With five generations collaborating in our current workplace sandbox, the space is fertile for conflict, stress, bias, and imbalance. Let’s excavate traditional and generational bias to leverage both the differences and similarities of all generations for more collaborative play in the workplace sandbox.
The most peaceful, productive, and profitable workplaces embrace the diverse assets of all generations. In this extended Leadership Tip that we will be presenting for the next several weeks, readers will gain valuable information to recognize, appreciate, and engage all generations to create a culture based on inclusion and collaboration. An understanding of different generations, their attributes and perspectives, strategies to mitigate potential conflict, and recruiting and engagement methods will benefit the productivity and engagement of our current workforce.
This week, we will begin with:
Defining the Generations at Work
Generations are cohorts of people who have grown up in a specific social, economic, and political context that can shape their view of the world. The year of birth determines which generation a person belongs to.[i]
Depending on where they are in their life cycle, these generations also influence the economy and society not only because of their size, but also because of their distinct values and attitudes toward life. A generation typically refers to groups of people born over a 15–20-year span. Start and end times of those spans vary with different countries or research.[ii]
- Greatest Generation: people aged 95 or older (born before 1928)
- Interwar Generation: people aged 78 to 94 (born between 1928 and 1945)
- Baby Boomer Generation: people aged 58 to 77 (born between 1946 and 1965)
- Generation X: people aged 43 to 57 (born between 1966 and 1980)
- Generation Y (millennials): people aged 27 to 42 (born between 1981 and 1996)
- Generation Z: people aged 9 to 24 (born between 1997 and 2012)
- Generation Alpha: people aged 10 or younger (born between 2013 and 2023)
We now have five generations of employees working side-by-side which brings both opportunities and threats. With high living standards and costs, as well as deflating pension funds and legal protection against age discrimination, the retirement age has moved up. People are working beyond their 70’s. The need to manage five generations with different values and motivations is upon us.
Opportunities –
When managed well, five generations will give your organization a competitive edge because all generations bring different viewpoints and the diversity of ideas, experience, and skill set can broaden the collective knowledge base helping for better service to customers and the unlocking of ideation for potential growth.
Threats –
Different generations have a tough time understanding each other, the older generations find their peers easier to manage than the younger generations and vice versa, and this is feared to create more conflict.[iii]
Whether the five generations bring about more opportunity or threat is a matter of how well you can manage your people.
| Greatest Generation / InterWar Generation aka: Traditionalists Born before 1945 | Baby Boomers Born 1946 – 1965 | Gen-X Born 1966-1980 |
| Current age (2023) 78 yrs and older | Current age (2023) 58 – 77 years old | Current age (2023) 43 to 57 years old |
| Strong work ethic Highly respectful of authority/hierarchy Value conformity Loyal Slower to adapt to new technology | Competitive Goal-oriented Independent Value excellence, fairness and consistency | Self-sufficient Resourceful Adaptable Care less about loyalty Results oriented, and entrepreneurial |
| Current Canadian workforce % | 19.7% *includes 58+ workforce | 29.5% |
| Gen-Y (aka) Millennials Born 1981-1996 | Gen-Z Born 1997 – 2012 |
| Current age (2023) 27 – 42 years old | Current age (2023) 11 – 26 years old |
| Team-oriented Achievement-oriented Value a flexible work/life balance Value company values culture above salary | Value job security Tech-savvy Autonomous workers Value diversity & inclusion Feeds on regular feedback |
| 33.2% | 17.6% |
Current Statistics – Stats Canada 2021
Baby boomers currently make up less than ¼ of the Canadian population
Millennials are the fastest-growing population due to immigration, rising 8.6% between 2016 and 2021 despite the pandemic restrictions on immigration.
Millennials are the largest population in the workforce 33.2%
In the 2021 Census, of the 23,957,760 Canadians in the working-age population, 33.2% were millennials, 29.5% were Gen Xers, 19.7% were baby boomers, and 17.6% were Gen Zers.[i]
I hope you find this as fascinating as I do, and will check back in a couple of weeks as we continue the series of Collaborating in a Multi-Generational World.
If your team could use some collaboration inspiration, I invite you to schedule a Complementary Discovery Call, and we can have a chat about how to get everyone working together peacefully!
[i] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/
[ii] https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-X/2021003/98-200-X2021003-eng.cfm
[iii] https://www.rsmuk.com/ideas-and-insights/the-five-generation-workforce
