Facing the Challenges of Multi-Age Workforces
Working in management produces an endless parade of challenges. Few are as intriguing as the challenge of managing a workforce whose members may span three or more generations.
First, an introduction to some definitions (these years are loosely agreed to by social scientists):
- Baby Boom: 1946 to early 1960s
- Generation X: early 1960s to early 1980s
- Generation Y (Millennials): early 1980s to early 2000s
- Generation Z: Early 2000s until now.Baby Boomers, gen Xers and Millennials are the Big Three in the current workplace.
Economists, demographers and other social scientists say that each age group faces — and poses — a different set of challenges in the workplace and in society. For example:
- Baby Boomers are now between the ages of about 54 and 68 and are moving by the millions into retirement. If they are not retired now, most soon will be. They are worried about their 401k’s and the long-term stability of Social Security, Medicare and other financial support programs. As a group, they have the most experience.
- Members of generation X, also called the MTV generation and ranging from 30 to 53, have taken over the reins of management in many businesses. The U.S. Census Bureau says they are the best educated of the three groups. They tend to be more open to social diversity than are members of earlier generations.
- Millennials, today’s 20-somethings, are sometimes called the Peter Pan generation because members of that age cohort face economic and social challenges that are delaying their introduction to some privileges of adulthood — marriage, home ownership and higher-paying jobs are three — according to author and Baby Boomer Kathleen Shaputis. Only one in four is married, the Census Bureau says.Several nominees for the 2014 Columbia Daily Tribune Women in Business Awards described to us what they see as the biggest challenges they face in dealing with multi-generational issues in the workplace, and talked about how they deal with those issues.
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