Building Bridges to Connect the Generations at UCR

Executive Summary:

The multigenerational workforce is a contemporary diversity issue because for the first time in history, there are four generations[1] co-existing in the labor force. Each generation has its own unique set of attitudes, values, and work ethics which converge into different and often contrasting communication styles. Recognizing and celebrating these differences within our own group inspired us to create an awareness campaign designed to promote a culture that embraces generational diversity at UCR.

Our solution includes three tiers of action items designed to produce an effective awareness campaign which can be implemented in phases. The tiers are organized by the cost and/or effort involved in the implementation. This feature allows for maximum flexibility so that implementation of at least one action item within a tier can be executed.

The risks of not understanding and therefore not embracing generational diversity can result in low retention, high turnover, mass dissatisfaction, conflict, and loss of productivity. Conversely, the benefits of embracing each generation’s skills, work ethics, and communication styles are a highly productive, cohesive, and congenial work environment. Awareness is the key; once created and subtly reinforced, emotional, attitudinal and behavioral changes begin to appear. Remarkably, those changes transcend the workplace and become part of our daily lives.

Introduction:

With four generations with whom to engage, UCR staff is challenged to understand the nature of conflict within the workplace. When people do not agree with others’ work ethics or communication styles, it is natural to make judgment calls and form biasesabout those individuals. When it becomesknown that the issue is not a personal conflict, but rather a generational conflict, understanding and tolerance for differences can begin. Awareness is the first step and is paramount fora deeper understanding and level of acceptance of the differences.

This group chose to create an awareness campaign focused on generational diversity. The multigenerational workforce is the newest diversity issue in the workplace.[2] Because this is an unprecedented moment in history, it is vital to educate UCR staff on this emerging issue so that they become knowledgeable about and accepting of the differences of each generation with whom they interact.

This new awareness will allow staff the flexibility to forge cohesive teams that work well together and therefore realize increased productivity amongst other benefits. This insight translates beyond the realm of one’s immediate department since employees at higher education institutions have a variety of constituencies. The recognition and acceptance of generational diversity willalso strengthen and enhance systemic accountability for fair and impartialdecision-making and business practices within the UCR community.

Problem Definition:

Attitudes are primarily formed by one’s environment, particularly in the formative years. As attitudes mature, one’s values are formed and those values are typically deeply rooted. Each generation has its own unique attitudes, values, and work ethic. How the generations communicate across the generations is spawned by these three core attributes. The literature is clear that generations express their values differently.

Description of the Resource/The Awareness Campaign:

The following table illustrates the differences in the attitudes and values of the four generations.

Generation: / Phrases that shaped
attitudes: / Values: / Attitude on Authority:
Traditionalists (1927-1945) / Good for one-good for all / Hard work / Don’t challenge
Toe the line / Perseverance
Duty first / Rules-oriented
Loose lips sink ships / Discipline
Baby Boomers(1946-1964) / It’s all about me / Involvement / Don’t challenge
We’ll change the world / Shared community
Keep to your own kind / Instant gratification
Effect change by numbers / Strong work ethic
Gen X’ers(1965-1981) / Question everything / I can do it! / Challenge
Prove it / Pragmatic
Don’t rely on anything / Credibility
Balance / Tech savvy
Millennials(1982-1995) / Unique and one-of-a-kind / Virtual world / Challenge
Leave no one behind / Diversity
24/7 multi-tasking / Community
Let me work with friends / Green world

Note the stark differences among the four generationswith the third core attribute: work ethic.One survey found that 65% of respondents agreed that generation gaps make it hard to get work done.[3] The same survey found that a large percentage of each generation felt their generation was “viewed negatively” in the workplace by other generations.

Traditionalists:

  • Socialized through scarcity and hardship
  • Prefer consistency; remain at one company over time
  • Prefer hierarchical management structure, use top-down management style, inform

on a need-to-know basis

  • Satisfied by a job well done
  • Loyal and self-sacrificing

Boomers:

  • Competitive, driven to achieve goals
  • Process- and team-oriented
  • Accept the corporate structure “as is”
  • Want to feel needed, want to be recognized for personal contribution
  • Looking toward retirement, but open to alternatives; appreciate retirement planning
  • Value ongoing training to keep skills updated
  • Willing to mentor but expect younger people to “pay their dues”

Generation X:

  • Focus on results; pragmatic; expect efficiency
  • Appreciate clear communication about their goals and responsibilities
  • Believe balance between personal time and work time
  • Work to include fun; like an informal, friendly environment
  • Expect up-to-date technology
  • Value skill-development training and accumulating transferable job skills
  • Rely on themselves, not the company, for career advancement; understand this is the way it is today; reject corporate “games”
  • Appreciate real-time performance feedback; like immediate, tangible rewards
  • Desire flexible work arrangements; enjoy freedom to get the job done in their own way Believe that productivity and proximity do not have to go hand-in-hand

Millennials:

  • Work well with friends and on teams
  • Collaborative, resourceful, innovative
  • Love a challenge, want to produce something worthwhile
  • Seek to make a difference; desire to be a hero
  • Impatient
  • Comfortable with speed and change
  • Thrive on flexibility and space to explore
  • Partner well with mentors, value guidance
  • Expect respect

The convergence of attitudes, values and work ethicsstrongly influences the overall communication style of each generation. Since we view and evaluate one another through the lens of communication, understanding the various styles is critical in building the bridges necessary to connect the generations at UCR. Here are examples of how each generation communicates:

Traditionalists usually communicate in a more formal manner. They speak slowly, clearly enunciate, choose their words carefully, and take great strides to be respectful. They are very aware of one’s position in society and do not like to blur the lines.

Boomers like to take time to relax the person(s) to whom they are speaking. They like to meet and greet in a friendly way. They like name recognition. They like and expect others to be friendly and cordial at all times.

X’ers give a lot of attention to their and others’ competencies. They freely share information and data they have accumulated. They want to make decisions on their own timetable.

Millennials communicate in a highly confident manner. They are sure of themselves and expect others to be respectful of them and certainly not condescending because of their youth. They like driving to the “edge” just to see what happens. Millennials are bored by methodical people.

Promising Practices:

In 2005, Lydia P. Howell, M.D., et al. ofUC Davis School of Medicine, recognized emerging issues for academic health centers stemming from working with individuals from four generations. Howell’s team provided solutions that could and did benefit those groups affected by the phenomenon on the following issues:

  • Collision of work / life balance demands
  • Acceptance / non-acceptance of technology to accomplish goals and objectives
  • Use of direct / indirect style of feedback
  • Lack of leadership development programs that present and address the challenges of a multigenerational work environment.

In another publication in August 2009, Howell, et al. proposed using a predictive model, the generational diagonal, that can anticipate and address issues based uponunique experiences and life stages of current generations so that each generation can be effective. Today, she is highly regarded locally and nationally on faculty affairs and faculty development through her publications on the effect of generational differences in the academic medicine.

While Howell’s solutions targeted the challenges found within an academic health environment, the solutions can be applied in other higher education institutions. What can we do here at UCR?

Resource Implementation:

The following series of Phases are recommended to produce an effective awareness campaign and are grouped by the cost and/or effort needed to implement:

(1)Minimal Cost and/or Effort

  • The poster developed in the MEI Certificate Program can be repurposed in the form of flyers and/or brochures. These can be distributed on a periodic basis.
  • Utilize R’Space and R’Web, the staff and student portals, for emails and announcements that provide information on generational diversity.
  • Host an information booth about generational diversity at appropriate UCR events.

(2) Moderate Cost and/or Effort

  • Create a policy that mandates training in this area
  • Create training programs
  • On-line or traditional workshops
  • New employee training module
  • Develop web page off diversity.ucr.edu web site
  • Basic information
  • Resource linksthat educate people about this topic
  • Video clips, includinglinks to already-produced content and newly created content

(3) Maximum Cost and/or Effort

  • Recreate workplace environments so as to be conducive to intergenerational communication. As an example, for some people, cube-farms are seen as impeding good communication, while others feel they foster good communication
  • Host a “4-G (i.e. Four Generations) Summit” annually to address, highlight and bring awareness to the issues and solutions offered for system-wide collaboration
  • Stage an intergenerational play using theatre professionals (e.g. staff and members of the LIFE Society) that use examples from each generation to show the issues that could arise and how to handle them.

Risks:

The risks of not learning, hence not understanding or tolerating generational diversity, include low retention, high turnover, wide-spread dissatisfaction, poor communication, low productivity, and low morale. Further, the foundation of inclusivity upon which future UCR generations can build would be tenuous.

Benefits:

While the benefits of embracing generational diversity are many, the most significant benefit is harnessing each generation’s skills and working styles resulting in a productive, cohesive, and congenial work environment. Generational integration is essential to organizational effectiveness and necessary to support a culture of open inquiry and mutual respect.

Measures:

Changes, particularly systemic changes, take time. However, as an institution, UCR is already known for its huge strides taken in diversity advancement. Therefore, a leap towards understanding and embracing generational diversity is far from insurmountable.

If the action items in the “Minimal Cost and Effort” are implemented, the measures can be found in the numbers of announcements and emails published in the UCR portals. The mere presence of the information can bring awareness of the topic to the forefront. Information booths at various UCR events will also bring increased awareness on the topic.

Action items in “Moderate Cost and Effort” concern training and therefore, the learning management system will provide precise metrics. Also, metrics can be derived by tracking the number of hits on the generational diversity web page diversity.ucr.edu by using Google Analytics.

Action items in“Maximum Cost and Effort”represent more substantive and assertive efforts that strongly endorse generational diversity. They involve the creation of policy, mandated training, production and ongoing implementation of videos/webinars/plays which would require resources not currently identified. This phase could be implemented on a system-wide basis.

It would be highly valuable to present a concrete solution for measuring the impact of this awareness campaign on employees at UCR. One way to measure would be by adding a couple of questions to the Employee Exit Survey. Also, working with Labor Relations and/or Affirmative Action Office to identify which complaints/grievances fall into this category would provide essential tracking information to the awareness campaign. The question still remains, however, if reliance on “good ole fashion” anecdotal data might be the only real method of measuring emotional, attitudinal and behavioral changes.

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Building Bridges to Connect the Generations at UCR

APPENDIX 1

Resources:

Beyond Rocking the Ages, Bill Stoneman, American Demographics Bridgeworks, 2001 Generational Workplace Survey (2001)

Building Bridges Between the Generations, Mark Brewer-Community Foundation of Central Florida (2009)

Generational Diversity in our Schools and Communities, Elaine Torossian, M.S., Sr. Leadership Development Specialist, Beaumont Hospitals, Beaumont University (2006)

Generational Forecasting in Academic Medicine, Lydia P. Howell, M.D., et al., Academic Medicine: August 2009 – Volume 84 – Issue 8 – pp. 985-993; also see

Solutions for Retaining Generation Y Employees in the Workplace, Debra Lowe, Kenneth Levitt, Terry Wilson, Business Renaissance Quarterly (2008)

When Generations Collide, Lynne C. Lancaster, David Stillman, Harper Collins Publishers (2002)

Who are the Boomers? Deloitte Development LLC (2007)

Who are General X? Deloitte Development LLC (2007)

Who are the Millennials? Deloitte Development LLC (2008)

Internet References:

Forty Years After Woodstock, a Gentler Generation Gap, Pew Research Center, Paul Taylor and Richard Morin (2009)

Four Generations in the Workplace, Dr. Michael Kull (2007)

From the 2009 Generation Gap to the 2020 Great Divide, Doug Anderson

Nielsen Wire (2009)

Generations at Work, the Online Home of Claire Raines Associates (2006)

Generations in the Workplace, Teri Bianco(2009)

Generation Next: The Workplace, PBS documentary (2007)

The Future of the Workplace: No Office, ABC News (2007)

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[1] The Traditionalists (also known as “The Silent Generation”) generation,born between1927-1945, iscomparatively small when compared to the surrounding generations because people had fewer children in the 30’s to early ‘40’s. The Baby Boomers (“Boomers”), born approximately around 1946-1964, a time that was marked by an increase in birth rates; they number about eighty million. The Generation X’ers (“Baby Busters”), born between1965-1981, are a smaller but very influential population at forty-six million. And the Millennials (“Gen Y’ers”), born between1982-1995,represent the next great demographic boom and is the fastest growing generation in the U.S. workforce.

[2] “Generational Diversity in our Schools and Communities”, Elaine Torossian, M.S.,Senior Leadership Development Specialist, Beaumont Hospitals, Beaumont University. (2006)

[3] “Beyond Rocking the Ages,” Bill Stoneman, American Demographics Bridgeworks, 2001 Generational Workplace Survey.