How to Maintain Harmony within Five Workforce Generations

The ever-expanding American workforce now has people from different generations working alongside. The management has to find ways to accommodate and collaborate with these diverse workforce generations to effectively run the organization.

So how can businesses maintain harmony among people having different tastes from music to culture? Read on to know the effective ways to handle this situation.

Different Generations in the American Workforce

When talking about effective management of different workforce generations, it would help classify people depending on the different generations they were born and raised. Broadly American society is classified into five generations at present. The details of which are described below.

Silent Generation

People born between 1928 and 1945 come under this generation and are the oldest generation currently in the workforce. They constitute the smallest per cent among the different generations in the workforce as most of the people in this generation have retired by now.

As a generation that grew without technology and many things newer generations take for granted, they bring experience and skillset of a diverse nature. Strong work ethic and hardcore values define people of this generation.

Baby Boomer

People born during the period 1946-1964 are called the baby boomer generation. They are called so because the United States witnessed the highest birth rate during this period. Thirty per cent of the American workforce is composed of people from this generation.

Strong work ethic, self-motivation, and the aim to achieve a stable life post-retirement are some of the characteristics that define this generation.

Generation X

People born during the years 1965 to 1979 belong to this generation. Although known widely for their contribution to music and cultural change in the US society, Generation X has also had a significant impact on the American workforce. Many of the Generation Xers hold high positions in private and public institutes.

Studies have indicated that Generation X are less likely to gain promotion and less likely to work long term in an organization than people from other generations.

Millennials

Millennials are those born during the period 1980 and 1995. They are the most considerable generational presence in the American workforce at present. They are still young, and they are considered the most influential generation in the workforce.

Human resource specialists are still in the process of analyzing this generation. Still, it seems challenging to put all Millennials in a box as the advent of technology has led people from this generation to have diverse influences.

Generation Z

The people born between 1996 and 2015 are grouped in generation Z. This generation is poised to take over the mantle from the Millennials in the future. However, only a few from this generation have entered the workforce as of now.

Born after the internet revolution, they are tech-savvy, have an excellent entrepreneurial attitude, and are of different ethnicity and background.

Effective Strategies To Manage Diverse Workforce Generations

The challenge with having diverse age groups in your organizations is that one size fits all approach won’t work out. But management has to follow a uniform policy for everyone and cannot harbour too many age-based assumptions. Follow the below strategies for effective management of people from different age-groups.

Open Conversations

People across different generations value open, supportive, and transparent management ready to address employee issues most honestly. Implementing an open-door policy and creating a work environment where team members are encouraged to have open conversations fosters good team ethic and communication.

Mentoring/Relationship Programs

Cross-generational mentorship programs are an effective way to create a fruitful relationship between people from different age groups. This method helps the older and younger generation to learn from each other and create good understanding and collaboration that leads to better team building.

Create A Culture Of Shared Purpose

People from different backgrounds join and work together in different fields to mutually connect. So if you can create a culture of shared purpose within your organization, different workforce generations will join together to achieve this objective.

Understand The Drives and Needs Of Your Employees

Understanding your employee’s needs, values, and drives is the essential requirement for creating a working environment in any organization, and more so if your workforce is diverse in age. The different generations of employees have different needs, and doing surveys to take insights from employees would help you understand your management’s positive and where improvement is needed.

The diversity in workforce generations can seem overwhelming for the management. But it is a welcome challenge if you see the advantage of bringing different experiences and skill sets from the different age groups. The above article should give a basic idea of maintaining harmony among the different generations in your workforce.