The generations are not as different as we thought

Another article about Generation Y, this time in People Management. Before you groan, though, this research by Penna and the CIPD seems to turn a lot the received wisdom on its head.

The survey found, for instance, that employers’ attitudes to social responsibility were of much more importance to baby boomers – members of the workforce who were born between 1948 and 1963 – than to Generation Y. This is despite widespread beliefs that Generation Y places an especially high premium on CSR.

I’ve long believed that the only reason graduates ask about CSR at interviews is because they have been coached to do so by university professors.

Generation Y is also far less likely to rapidly change jobs than was thought, the report found. “People think that Gen Y looks for new jobs every year, and yet half of them said they planned to stay at their current organisation for the next five years,” says Anne Riley, managing director of Penna’s recruitment division. “We thought that was really surprising.”

The reality of the economic downturn hitting home, perhaps?

Strangely, baby boomers – often considered to be the generation that has benefited most in the current workforce – were the most disaffected generation of employees.

“They feel all the effort is being spent on the Gen Ys and Gen Xs. There’s a big opportunity for employers to re-energize them,” says Riley.

Yes, because consultancies keep pumping out evidence-lite research telling firms they need to bend over backwards to attract the Millennials.

I don’t mean to have a go at Penna and the CIPD here. They have, at least, tried to get behind some of the pop-sociology and have come up with evidence to show that the generations are not as different as some would have us believe.

The survey stops short of saying that the whole thing is a load of crap. After all, Penna wants to sell consultancy too. But the findings do seem to show more similarities than differences between the generations.

You can download the whole report here. You have to register but it’s free.

The profiles of the four generations show some subtle differences in attitudes but little evidence of the gaping generational divide that has been hyped in some other reports. Many of these differences, such as the liklihhood of staying with the same employer, are more influenced simply by people getting older rather than the generation they were born in. 

Compare the Generation X attitude to work-life balance….

Gen X commonly seek
jobs that fit well with their life outside work. One in
four cites this as a key decision factor when seeking
a potential employer. This demand for flexibility
should not be seen as a desire to work fewer hours
as half of them would willingly work more hours if
flexibility was offered.

Gen X sees the workplace as a place to socialise as
well as to work and tend to feel loyalty towards
people within the organisation rather than to the
organisation itself. Organisations that offer a sense
of workplace community are therefore more likely
to attract and engage this generation.

…with that of Generation Y

Gen Y commonly blurs the lines between socialising
and work. Nearly seven in ten of Gen Y employees
in the TMT and Professional sectors would consider
working longer hours for more pay. Gen Y knows
that their ideal is to gain a greater work/life balance
but is also keen to gain employability. To balance
these preferences many actively seek an employer
where they can be part of a team, have fun and
make friends within the workplace. Although they
see time for friends and family as important, they
trade off putting in the hours and socialise with the
team of people around them.

Hardly earth-shattering is it?  Both seem to be more or less saying the same thing. Most people like to have some flexibility in their hours, to feel part of a team and to work with people they like.

I know I have banged on about this before but I don’t believe that the generation you are born into shapes your attitudes any more than social class, ethnicity, national culture or personality type.

As the CIPD’s Dianah Worman says:

Don’t fall into the trap of assuming everybody of the same age wants the same thing.

This research has done nothing to convince me that the generational divide is a major issue for managers. If anything, it has shown that the differences between generations are so subtle that the typology is almost worthless.

All good managers get to know their people as individuals and try to understand their different styles, what motivates them and what pisses them off. That varies from person to person. Trying to use a typology of generations doesn’t add anything useful to the process.