In the 21st century global business environment, the increasing rate of globalization has meant that people from different regions find themselves in totally new working environments. Diversity has been a major issue of concern for global business managers in the recent years. However, the article of interest highlights the effect and significance of the generational differences in the workplace, an aspect that has been greatly overlooked by most managers.
The author’s argument is based on the growing concern over the conflicts at the workplace arising from generational differences. The workplace composition is now diversified consisting of veterans, baby boomers, generation X, and generation Y. There is an increasing number of younger staff working in positions traditionally reserved for the older bosses. Individual generations have non-identical expectations, values, and beliefs in the workplace. For example, baby boomers are characteristically more dedicated to their workplace, while the generation Y representatives appreciate flexibility (Ardiansyah & Darmasetiawan, 2019). These clear distinctions in the values of the different demographic groups predispose the workplace to conflicts.
Personal interrelationships at the place of work affect the performance and the level of satisfaction of the employees. Therefore, it is a modern workplace challenge for managers to create an accommodative and productive environment for diverse groups. To solve the predisposed stereotypic behavior in the workplace, the author suggests communication. Creating teams to unify the different generations at the workplace, such as a mentor/mentee relationship between the more experienced baby boomers and the younger generation Y, can bridge the stereotype and dispel it totally (Ardiansyah & Darmasetiawan, 2019).
The value of having tolerant and accommodative teams and the workplace is lauded by the citation of the case of Worcestershire County Council. Despite initial inherent resistance by the different groups to be unified, the outcome after the initiative was fruitful. People worked more harmoniously and contributed to the community in a better way.
Based on the subject of the article, the author has a diverse audience. The decision to enforce the initiatives to create a tolerant work environment lies significantly in the managers’ hands. Managers, either directly or indirectly, influence the policies that an organization adopts and the organizational structure. Besides what the managers do, the employees of different middle and lower levels also have a role to play (Hirsch, 2020). The paper highlights the different gender inspired biases too.
At the management level, the paper sheds light on the different expectations of the generations. What motivates a veteran differs from what may motivate a millennial. Their values and goals may be divergent (Lyons & Kuron, 2013). However, as the older people increasingly retire late, these different groups have to work together; the managers have to strike a balance. The different groups of employees also have a responsibility; for example, while the baby boomers managing the younger millennials need to praise them, the younger generation needs to appreciate the older ones’ experience to create a better workplace (Ardiansyah & Darmasetiawan, 2019).
There is a generational gap in an interpersonal relationship, interactive styles, and skills. The veterans are likely to be individualistic, and the baby boomers tend to be team players; generations X lean towards entrepreneurship while generations Y appreciate being participative (Lyons & Kuron, 2013). The older generations are considered to have better discourse skills and relate in a better way. These inherent dissimilarities predispose the firms to stereotypes and cognitive biases. As suggested in the article “Generation gaps: Changes in the workplace due to differing generational values,” promoting diverse teams and communication would help overcome the challenge (Hirsch, 2020). Creating teams which unify the different groups aids in bridging the inherent biases and dispelling the stereotype and therefore enhancing the organizational productivity as a whole.
References
Ardiansyah, N. I., & Darmasetiawan, N. K. (2019). Psychological well-being and workplace relations gaps on generational differences. Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Management (INSYMA 2019). Web.
Hirsch, A. S. (2020). How to manage intergenerational conflict in the workplace. SHRM. Web.
Lyons, S., & Kuron L. (2013). Generational differences in the workplace: A review of the evidence and directions for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(1), S139-S157.