by Heather L. Fallon

We currently have more generations in the workforce today than ever.  The different generations are engaged for different reasons, and it is up to each individual company to find the best way to motivate the generations and achieve alignment with company mission.  At the recent National Summit on Employee Engagement, Shira Harrington, Senior Recruiter for Positions, Inc., spoke on this topic. 

There are currently four generations in the workplace and each is classified with different traits.

• Silent Generation (1922-1945):  This generation has loyalty to the organizations that they work for.  The events that shaped their lives, especially the Great Depression and World War Two, made them hard workers and unlikely to appreciate change.  This generation is comprised of hard workers that most likely are taking or have taken flexible retirement packages that let them come back into the workplace and allow companies to retain institutional knowledge.

• Baby Boomers (1946-1964):  The boomers are currently the largest generation in the workplace, but are right on the brink of a huge retirement wave.  They are strong team workers and have a tendency to avoid conflict.  Due to the impending retirement wave, organizations will have to find a way to utilize the boomers as part-time employees or consultants.  In fact over two-thirds of the population plans to work during their retirement years.

• Generation X (1965-1980):  Generation X first learned about the workforce while watching as their parents were laid off.  They also came home to empty houses because their parents were divorced or both were working.  They seek constant feedback and to fill their base knowledge of institutions.  They tend to be job hoppers who are no longer loyal to their company but rather to their manager. 

• Millennials (1981-2000):  Generation Y grew up along side the technology boom.  Almost all were taught computer skills from grade school and it has been an integral part of their lives ever since.  They are loyal to their colleagues and wish to be mentored to become better employees and communicators.  While growing up in an age where parents were sometimes better friends than adults, they want to know what organizations can do for them, sometimes even before they have shown any results.

The Performance Institute, located in Arlington, VA., is a private, non-partisan think tank seeking to improve government performance through the principles of competition, accountability performance, and transparency. PI serves as the nation’s leading authority and repository on performance based management practices for government. The mission of the Institute is to identify, study, and disseminate the leading management innovations pioneered by “best in class” organizations.