Human resources expert Tania Gough’s workshop at the March Dairy Women’s Network annual conference in Invercargill looked at how to attract, motivate and retain each of the five recognised generations for better onfarm relationships and performance.
She said although in the past a generation referred to the age gap between parents and children, five categories of generations were now recognised – the Builders (those born before the end of WWII), Baby Boomers (born post-war until mid-1960s), Generation X (born between mid-1960s and 1979), Generation Y (born 1980 to 1994) and Generation Z (born 1995 to 2009).
The latest generation has been named Generation Alpha.
Gough said each group was influenced by the times in which they grew up in including such things as world events, technological changes, social values and trends.
“They are shaped by their times, despite how they were raised or their socio-economic status and as well each generation is a reaction to the one before it.
“They didn’t create their time so they shouldn’t be blamed for who they are or how they think or do things,” Gough said.
“We’re not putting people into boxes but a generation is a cohort of people who generally think the same way. Generations are the most self-evident divisions in our society today, more than the divisions of ethnicity or gender.”
She said Builders, those born before the end of the Second World War, were known for their strong work ethic, their discipline and their loyalty. However, they were reluctant to speak up when they disagreed with something and were uncomfortable with conflict.
Baby Boomers, who were born at a time of economic growth and full employment, believe job status is important and that you have to work your way to the top.
Gen X is the first of the generations to put family before work and while more adaptable than those born before them they tend to be more sceptical and more likely to distrust authority.
Gen Y people have a global world view, are optimistic and want work that is flexible enough to give them the life they want. They also like to be encouraged and appreciated.
“It has been predicted that for Gen Z, the generation starting to enter the workforce now, one in every two will have a university education and they will have an average of 17 jobs in their lifetime.”
Although the generation of Builders is now past retirement age, recent statistics showed 5% of New Zealand’s workforce was people born before 1945, Gough said.
“Each generation has its strengths but each can also cause problems for the others. We all think that we are right, that how we think and do things is the right way and we’ve all looked at other generations and thought ‘what planet are they on?’
“The Baby Boomers believe that to have a career you had to work your way from the bottom up. Gen Y just think they can have it all now. Builders will come to work with the flu and give it to everyone while Gen X will take days off work to look after their children when they are sick.”
She said employers, if they wanted good staff relationships and retention, should consider offering different employment packages to different generations.
Builders were more concerned with staying active and in the workforce while Gen X and Y might need more flexible hours to attend their children’s sports or school events or look after ageing parents.
Keeping work interesting and making Baby Boomers feel they were advancing their careers was important while Gen Y needed a variety of learning opportunities and frequent and constructive feedback.
Gen X wanted a social work environment and disliked being micro-managed. They responded best to managers who acted like mentors. Gen Y liked to feel they were making a difference through their work and were more
likely to stay if they felt their ideas were valued and respected by others in the workplace.
Gen Z people have been protected while growing up (from Gen X’s and Y’s umbrella parenting) and are often not used to dealing with conflict and employers may have to help develop their teambuilding and conflict-resolution skills.
To recruit Builders and Baby Boomers traditional methods such as newspaper advertising, face-to-face networking and recruitment agencies work best while with Gen X to Z online methods were more effective.
Gough said a workforce that included several generations worked well together when social interaction was encouraged.
“Work to build relationships across the generations so they get to understand each other. Mentoring is a great vehicle for value sharing and knowledge transfer.”
She said employers must recognise that each individual has different values and perceptions about work and that each was valid.
“Be open to other viewpoints and expect to be surprised.”
