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The
Employee for Today’s Workplace – One Size Does Not Fit
All.
By Denise Trifiletti
At a recent conference dealing with human resources challenges,
I attended a session on generational differences titled “From
Ricky and Lucy to Beavis and Butthead”. It was a fascinating
exploration of the work-based ethics and expectations of the pre-baby
boomers, the boomers themselves, and two more recent cohorts of
employees, the genation-xers and the millenials.
Without getting too deep in the discussion here, it was clear that
employers really need to deal differently with all four. And when
all four are in the workplace elbow to elbow, it is even more clear
that how employers deal with employees is at least as important
as how these employees approach their work and their careers.
Consider that the pre-baby boom era employees have a far greater
need for security and are far more likely to accept the mandates
of the organization; the directives of the boss. The boomers, on
the other hand, are far more likely to fit within the structure
but primarily what’s in it for them – not what’s
in it for the organization. The generation X employees bring a deep-grained
mistrust of organization and its leaders, and will do what they
need to do to survive and succeed, in spite of the expectations
of the organization. Finally, the millenials are those just entering
the labor force and are not only technologically astute; they accept
organization and leadership but will quickly take steps to fix what
they perceive to be wrong. They do not thrive on chaos; they find
ways to make sense of it and to evolve it to rational reality; to
make it work for them.
Managers and business owners who expect to motivate people in all
four categories must take different measures for each.
Having a secure and safe work environment is necessary, but not
to the point of stifling creativity and teamwork between employees.
People will accept more risk when they feel alignment between what
they do and what they believe on the one hand, and what the organization’s
mission is and how it is carried out on the other. People place
a higher level of ethics on their own behaviors when they see that
reflected back from the boss. They will go the extra mile when they
feel they are not doing so alone, but that their organization is
giving them the support, the skills, and the room to do so. And
they expect a certain level of ‘social contract’ between
them and their organization. They may define what it is differently,
but they expect it nonetheless.
The successful business will be the one that demonstrates respect
for its work force. It will be the one that takes the time to understand
its employees where they are, not where the organization wants them
to be. Only through conscious competence in doing this will an organization
realize its goal of engaging it’s people.
Every organization has people who arrive at work any given day
with a wide range of possible attitudes. These can range from total
disinterest to total commitment. They might include complaining,
fearfulness, resistance, challenge, willingness to listen, exploration,
enthusiasm, and confidence. To be their best, employees have to
find a way to contribute that is rational with their own values.
The most successful leader will know that he/she must first understand
and demonstrate empathy with employees no matter where they are
on the above continuum. Only then will the employee respect the
views and wishes of the boss. Only then will the employee move to
a different place on the attitude ladder. And only in that way will
the employee be able to really contribute to reaching the organization’s
goals.
The bad news is, many – perhaps most – managers do
not possess the skills to be an effective leader. The good news
is that they can all develop those skills. It takes learning and
it takes practice – but so does everything else in our lives
which we wish to make better.
Make things better by calling Dynamic Destiny Partnerships, llc
at 410-451-2198, or emailing at info@d2partners.com.
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