Maybe you’re frustrated when your teenagers act like they’re above doing menial jobs. Or you may be miffed that your father won’t listen to you about new technology. Or maybe the way some of your workers balk at the extra hours during the busy season leaves you exasperated.
Somehow, it seems the people you live and work with just don’t share your values. So how can you get along?
Say hello to the new generation gap. And get ready to deal with it. Today’s generation gap is about much, much more than tastes in music or hairstyles, or even about body piercing. It infects the very way that everyone around us thinks.
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On top of that, the generation gap that we’re fighting today is really a “generations” gap. It’s a multi-layered conflict. With people living longer, our farms can have as many as four very different generations working together.
When each of those generations brings its own work preferences and its own dreams and aspirations to the workplace, there is bound to be conflict, says Lynne Lancaster, a consultant in Sonoma, California and author of the book, WHEN GENERATIONS COLLIDE.
Nor is it easy to steer around that collision, Lancaster says, because the differences are so deeply ingrained. The way we’re conditioned during our formative years is so powerful, it creates a “generational personality.”
“Typically, generational groupings are formed when the world as we know it changes or shifts in relation to the past,” adds Candace Laing, a human resources professional in Saskatoon. “This has occurred all through time, but the pace at which our world has experienced change has increased exponentially since we came through the industrial age,” continues Laing. “We then zoomed right through the knowledge era and we are now entering the wisdom era.”
The experts typically divide the generations:
Traditionalists, who were born before 1945
Boomers, born 1946-1964
Generation X, born 1965-1980
Millennials, born 1981-1999 Having grown up marked by the
Great Depression and the two world wars, the Traditionalists value the discipline needed to save for a rainy day, says Lancaster. They excel at putting aside individual needs and wants and working together toward a common goal. They are loyal, and they maintain an immense faith in institutions, from church to the government to the military.
For the Boomers, by contrast, the single most important arrival was television. Boomers grew up in an affluent, opportunity-rich world and they paint their definition of success in those terms. Their parents encouraged them to pursue their dreams. At the same time, though, faced with crowded classrooms
Each Generation Imagines Itself To Be More Intelligent Than The One That Went Before It, And Wiser Than The One That Comes After It.
— George Orwell
TIPS TO MINIMIZE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE GENERATIONS
Help develop an obvious respect for other’s values and differences.
Encourage generations to learn about each other from one another. Be sure you have dialogues across generations about how we see you and how you see us.
Actively support career development. Ensure there are career conversations taking place especially with younger generations. Identify concrete ways to support their career development goals. This may keep them from leaving the farm out of frustration.
Encourage all generations to share their knowledge.
Match mature workers with younger workers for mentoring, but remember that the mentoring can be a two-way experience. It is important to set these relationships up as reciprocal, with the understanding that there is valuable two-way learning.
and job markets, this group was forced to become competitive.
Then, with the explosion of 24-hour media and with tabloid journalism, the Gen Xers saw every role model of their time exposed as too human to be a hero. As a result, they tend to be skeptical. They grew up seeing every institution called into question including big business, the military and organized religion. The divorce rate tripled when they were children so they tend to put more faith in themselves as individuals and less in institutions. Technology exploded during this time period with cable and satellite TV, video games, and personal computers.
The Millennial generation (also known as the Echo Boom, Generation Y, Baby Busters, and Generation Next) is a smart, practical, techno-savvy generation which has had access to computers, Internet and cellphones since they were in diapers. This is a generation that grew up with the threat of violent outbreaks such as Columbine, readily available illegal drugs and the proliferation of gangs. If you had to choose one word to describe the Millennials it would be realistic. Raised by highly communicative, participation-oriented parents, the Millennials have always been involved in major family decisions such as deciding where to go on vacation and which computer to buy. They believe their opinions should be valued from the start, and they bring this expectation to work with them.
Of course, the descriptions above are generalizations. There’s also the phenomenon called “cuspers” made up of those born in the transition years between the various generations. Cuspers often have qualities from both of the generations that they straddle.
In the workplace, the generations collide due to their differing values. The younger ones will want to automate and use technology to the fullest. It’s as essential to them as gasoline and electricity are to Traditionalists.
Asking them to work without electronics is like asking their parents to go back to horses, and it’s important for their parents to understand that their children’s fascination with electronics is just that important. When Gen Xers and Millennials carry a BlackBerry so they can check commodity prices 24/7, text, chat and e-mail, the response from an older farmer, “You don’t need all that stuff” sets you on a direct course to a generational collide.
Instead, Lancaster says you can use generational differences to your advantage. “The Millennials are usually willing to consult as tech experts,” she says. “You can put them in charge of technology. Give them a budget and get them to tell you what is needed,” she advises.
While the Traditionalists are used to a top-down management style and “I’ll tell you only what I think you need to know” communication style, Millennials, raised in a collaborative leadership environment where they were encouraged to have input into family decisions will be frustrated by an authoritarian leadership style. “It won’t work to say this is the way we’ve always done it,” explains Lancaster.
While the older generations often “lived to work” the younger generations strive for work-life balance. “The younger generations may be unwilling to sacrifice their personal life for their career,” adds Laing.
This may be perceived by the older generation as laziness, and can be one of the worst forms of generational misunderstanding on the farm.
The younger generations may want more independence and responsibility than you are ready to give them. Lancaster suggests giving them responsibility for one aspect of the farm operation. Senior management can act as a coach.
One thing Laing has seen in her work with the younger generations is that they aren’t always open to constructive feedback. Perhaps this has to do with the wave of “self-esteem” parenting they were raised with, she surmises.
“The important thing to remember,” stresses Lancaster, “is that nobody is right or wrong; they’re just different. Everybody has something to contribute.” The older generations have a lot of wisdom and experience such as how to weather tough economic times. Lancaster advises the younger generation to ask questions and learn from this experience.
The younger generations are tech savvy and energetic. They tend to be well educated and able to leverage information through technology, which is a real asset to the farm, continues Lancaster.
It is essential that individuals and organizations recognize and accept that generational value differences are a form of diversity to be respected just like religious or cultural value differences, emphasizes Laing. “We can all learn from each other.” CG
