How Generation Gaps Work

There are four distinct generations in the workplace, each with its own worldview and its own work ethic. Some are fiercely loyal to the company, while others just want a steady paycheck. Here is a quick breakdown of each generation's attitude toward work, management style and preferred methods of communication:

Now let's look at some of the problems that can arise when generation gaps become obstacles to workplace communication and productivity.

Welcome to the 9 a.m. Monday sales meeting at XYZ Corp. The Baby Boomer sales manager arrives early wearing his standard jacket and tie and carrying his semi-ironic "World's Best Boss" coffee mug. He checks his e-mail on his Dell laptop while he waits for the others to arrive. There's a message from the Veteran-era CEO sent at 4:15 a.m. (man, that guy gets up early) asking about sales figures from March. The Boomer manager knows that the CEO expects to have those figures -- or at least a response -- when he walks in the door this morning.

The Generation X saleswoman shows up with her Starbucks in hand, dressed in her usual jeans and a T-shirt (most sales are done over the phone nowadays). She's on her cell, giving instructions to her husband, who's staying home with the baby for a couple of months. When she's off the phone, the Boomer manager starts to chat with her about her weekend, but she quickly pops open her MacBook and says she has to take care of some e-mails. The Boomer silently wonders if any of them are the three unanswered messages he sent to her last week.

Both of their cell phones (his: Blackberry; hers: iPhone) vibrate with an incoming text message. It's the new guy, a Generation Y kid straight out of college, asking if it's all right if he does the meeting via Skype. He ended up spending the weekend at a friend's place in New York and thought he could work remotely today and catch a flight back tonight.

Sound familiar? According to a recent survey, 70 percent of older workers are dismissive of younger worker's abilities, and 50 percent of younger workers feel like the old guys are out of touch [source: Williams]. Generation Y is emerging as everyone's favorite workplace complaint. Over half of employers over 35 say that Generation Y has a harder time taking direction than any other generation of worker [source Acebel Rousseau]. Additional gripes about Generation Y include:

But all is not lost. Keep reading for some expert tips on bridging the generational divides in the workplace.

In the ideal intergenerational workplace, every team member brings the best qualities of his or her generation to increase overall productivity, improve creativity and boost morale. While it's too much to expect generation gaps to close overnight, there are some proven managerial techniques for building bridges across the generational divide.

One proven method is to launch official mentoring programs across the generations [source: Williams]. Both Baby Boomers and Generation Y put a high value on relationships, which is not surprising, since most Gen Yers are sons and daughters of "helicopter parent" Boomers. Boomers want the team to feel like a "family" and Generation Y wants to be surrounded by "friends." By becoming a mentor, the Boomer can capitalize on her experience (something she prizes) while the Gen Yer can get constant feedback about his ideas from someone he trusts (something he prizes).

A successful intergenerational workplace also needs to strike a balance between structure and independence. A clear leadership structure will satisfy the old-school expectations of the Veterans and Boomers while giving the Gen Xers and Yers a sense of authority they secretly crave. After that leadership structure is in place, break down all barriers of accessibility [source: Acebel Rousseau]. Younger generations need continuous feedback from their managers and want to know that they can knock on the CEO's door if they have a question.

Once a younger worker has been given an assignment, that worker should have the freedom and independence to work on it on his or her own time. Since younger workers crave feedback, older managers can be confident that they'll get updates from the workers soon enough.

One general rule for bridging generation gaps in the workplace is to drop the old rules altogether. Older workers especially need to forget about the established rules of communications that were seemingly written in stone: "Always return a phone call." "Always send a thank you note." "Always be available for the boss." Don't be offended when a co-worker breaks one of these "rules," because chances are he or she didn't know the rule existed [source: D'Adonno].

Along those same lines, get over the idea of fairness. A lot of older workers complain that the younger generations are coddled and haven't "paid their dues." Fairness is not as important as building successful workplace relationships in which everybody does his or her job better [source: Bloomberg Businessweek].

In the end, building a solid bridge requires that both sides meet each other halfway. If the older worker prefers phone calls and the younger workers texts, then compromise over e-mail. If the Boomer loves daily meetings and the Gen Yer likes to work from home three days a week, then sign up for Web conferencing. When everybody gets something he or she wants, everybody wins.

For lots more information on workplace dynamics, head to the links on the next page.