Published: June 22, 2005
Employers Stumped by Younger Workers
(AANEWSWIRE) BOSTON, June 22, 2005 — Employers are finding it harder to understand and motivate younger workers, according to global management consulting firm Novations/J. Howard & Associates. “The latest generation to enter the workforce is singularly disengaged and getting them motivated is now one of management’s most urgent challenges,” said Novations/J. Howard President and CEO Mike Hyter.
Younger employees have sharply different values and goals than preceding generations, said Hyter. “Newer employees, those under 30, seem to reject the ‘corporate system’ and have little interest in a lifetime career, and even less in organization loyalty. Top management doesn’t seem to grasp the values of younger workers or know how to leverage their knowledge. Traditional motivators such as money or authority no longer hold much sway among younger workers.”
Certain behaviors are typical of today’s younger workers, said Hyter. “They change jobs at the first sign of discomfort, or blow all their money on a vacation. They look for self-happiness, not self-sacrifice, and certainly not if the sacrifice is supposed to be for the company. Their job or their organization isn’t seen as a source of their happiness. For them, a job is disposable.”
A key insight into the problem, Hyter believes, is to recognize that management is a generation older and younger employees are their figurative children. “Management has to deal with a kind of generation gap, one that’s likely to get worse before getting better. More than 15 percent of today’s employees are under 25, three-fifths are under 45, but baby boomers dominate top management. The gap isn’t a passing problem and unless management deals with it effectively intergenerational conflict will undermine organizational cohesion and job performance.”
According to Hyter, management should also realize that younger workers’ perspective has been shaped by the corporate experience of their parents. “Many saw their father or mother used by the corporation and then discarded. Younger people have seen the cost to their parents’ livelihood and emotional well-being, and are determined not to get caught in the same trap. So they put their own happiness and contentment first.”
The workplace generation gap, according to Hyter, is a variant of the classic organizational diversity challenge: “How does management mobilize the human assets in an organization when everyone’s motivating factors are different? How does management deal with everyone as individuals and align their values with corporate objectives?”
Hyter believes diversity is no longer an issue of race, ethnicity and gender. “We now recognize that diversity has many faces. The issues, values, motives and goals of employees are also very diverse, so the workplace solutions have to be even more creative.
Established in 1977 and a division of Novations Group, Inc., J. Howard & Associates is among the country's leading resources on diversity, inclusion and human resource development and serves client organizations in North and South America as well as Europe and Asia. For more information, go to: www.jhoward.com.
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