UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

MARA
UITM MERBOK, KEDAH

FACULTY OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

BACHELOR’S IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

HRM656
ISSUES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 1:
CASE STUDY
How can I play my role in closing wide generation gap in my future workplace?

PREPARED BY:
NURUL HUSNINA NAZIFA BINTI ABDUL RASHID
2020995347
KBA2435B

PREPARED FOR
DR KARDINA BINTI KAMARUDDIN

SUBBMISSION DATE
12th JUNE 2022
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, thanks to the Almighty God for everything He has done for me. He excels
at the impossible, allowing me to achieve greater success. He gives me strength, allowing me
to fly like eagles and achieve new heights in completing this assignment. It is with His guidance
that I able to finish this group assignment.

I needed the assistance and instruction of a few respected individuals in order to complete our
work, and I owe them my gratitude. As the completion of this assignment gave me much
pleasure, I would like to show my gratitude to Dr Kardina binti Kamaruddin, Course Instructor,
for giving me good guidelines and information that is needed for assignment throughout
numerous consultations in order to complete this assignment.

Furthermore, I would want to express my heartfelt gratitude especially to whoever give their
best in contributing to this assignment, my parents, and siblings, my friends and those who
assisted me directly or indirectly in completing this individual assignment two, reflection essay.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENT ......................................................................................................................... ii
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1
2.0 BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE ................................................................................................ 1
3.0 EVALUATION OF THE CASE ..................................................................................................... 3
4.0 SOLUTION ..................................................................................................................................... 5
5.0 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 6
6.0 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................... 7
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The majority of organisations currently employ the following generations: Baby Boomers, Gen
X, Gen Y, and Gen Z. According to the researcher, Baby Boomers (1955 – 1964), are typically
dedicated employees who value visibility. They discovered that Baby Boomer job satisfaction
is higher when they work in an office. Furthermore, because they are a non-technological
generation, they find it difficult to adapt to any technological changes. They are, however,
motivated employees who have prioritised their professional development. Generation (1965-
1980) are self-sufficient, resourceful, and individualistic, and they require little supervision from
their bosses. They value autonomy and personal responsibility and strive to overcome
obstacles on their own. In addition, Generation Y (1981-1996) place a premium on
collaboration as a working style. To them, a collaborative workplace can spark their creativity
and increase interpersonal engagement which can reduce workplace stress. Finally,
Generation Z (1997-2012) enjoys working with modern technology, particularly digital tools,
because they are experts and quick to learn new things especially when involving new modern
technology. Finally, Gen Z values flexibility, they prefer working in an agile environment where
they can complete their tasks independently and can control when they begin and end their
workday.

A generation gap is the distance that separates the ideas and habits of people from two or
more generations. Differences in attitudes, behaviours, and preferences between members of
different age generations in politics, values, culture, and other areas can lead to workplace
conflict which will be affecting co-worker relationships and disrupting the process of achieving
organisational goals. Workplace tension can arise if Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen
Z fail to understand each other's differences. This can lead them failing to meet their
expectations, ambitions, and life goals, as well as causing disharmony and chaos in the
workplace. As a result, this case study will discuss generation gap issues and offer several
solutions and recommendations for closing the generation gap in a multigenerational
workforce, which can improve employee engagement and productivity.

2.0 BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE

1. Misunderstanding due to generational differences in communication styles

In the workplace, employees frequently engage in conversation. In the workplace,

communication style preferences vary greatly across generations. Baby Boomers prefer face-
to-face communication where they can receive direct responses without having to wait. Unlike
Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z are more familiar with digital communication
platforms such as email, social media, and other chatting applications. Therefore, it is difficult
for Baby Boomers to adapt to new communication platforms.

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According to a PureWow website article, ellipsis issues usually arise when Baby Boomers and
Millennials converse online which will widening the generational gap. An ellipsis is made up of
three dots (...) placed between or at the end of messages. It is an unfinished or stray thought.
On the internet, Baby Boomers commonly use ellipsis, for instances, "I can't wait to see your
presentation..." Baby Boomers use an ellipsis in conversation because they believe it is simply
the correct form when communicating informally or trying to be casual. Millennials, on the other
hand, see ellipsis as a punctuational bridge to nowhere, indicating doubt, trailing off, or, at
worst, passive aggression. Also, Millennials usually think people who use the ellipsis in
conversation are unaware that their writing on social media can convey passive
aggressiveness behaviour. Allowing a person to fill in the dots causes more trouble. This is
because the recipients of the messages may be negative overthinkers, even if the sender is
being relaxed and casual during the conversation. Here could be misunderstanding
issue between Baby Boomers and Millennials, which might harm the relationship.

2. Stereotypic perceptions across generations

A stereotype is a frequently unfair and false belief that many people have about others. A
stereotype is also a preconceived notion about a specific group of people. Stereotypic
perceptions across generations may contribute significantly to generational disparities. The
common stereotype among Baby Boomers is that Millennials and Generation X are lazy, only
interested in reward and recognition, and inexperienced. While Millennials and Generation X
perceived Baby Boomers as resistant to change, old, conventional, and lacking in
technological skills. In another scenario, people in the generation may overthink their capability
even if no one thinks negatively of them. This makes generations hesitant to collaborate and
cooperate with one another as well as limits generational engagement in the workplace. For
example, according to a Harvard Business Review article, Baby Boomers are afraid that
Millennials will perceive them as uninteresting, bull-headed, and annoyed, but it is actually
opposite than what they think. Millennials consistently regard Baby Boomers as responsible,
loyal, mature, upstanding, and hardworking. Another survey done by Olivet Nazarene
University found that 51% of Baby Boomers are concerned about their position in the
company. They are afraid if their employer will replace them with a Millennial colleague
because they are technologically savvy, ambitious, and work effectively and efficiently. This
issue will contribute significantly to the generation gap. They will remain estranged from one
another due to stereotypical perceptions. Consequently, it leads to an unhappy and
uncooperative working environment.

3. The issue of generational seniority

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The next issue that causing generation gap is seniority. The term "seniority" depending on
how long someone has worked in a position or for a company. An employee with more
seniority may have a greater status, rank, or primacy because of their length of service. The
older generation, Baby Boomers and Generation X, tend to feel more superior to younger
generation workers, particularly, Gen Y and Gen Z, because they think the experience that
they had in the company is most important than other factors. Being arrogant with younger
generations demonstrates that they have power over them.

Worse, seniority issues may result in workplace bullying. According to a BMC Public Health
article, at least one out of every three Malaysian employees has reported
experienced workplace bullying. Typically, older generations have used workplace bullying to
maintain control over their younger employees and to widen the gap between senior and junior
employees. It can lead to workplace violence, job dissatisfaction, a drop in work performance,
and absenteeism, all of which contribute to an unproductive working environment with a high
turnover rate.

In addition, seniority is also being used to determine promotion. This will irritate younger
workers, who are more educated and have more technical skills than their seniors. This can
frustrate younger generations and prevent them from advancing in their careers. Despite
outperforming the rest, the younger generation's efforts are not recognised due to seniority.
This can lead to dissatisfaction among young generation employees, who believe that no
matter how good their performance is, they will not be recognised in the same way as senior
employees. As a result, the senior-based promotion system is clearly demotivating them.

3.0 EVALUATION OF THE CASE

The first issue is miscommunication during a conversation due to generational differences in
communication styles. When an organisation switches from face-to-face to digital
communication, it unquestionably improves organisational performance and effectiveness.
Employees can communicate with one another at any time and from any location by using
online chatting apps, online meeting platforms, and other tools. Furthermore, employees of all
age categories can improve their technical and digital skills. Baby Boomers, for example, who
are unfamiliar with digital communication platforms will gain new knowledge and improve their
technical skills, such as the use of modern technology gadgets and unfamiliar online chatting
and meeting applications. Organizations can communicate and interact more easily when
digital tools are integrated into a workplace. However, a lack of comprehension during an
online conversation between generations can have significant effects. Conversations with
Baby Boomers are usually awkward for Millennials, Gen Y, Gen X, and Gen Z because their
sense of humour is sometimes mysterious due to ellipsis. Because of that, younger

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generations will avoid conversing with baby boomers. Despite the fact that digital
communication is commonly used as a platform for collaboration and cooperation, they only
contact each other for important matters. The use of ellipses and inappropriate emoji in a
conversation may harm and limit employee engagement and collaboration in the workplace.
Younger generations are usually annoyed with the way Baby Boomers respond to their
messages, so they think it is acceptable to ignore the messages from Baby Boomers, but
actually it is not. Leaving the messages without reply creates a negative perception from Baby
Boomers toward the younger generation as they will be labelled as rude for not responding to
the messages. As a result, the company's ability to create a cooperative, collaborative work
environment is becoming more limited. This resulted in an unhappy and discordant working
environment. They will only see each other as co-workers, not as family members with whom
they can interact casually in everyday life to share their opinions, experiences, ideas, and
problems.

Furthermore, employees who are happy and comfortable at work tend to perform well on the
job. This is because they feel safe and respected to be in a positive environment that is free
of stereotypical perceptions from others generation. When employees are satisfied with their
positive working environment, it improves work interaction and collaboration among
employees as well as and reduces individual anxiety. However, stereotypic perception has a
significant impact on employee engagement and organisational performance and productivity.
Stereotype is when someone creates their own perception of another person's personality and
their own perception of themselves without knowing what other people think about them even
before they know each other well. This could widen the generational gap because people will
avoid interacting with one another. If they allow stereotype culture to become prevalent in the
workplace, discriminatory situations may arise. This will taint and harm the workplace
environment. Someone who feels attacked by a stereotype may feel unsafe or insecure about
their own abilities, limiting their potential to work. They must avoid thinking negatively about
others and themselves, otherwise the organisation will fail to meet its goals. Furthermore,
stereotypes divide teams and stifle creative efforts, and individuals may experience anxiety,
and find it difficult to concentrate at work. All of this leads to decreased organisational
productivity.

Last but not least, seniority in the organisation can be useful at times because the younger
generation must respect the older generation. However, as time passes, people lose their
desire to collaborate with one another and become more individualistic in their approach to
work. Seniority favours longevity over merit. If an underperforming employee is promoted
solely based on seniority, the company may end up paying more for an older generation
worker even if they do not achieve as much as a younger generation colleague. It is unjust to

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distribute merit and reward unequally among workers of old and young generations because
it can create a generation gap. Supposedly, performance should be measured by how well
someone performs her job role. It distinguishes between employees who work hard and those
who do not, as well as between those who go above and beyond and those who only go
through with minimal effort. Aside from that, workplace bullying can result in mental health
problems like depression and stress. Younger generations who are unable to cope with the
toxic environment created by workplace bullying are more likely to submit resignation letters
which negatively impacting the organization's employee turnover rate. Former employees may
leave negative feedback on the company's website or other social media platforms, making it
difficult for the company to hire new employees in the future. As a result, the reputation of the
company may suffer.

Among all the issues, I can say that all the issues are significant as it brings a negative impact
toward organization in term of employee engagement. When an organization are lacking
employee engagement, the cooperation among employees as a team hard to be gained. As
a result, it will have an impact on organisational productivity and employee job satisfaction.

4.0 SOLUTION
In this section, I will talk about how I can help bridge the generation gap in my future workplace.
The first solution to bridge communication gaps caused by generational differences in
communication styles is respect and understand all generations communication preferences.
Why limit yourself to one mode of communication when you can use all of them, including
face-to-face, phone calls, E-mail, WhatsApp, Zoom Meeting, Microsoft Team, and many
others? Provide multiple communication platforms is not a big investment to the organization
as it only can provide tablets, laptops, smartphones or even a convenience and comfortable
space to have a face-to-face discussion. This can help to bridge the generation gap because
employees of different generations can approach everyone in an organisation based on their
communication style preferences. If Baby Boomers do not typically use online chatting
platforms, I will go directly to their desk and engage in discussion. If Millennials prefer to
communicate via email, I will do so. It is simple to understand and respect all generational
preferences, beliefs, and values. However, sharing knowledge with Baby Boomer colleagues
about modern communication technology and how to use it promotes employee collaboration,
communication, cooperation, as well as engagement.

The stereotypic culture should be abolished in order to address the next issue, which is
stereotypic perceptions across generations. The "Baby Boomers" and "Millennials" labels
should be eliminated to avoid stereotypic perception among generations in the organization.
Instead of being stereotypical, they should get to know each other first before making

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assumptions about others. Then people will discover someone's true personality after getting
to know and working with them. I will also learn to appreciate diversity in the workplace.
Workplaces are made up of people with diverse backgrounds, values, beliefs, and
preferences. As a result, I will become more aware of generational differences by
celebrating diversity and learning about other people's preferences, beliefs, and values, as
well as what they dislike and like and their work style. By doing so, mutual understanding
between generations can be gained, which can improve employee engagement and directly
close a generation gap in the workplace.

Finally, creating bonds with all generations in the organization can help to resolve the issue of
generational seniority. Training and mentoring increase retention, strengthen relationships,
and allow different generations to learn from one another. However, both the older and
younger generations must be reminded that they each bring valuable talent and experience to
the workplace. Furthermore, the value of respect in the workplace must be understood by
employees at all levels of seniority. Respect at work is an essential component of creating a
healthy working environment. Mutual respect in the workplace shows that all employees are
valued for their accomplishments, abilities, and qualities. When co-workers respect one
another in the workplace, a sense of community is formed, and incidents of bullying,
harassment, or arguing are reduced. As a result, when management respects all employees,
there is no room for favouritism, bullying, or harassment.

5.0 CONCLUSION
To summarise, most organisations are made up of a variety of generations born over a range
of years beginning with baby boomers and continuing through Gen X until Gen Z. When
working with multiple generations in the same organisation, the issue of generation gap usually
arises. Misunderstanding due to generational differences in communication styles, stereotypic
perceptions across generations, and seniority issues in organisations have all been discussed.
All of these issues have a significant impact on employees and organisations, such as lower
employee engagement, generational insecurity, low productivity, lower company performance,
and many more. As a result, several solutions have been recommended in my opinion as my
roles to close wide generation gaps in future workplaces, such as respecting and
understanding all generations' communication preferences, eliminating stereotypic culture,
creating bonds with all generations in the organisation, celebrating diversity in the company
and having mutual respect among generations, and regularly sharing knowledge, experience,
opinion, and ideas among generations. At the end of the day, it is top management's
responsibility to take the lead in addressing gap generation in order to achieve workplace
harmony.

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6.0 REFERENCES
Adam Uzialko. (2020, March 12). Bridge the Gap: Communicating With a Multigenerational
Workforce. Retrieved from Business News Daily Web site:
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9708-multigenerational-workforce-
communication.html

Anna Matthew, J. A. (2020, December 2). OK Boomers And Gen Zs, Let’s Talk About
Workplace Bullying. Retrieved from Leaderonomics Web site:
https://www.leaderonomics.com/articles/leadership/ok-boomers-and-gen-zs-lets-talk-
about-workplace-bullying

Chris Joseph. (n.d.). What Are Some Negative Aspects of Diversity in the Workplace?
Retrieved from CHRON Web Site:
https://www.chron.com/?_ga=2.43233570.623757045.1654962068-
1360541797.1653554579

Deer, M. (2020, October 2). The importance of respect in the workplace. Retrieved from CPD
Online College Web site: https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-
base/business/importance-respect-workplace/

Kelly Weeks. (2014). Perceptions of Generational Differences in the Workplace. 1-17.

Kilubi, D. I. (2021, July 25). Top 5 Ways on how to avoid Generational Stereotypes in
Organizations. Retrieved from CEOWorld Magazine Web site:
https://ceoworld.biz/2021/07/25/top-5-ways-on-how-to-avoid-generational-
stereotypes-in-organisations/

Mark C. Perna. (2020, May 21). OK Boomer, OK Millennial: Why We’re Not OK At Work
Together. Retrieved from Forbes Web site:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2020/05/21/ok-boomer-ok-millennial-why-
were-not-ok-at-work-together/?sh=10ccb3a726ff

Rachel Pelta. (n.d.). Breaking Barriers: Communication Gaps Between Generations in the
Workplace. Retrieved from FlexJob Web site:
https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/workplace-generational-communication-gaps/

Walton-Robertson, S. (2019). The Effect of a Multigenerational Workforce on.