According to the National Center on Citizenship, there are 77 million baby boomers and 82 million millennials. Chances are you are among the wave of 82 million millennials who are now employed or are looking for employment, or are a member of the boomer era who is phasing out of the workplace. Our personal, professional, societal and structural values are changing and along with them, the workplace.
Unfortunately, the generations have been framed as feuding—one generation up against the other. Baby boomer vs. millennial.
Many stigmas are associated with both baby boomers and millennials to further this imaginary division. Millennials whine and feel entitled. They are lazy, immature, sloppy and in constant need of attention. Boomers are resistant to change, stuffy, impersonal, greedy and slow. These stereotypes come from one point of view misjudging the other. Boomers and millennials have much more in common than credit is given.
These differing values are ironically due to the boomers who have raised the millennials. An MTV study called “No Collar Workers” highlights the very different views that millennials and baby boomers have about professional life as a whole. This different mindset on how to approach the workplace seems to be the overwhelming variance between the two. Boomers and millennials differ on how the workplace should be run, where one fits into the overall structure, how teams are comprised, when and why meetings are scheduled and how to effectively collaborate on a team project, to name a few.
Boomers have values centered on structural and individual responsibility vs. collective responsibility. Boomers are hardworking, devoted to their position within the workplace and feel that the traditional office environment and the traditional workday is the best way to get the job done. “Face time” is equally important, as is the actual labor. Boomers prefer to have a specifically structured system where feedback is given at a specific time of year (six months review/annual review). This structure is based upon objectives and goals. Boomers are content with being a cog in a machine, not necessarily knowing or caring where they fit into the big picture. This expectancy and rigid hierarchy places each person in their “lane.” The hierarchy provides a chain of command that allows decisions and what work is to be done and by whom and what direction the company heads in delegated to appropriate areas.
Millennials would rather have no job than a job they hate. Millennials attach meaning to doing what they love not just doing. Millennials are hardworking and want to work where their creativity is appreciated and valued. Within the internal structure, millennials want to see where and how their work fits in the overall picture. Millennials crave mentorship and responses from their management and hierarchal team. Their view is a more flexible approach to the job. For millennials, as long as the work gets done, the amount of time spent in the office shouldn’t matter. Transparency is a mainstay of the millennials, which translates to openness and honesty.
These stigmas, values and opinions about the other group cause both sects to get a bad rap. Boomers feel overworked and unappreciated, and millennials often feel the same way. Both sects face age discrimination and are having a tough time landing jobs in the current market. Boomers have been forced by financial necessity to delay retirement and continue working, while the millennials enter a more intense job market with fewer opportunities. Both groups need each other. They need each other for different reasons and are having a hard time understanding each other’s perspectives, values, motivations and intentions. Among the clash of ideological difference, personal difference and professional difference, an accord must be reached. Both groups can teach, grow and learn from the other.
As the retirement ages continue to rise and the evolution of the workplace continues, maybe we will see a transformation and the revocation of any idea of a generational rift. The millennials are a huge and beneficial entity as are the older and more experienced boomers. Hopefully by focusing on the common goal of finding meaning work, the environment will be one of collaborative nurturing, leading and learning.
JR Rochester is a recent graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in public relations and interpersonal organizational communication, with a passion for digital communication, interpersonal communication and international relations. He has experience in social media, community building digitally and locally, in-depth experience planning, implementing digital product marketing strategies, grass roots efforts, client and brand reputation management, event planning and marketing. He is a member of PRSA Charlotte, PRSA New Professionals Section and Toastmasters International. He is a proud veteran, drummer, avid cook and self-professed geek.
