Bridging the Gap: Managing

Generational Differences

V.G. Young School for County

Commissioners Courts
  
Tom Marrs, Ph.D.
College Station, Texas  77843
Phone:  979.777.5463     E mail: 30boxbirds@gmail.com
Why are we talking about this?

2
― SOCRATES
3
Lenses…Not Labels (15-19 year generation
gap)
 Greatest: 1910-1927 (war, automobile, industrial)
 Silent: 1928-1945 (depression, war)
 Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (post war, cold war)
 Generation X (Gen Y): 1965-1980 (Vietnam, birth control)
 Millennials: 1981 to 1996 (internet explosion)
 iGen/Gen Z/: 1997-2014 (smart phone, 9/11, recession)
(Pew Research official generation chart)
 35

30

25
Y
CHARACTERISTIC

20

Gen X
15 Millennials

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

CHARACTERISTIC X
 35

30

25
Y
CHARACTERISTIC

20

Gen X
15 Millennials

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

CHARACTERISTIC X
 Traditionalists-Age 75 and older

• Around 23 Million of them

• Well under 1/3 of these are still employed in any

capacity.

• Surprising number of jobs, fewer careers.

 Boomers-Age (oldest are 74)
• Around 73 Million of them
• About 8% when aged 25-35 lived at home with their
parents (Pew Research).
• 68% will work part-time for interest or enjoyment
• 32% will work for needed income
• 42%want to be self-employed
• Fewer jobs, more careers
 Generation X-Age (oldest are 54)
• Around 67 Million of them
• Although about 75% of people in this group earn more
than boomers when they were the same age, only 36%
have more wealth than their parents due to debt,
according to a 2014 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts
• About 10% when age 25-35 lived at home with their
parents according to Pew
• 43% have a college education, 10% graduate degree
• Most effective managers compared to boomers or
millennials
 Millennials-Age (oldest are 39)
• Around 83.1 Million of them, 40% of workforce now, 75% by 2025
• About 15% age 25-35 live/lived at home with their parents
according to Pew (2016)
• According to a 2015 Census study, earnings for young adults who
work full time are about $2,000 (adjusted) less than earnings for
young adults in 1980. The analysis also found that millennials are
more likely to have a college degree than Gen X-ers did in 1980, yet
there are also higher numbers of millennials living in poverty vs.
their counterparts in 1980.
 Millennials

• 38% are looking to change jobs

• 43% are open to offers
• 18% expect to stay with current employer long-term
• 61% believe you should be promoted every 2-3 years if
your evaluations are good.
• Average WAY more careers, and more jobs
 iGen (oldest are 24)

• SHORT attention span—information flow

• Multi-tasking maniacs
• Financially conscious-came to be in recession. 67% said
they would go to a website to get a coupon V. 46% of
millennials
• Early starter—16 to 18 straight into work no college
• Gamify, no reading
 iGen

• Entrepreneurial-72% say they want to start a business

someday.
• Higher Expectations than Millennials-not fast,
something’s wrong
• Individuality—social media
• More global-58% of adults 35+ worldwide say kids have
more in common with global peers than within their own
country.
 Finding ways to
communicate is critical to
success.
Mistakes To Avoid to Keep Millennials
Chart an unclear career path
Be highly inflexible
Don’t fail to reinforce the link between
their role and a larger purpose
Disqualify just because of lack of skills
or experience—”pay your dues”
Generational differences are often based on four
essential activities:

Choosing where and when to work

Communicating among team members
Getting together
Finding information or learning new things
From: Tamara J. Erickson, Harvard
Business Review
 Mistakes To Avoid in Hiring
• Don’t write vague job descriptions or make vague offers.
• Chart an unclear career path
• Refuse schedule flexibility
• Entice them only with money
• Disqualify just because of lack of skills or experience
• Use an excessively complicated hiring process
• Fail to provide post-interview feedback
• Keep them away from social media
 Tips for Supervisors of Millennials
• Provide structure
• Provide leadership and guidance
• Encourage self-assuredness and positive self-image
• Take advantage of comfort with teams
• Listen
• Boring is bad. Challenge and change is good.
• They multi-task on a scale you have never seen.
• Take advantage of their electronic literacy.
• Capitalize on their affinity for networking
• Provide good work-life balance
• Be employee-centric.
 So What Does This Mean In
Reality?

Quit trying to MANAGE

different generations, and
LEAD them.
Employee responses to the survey question “I know whether my
performance is where it should be”.

Never 21%
Rarely 15%
Occasionally
21%
Frequently
14%

Source:
Always
29%
LeadershipIQ/Mark 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Murphy N=3000
BRAVE Leadership

•B ehaviors
•R elationships
•A ttitudes
•V alues
•E nvironment
Behaviors
• You and them
• Work and personal
• Face to face and electronic
• Inspiring and enabling
Relationships
• Say you respect them
• Act with respect
• Reverse Mentoring Program
Attitude
• Can-do attitude
• Don’t squash ambitions
• Don’t put up artificial boundaries (work and
personal time)
Values
• Happiness is good
• Pursuit of the 3 goods: Good for others,
Good at doing it, Good for me
• Values aren’t there, commitment is low
Environment
• Praised and inflated sense of self worth
• Structured activities: Play dates, instructions
from adults
• Constant flow of information
• Lacking practical skills, but can learn
Questions/Discussion