By Barbara Bowes

The only description for people in today’s workplace is diversity. We’re fortunate that our mix of cultures, age and gender allow us to apply a broad range of experience to our work. On the other hand, there is mounting alarm regarding the challenges of managing a younger generation. Oh, oh, is the intergenerational gap rearing its ugly head again?

Let’s back up and get this into perspective. Don’t you recall your own struggle for a sense of freedom and personal self-direction? Remember how you threw yourself into student politics, anti-poverty, women’s liberation or Greenpeace? Go back through your memorabilia to find those buttons declaring peace or equal rights. Recall your first days at work where you just knew how to solve all the world’s problems. You were young once too, weren’t you?

The challenge then, is to integrate the career and personal needs of your workers so that they are driving your business forward. The issue is really about values, how each person looks at the world and what career motivators are important to their success. It’s about what strategy business needs to attract and retain a thriving workforce.

One group of workers, the Baby Boomer generation (1942-1947) has thrived on the climb up the corporate ladder where loyalty to work was more important than family. Success was measured in job titles, dollars, houses, cars, boats and cottages. And with today’s technology, Boomers now have personal cell phones, home computers and private email addresses.

But today’s work world is different. No business is expected to provide a job guarantee and the corporate ladder has lost several rungs. As a result, Baby Boomer values are also changing. Individuals now realize job security is all about maintaining a current skillset and so they are flocking to educational upgrading programs and computer courses. They are simplifying their lives by selling the large homes, looking for life meaning and joining alternative religions. They are running the marathon, doing aerobics, cooking and redecorating. Finally, Baby Boomers are no longer putting career advancement ahead of personal and family happiness. They are becoming the “me” generation!

On the other hand, the newer generations, (1965 – 1977) sometimes dubbed Generation X, Y or Screenagers, have their own values and career motivators. These folks are fiercely independent and may have taken on a lot of responsibility early in life. They are computer literate and typically have more than one university degree. They are at ease with change and innovation and are more entrepreneurial. They have grown up on technology, electronics, and mass advertisement. They are optimistic, strategic in their career moves but somewhat impatient and they want a job where they will be intellectually challenged. Finally, they too, accept the value of being loyal to themselves and their family ahead of career.

I believe intergenerational life values are actually melding together and if this is so, the challenge of multi-age workers might not be as hard as you think. Businesses value and want to retain the Baby Boomer’s storehouse of knowledge and experience and they welcome the refreshing new ideas of younger generations. The trick is to implement human resource policies that will appeal to both groups. Some of the retention and management strategies that are proving successful include:

Flexible Work Time

Offering flexible work times will depend on the nature of the job, the tasks and the requirements of customer service. There are a number of variations of flextime such as staggered hours or days per week, or flexible start and quit times. This can be formalized or simply administered informally. Be careful though, to make sure that the program is effectively and fairly managed.

Flexible Work Sites

With most employees having a computer at home, allowing individuals to work at home is often a treat. Some companies are promoting wholesale telecommuting where the individual only comes to the office once in awhile. Find which method works best for you.

Choice of Health Benefits

Offering a choice of health benefits is not only more cost effective for businesses but also meets individual worker needs as their families change and evolve. This can also reduce costs for both the employee and employer because many share benefits with their respective spouses.

Retirement Phase In/Job Sharing

While the dream of retirement at 55 appeals to some, many individuals miss the heady action of the workplace and would rather undertake a phased in retirement, perhaps working three days per week. On the other hand, the younger generations value job sharing so that they can spend more time with their children or even continue with an advanced education.

Short, Challenging Assignments

Today’s employee is motivated by short, intense and challenging projects that are intellectually stimulating. These can be individual or team projects but have a definite start and end date. In some cases, individuals enjoy being on more than one project at a time.

Personal Leave Days

Some companies are offering up to four personal leave days in addition to sick time. These days are used at the employee’s discretion but are not carried forward to the next fiscal year.

Sabbaticals

While traditionally limited to educational institutions, a sabbatical from work is a nice perk to offer. Typical plans require an employee to save through the company, let’s say, 20% of their salary for five years. At the conclusion of this term, they can take one year off. Alternative time frames make this program more flexible.

I admit that it is a challenge trying to keep people focused on your business goals while at the same time meeting their individual career ambitions. But if we concentrate on the similarities rather than the differences, I believe that we can find creative solutions to retaining and motivating employees of all ages.