Generation Gap: Definition
It is quite rare that a workplace setting is represented by one generation. Instead, most companies have a mixture of generations collaborating as a team. In the contemporary corporate environment, the presence of four generations (Baby Boomers, Generations X-Y, and iGen) is a common occurrence. Herein the origin of the generational gap (GG) that can be observed in a vast majority of modern workplaces lies. GG is a crucial issue that has to be addressed to reconcile the differences in employees’ values and meet their needs.
The problem at hand can be defined as the confusion experienced by HR managers in their attempt to align corporate values with the diverse needs and perspectives of staff members (Park & Park, 2018).
Generation Gap: Impact
The impact of GG in the workplace is mostly negative. GG affects relationships in the workplace, causing misunderstandings that lead to conflicts between the members of different generations. Moreover, the line between personal and corporate values is erased in the process, making employees confuse the two (Venter, 2017). However, when managed respectively, GG can be used as the source of insightful discoveries and fruitful collaboration between generations, encouraging the active sharing of experiences and knowledge. In addition, the transfer of skills from one generation to another may occur when steered in the right direction (Subramanian, 2017). Society, in turn, impacts the issue by perpetuating age stereotypes, although the focus on social justice and diversity allows for gradual progress (Venter, 2017; Hee & Rhung, 2019).
Stakeholders Impacted by GG
When considering the key stakeholders impacted by the problem of GG, one should mention employees, including representatives of all four generations, companies in which they work, and managers of multigenerational teams. The members of a workplace characterized by GG are affected directly since the subject matter causes the relationships within a team to deteriorate, introducing unfair hierarchies and even causing participants to question their skills and authority (Venter, 2017). At the same time, managers are affected by GG due to the challenges of selecting the HRM framework that will satisfy the needs of all team members. Since the success of these strategies defines the efficacy of a multigenerational team’s performance, companies are also impacted largely by GG. Finally, customers and communities also suffer from GG-related problems due to a drop in the quality of companies’ performance and the quality of their services and products.
Important Information about the Key Stakeholders (4 Generations)
When considering GG in the workplace, it is important to take employees’ characteristics into account first. Baby Boomers are rather passive, yet, like Generation X, they prefer teamwork (Hee & Rhung, 2019). The latter, however, show a greater degree of independence, similarly to Millennials (Latkovikj, Popovska, & Popovski, 2016). Generation Y, in turn, shares their love for technology with iGen and displays willingness to share information and promote diversity (Hitka, Balážová, Gražulis, & Lejskova, 2018). Finally, modern companies are highly diversity-oriented and performance-driven, yet they are willing to invest in talent management (Rasdi, Kusnin, & Chen, 2018).
Individual Framework of Perception and GG
Studying the concept of diversity allowed changing my framework of perception by helping me to get rid of ageism-related prejudices. In addition, the problem of GG has been influenced by the field of study due to the changes in technology and the necessity to work with people who are learning to adapt to it. Moreover, multigenerational collaboration has helped to understand how to appeal to a wider range of customers by using the language of photography.
Slide 6 Generation Gap and Society. Critical Analysis
The study of the notion of GG has added extensively to the discourse regarding the problem of generational conflict in the workplace. Furthermore, the critical analysis of GG as a phenomenon indicated that collaboration and cultural sensitivity, as well as the focus on the needs of participants involved, allow reducing the threat of conflicts and lead to trust-based relationships with people belonging to different generations. Consequently, knowledge sharing replaces continuous confrontations, and the problem of GG is turned into an advantage of a multicultural team.
Generation Gap and Society. Recommendations
Since my current personal goals align with professional ones due to the focus on learning and communicating with others, it will be reasonable to recommend critical analysis to create a framework for promoting cultural competence. The suggested approach can be used to locate connections between the values of different generations and use compromise in order to negotiate with the specified demographic (Ensari, 2017). In everyday life, this could look like discussing values and philosophies in a multigenerational environment, possibly a social network. In photography, the described practice may involve discussions between artists of different ages.
Conclusion
The critical analysis of diversity and age adds value to the discourse by showing how the potential of the member of each generation can be explored, as well as offering strategies for reducing the threat of conflicts. The critical analysis shows similarities between the values of different generations, thus informing a manager about the HRM strategies to be used and the means of connecting employees’ values to those of a company.
References
Ensari, M. S. (2017). A study on the differences of entrepreneurship potential among generations. Research Journal of Business and Management, 4(1), 52-62.
Hee, O. C., & Rhung, L. X. (2019). Motivation and employee retention among Millennials in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(2), 876-884.
Hitka, M., Balážová, Ž., Gražulis, V., & Lejskova, P. (2018). Differences in employee motivation in selected countries of CEE (Slovakia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic). Engineering Economics, 29(5), 536-547.
Latkovikj, M. T., Popovska, M. B., & Popovski, V. (2016). Work values and preferences of the new workforce: HRM implications for Macedonian Millennial Generation. Journal of Advanced Management Science, 4(4), 312-319.
Park, S., & Park, S. (2018). Exploring the generation gap in the workplace in South Korea. Human Resource Development International, 21(3), 276-283.
Rasdi, R. M., Kusnin, N., & Chen, Y. S. (2018). Predictors and intervening variables of talent retention. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(12), 210-220.
Subramanian, K. R. (2017). The generation gap and employee relationship. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research (IJEMR), 7(6), 59-67.
Venter, E. (2017). Bridging the communication gap between Generation Y and the Baby Boomer generation. International journal of Adolescence and Youth, 22(4), 497-507.