When generations clash at the workplace: How you can build team cohesion, productivity
With younger employees and older staffers increasingly coming together in today’s workforce, blending those with less experience and seasoned veterans into a cohesive and productive team can be a challenge for businesses — but not insurmountable.
All it takes, says Jeff Butler, author, workplace strategist and two-time TEDx presenter, is for businesses to recognize the value of building intergenerational chemistry.
“Impressions persist among some that view Gen Xers (born 1961–1981) as a group that tends to be skeptical about authority, see the glass half-empty and go at everything alone, and millennials (1980–2001) as entitled and lazy while loving technology,” said Butler, the keynote speaker Wednesday at the North Bay Business Journal Business Symposium at Santa Rosa’s Flamingo Resort & Spa.
“While these labels tend to shape generational perceptions over time, such beliefs are largely unfounded,” he said. “Younger employees have a lot to bring to an enterprise and can work effectively with baby boomers (1946–1964), even though boomers are sometimes miss-categorized only as rule followers, loyal and self-sacrificing.”
Butler said the first strategy for change is to see stereotypes and still seek opportunities to bring everyone together.
“The Catch-22 of cooperation is that experience determines future success, yet the world is constantly changing. But if you don’t know what you don’t know, you need experience to know,” he said.
Developing a process to bridge these extremes begins with what Butler called “generational cultural alignment” focusing on cultivating relationships and finding ways for people to become connected
A simple expression of the alignment premise is that if one person nods his or her head as a greeting and another hugs, a compromise could involve both agreeing to fist- or elbow-bump.
Workplace example No. 1: A new young hire previously worked alone. But the job calls for shared responsibilities with older staff members with different skill sets and knowledge. Solution: Set up an assignment where a trust relationship can be built through collaboration with an older employee.
Another way to align generations in the workplace involves what Butler described as Adams' equity theory. It suggests that employees compare their own inputs and outputs — effort and rewards — to those of others, and when there is a perceived imbalance, they will act to restore equity. The theory states that employees are motivated to keep their own perceived fairness levels in balance with those around them, but first they must discover what they are at a new company.
Workplace example No. 2: Ask new hires to list what they believe are fair interpersonal business behaviors, such as whether an employee covers another’s shift or expects co-workers to fill in, or if being on time for meetings is OK.
Do the same among existing staff members. Ask participants to compare both scenarios and propose ways to bring different viewpoints into alignment.
This strategic concept also comes into play when established work/life balance, a work ethic, succession planning and communication styles. Does a life partner, a senior staff candidate or outsider for a high management position share the same values, principles and culture?
It also applies to handling difficult co-workers and those with different expectations — such as new hires expecting higher pay for their experience, or others wishing to continue working remotely at home when employers want them back in the office, etc., (resulting in a compromise of a few days at each location).
According to Butler, expectations lead to values that, in turn, establish workplace culture — with inclusivity as a subset of values. All of this must then be communicated to employees outlining what this process is all about as it affects the norms of a business.
He noted that this is where the inclusion paradox involves self-expression, identity, boundaries and norms as well as safety and comfort. If you want to change the culture, you have to change expectations.
“You need to ask yourself what workplace expectations should not change, what are the expectations of other generations and what expectations are malleable — along with what works and what doesn’t,” he said.
Culture action items can include determining what is the unique unifying cause, who are the cultural insiders and outsiders and are there any dividing causes that should be identified and addressed. Also, determine what it may take to change some people’s minds and unify the organization.
