"Generational Differences"
No author cited
Society for Human Resource Management, November 2004
Available Online
According to this Society for Human Resource Management survey, the most
common intergenerational office conflicts are over work hours and organizational
hierarchy. The study asked 258 HR professionals about how different generations
interacted in the workplace. For the purposes of this study, the generations
were broken down as follows: Veterans (age 60 and older), Baby Boomers (age
40-59), Generation X (age 25-39), and Nexters (age 24 and younger).
Twenty-four percent of the respondents reported that Veterans believe GenXers
and Nexters do not put in enough hours. Conversely, 18 percent said that
many younger employees feel the older generations have a sense of entitlement
and, as a result, tend to slack off more. The study suggests that this disconnect
is the result of different perceptions of what it means to be a dedicated
employee. Whereas older generations view long hours, punctuality and professionalism
as the marks of dedication, younger employees are more likely to view the
quality and quantity of their work as most important.
Respondents said that conflicts regarding organizational hierarchy tended
to revolve around younger generations resisting authority or bypassing the
chain of command and disputes over whether seniority or qualifications should
determine advancement.
On a positive note, 60 percent of the respondents said that they had not
witnessed intergenerational conflicts and 51 percent reported witnessing
workers of different generations working effectively together. A little
over a quarter said that intergenerational cooperation lead to higher quality
work.
