, appreciate employment and career continuity.

Common characteristics: Strong work ethic, extensive job experience. Often perceived as frail or inflexible.

Comments: “People are sometimes afraid of radio babies for health reasons,” says Throckmorton. “But radio babies want people to recognize that their bodies and brains still work. Those hiring people between 60 and 80 tell us they’re the most

productive workers they have.”

BABY BOOMERS, BORN 1946 TO 1964

Background: Boomers grew up with post-World War II prosperity and TV; entered the work force when “career path” meant a single company ladder to climb.

Common characteristics: Hard workers, experienced and loyal. Sometimes seen as “stuck in their ways.”

Comments: “A lot of people are reluctant to hire boomers, thinking they’ll retire soon,” she says. But changing retirement scenarios often inspire boomers to second careers. “They want to keep going. They want a better work-life balance. And their second career is often much different than the first one.”

GENERATION X, BORN 1965 TO 1976

Background: Latchkey kids, often from dual-income homes. Entered the work force at the dawn of the Computer Age.

Common characteristics: Independent, flexible, technologically diverse. Can be perceived as self-absorbed or disloyal.

Comments: “This is the first latchkey generation,” says Throckmorton. “So they’re very used to surviving on their own. They change jobs more often, so they put less stock in company loyalty. So, they can be seen (by elders) as impatient with their careers.”

GENERATION Y, BORN 1977 TO 1990

Background: Raised in a fast-paced, violence- and media-saturated, technologically booming world.

Strengths: Energetic, innovative. Can be viewed as arrogant or defiant.

Stereotype: “Gen Y’s are sometimes called ‘Gen Why?’ because they question everything,” she says. “They look for the value in what they do, and are less inclined to confer respect upon someone because of a title.”