Generation Why

I've been getting lots of slack from one of my 2 readers for not posting. But hey, I'm moving and working and stuff. I'm also going to school. My Organizational Behavior instructor obviously isn't ready for my writing style because I didn't do as well as I thought I should on my Mid-Term. My favorite answer was to a question about Generational Differences, which he took 6 points off of, but I thought my answer was pretty good. Maybe you'll like it:

Question 5. What issues might a Baby Boomer encounter when supervising someone from Generation WHY? (Reference characteristics from both generations). How can the supervisor prevent these potential issues? (25 points)

I love the concept of Generation Why that was introduced to us in class. The Eric Chester website points out quite a few interesting points that people don’t normally take into consideration but should.

We have come a long way since the Baby Boomers took over running the show and we can attribute many of the luxuries that we now enjoy to the Baby Boomer generation. They’ve changed the way that we do business in America. They made business cool. They made work cool. They gave purpose to individuality and have shown us that anything’s possible if you work together. They aren’t afraid of big companies, big paychecks, big stock portfolios and fun, meaningful long-lasting careers. Although I am not a Baby Boomer (Generation X-er, thank you) I appreciate the road that the Baby Boomers have paved in preparation for my own personal career. One of my favorite commercials on TV lately is the Dennis Hopper commercial for a Personal Finance company where he notes that the Baby Boomers were innovative when they were running the show and that they’re not about to change that now as they enter retirement. That’s fantastic.

But Baby Boomers are still very active in the workplace and as if my generation wasn’t bad enough, they have to now deal with Generation Why. It’s interesting to me to recognize that the jump from the Baby Boomers to Generation X wasn’t all that bad. It actually made sense if you think about it. The jump from Baby Boomers to Generation Why, however, is significant, but I think that a Baby Boomer manager in the scenario of working with the Why Generation has to consider how things progressed through Generation X to Generation Why. That said all people who have to consider generation gaps that span more than one generation should do so with the progression in mind. Generation X, by the way, should be the generation that the Baby Boomers understand the most. We’re their babies after all.

So to answer the question, the Baby Boomer should take note to look at the Generation Why employee when supervising them as a result of the world of work that they actually had a hand in creating. Generation Why-ers question authority and have high expectations of employers and of themselves. This could show a lack of discipline and respect to the Baby Boomer, but in a sense it should be embraced. Baby Boomers worked very hard to stake their claim in the world of business and in their individuality. As a result, Generation X-ers continued to be individuals and they taught their kids to take individuality to the next level.

Baby Boomers also worked very hard to understand and embrace diversity. They did such a good job that now Generation Why-ers accept diversity almost by default. Baby Boomers who aren’t used to high expectations from a woman or from someone with cultural differences need to understand this as well. The Generation Why-ers aren’t afraid. They are also used to many different people, including both of their parents, getting a fair shake in the workplace. This is good as well, but may catch a Baby Boomer off guard since it wasn’t always that way.

Generation Why-ers have a large task in front of them. Company loyalty is dead and a new way of working, performing and surviving is in their midst. They would be served well to learn from the Baby Boomers as they embark on this adventure. Baby Boomers would also do well to learn from them as they get ready to take over the world that they worked so hard to create.