Stereotypes Of Baby Boomers And Generation X Employees

Today’s workforce has become increasingly diverse through globalization and technological advances. This diversified workforce is indeed very robust with regards to innovation and creativity. Integrating employees with different backgrounds and experiences is critical in generating products and services appealing to the world’s increasingly globalized marketplace. However, with this diversity comes a set of new problems that challenge not only the modern supervisor but the administration of the world’s strongest institutions. One of the biggest areas in which diversification has affected the modern work environment is in the broad age range of the modern workforce. As a result of economic uncertainties and turbulent conditions, an increasing

In general, a group of policies set by administration at any organization is nothing more than a broad-spectrum compromise that attempts to satisfy the bulk of employees. While this works well for smaller organizations, the task of satisfying the majority of employees in a large institution employing thousands of individuals becomes monumental. As Robbins, DeCenzo, and Wolter (2013) outline the value stereotypes of baby boomers and Generation X employees, it is apparent where organizational policies fall short in appealing to each generation. While baby boomers and traditionalists appreciate and thrive under hierarchical, autocratic organization, Gen X and Y employees excel in a democratic, participatory environment. Thus, employees at the opposite ends of the generational spectrum could potentially be working for and being motivated by completely different organizational goals. This problem is compounded by HR and employment policies set by higher education institutions that have remained relatively unchanged for the last several decades. While economic conditions have forced constraints on administrative staff and have ultimately changed the course of higher institution organization, policies and procedures unfortunately have not kept up. For instance, many baby boomer employees

Therefore, institution finance and HR departments are constantly being tasked with re-evaluating compensation strategies for employees. In many institutions, seniority is a prime factor in determining salary. For example, as indicated by the OCCC Secretary/Clerical Range G Equity Table (2012), wages for employees of this institution in this pay band are influenced only by level of education ($272 for each advancing degree – Associates, Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate), years of relative experience ($100/year), and years of institutional experience ($150/year). While pay strategies such as these are conducive to retention of longstanding employees, new talent may be discouraged by the lack of performance based compensation opportunities. In addition, newer generations tend to be more fluid in their careers as shown by the US Board of Labor Statistics annual report on employee tenure (2014). According to the report, average tenures of employees aged 55-64 and 65 and older were 9.6 and 9.0 years respectively in 2004 while in 2014 they were 10.4 and 10.3 years, an average increase of 0.9 years weighted for the distribution of employees in each age category. On the other hand, employees aged 25-34 and 35-44 held an average tenure of 2.9 and 4.9 years